Principal / Sr. Principal Engineer Software - Virtualization

About the role

The Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems (NGAS) Global Surveillance division is seeking a Principal Engineer Software - Virtualization (Level 3) OR Sr. Principal Engineer Software - Virtualization (Level 4) to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Test & Evaluation organization in Melbourne, FL.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the development of the virtual lab topology (compute, storage, networking) using industry standard hypervisors and container orchestration.
• Develop automation scripts (IaC) for provisioning, configuration, and lifecycle management of lab resources.
• Create or integrate device emulation layers that expose virtual instruments to end users via standard protocols.
• Implement audit logging to meet security and compliance requirements.
• Create CI/CD pipelines for continuous delivery of lab images, updates, and patches.
• Produce comprehensive documentation (design diagrams, SOPs, user guides) and train lab administrators.
• Work closely with domain experts to translate experimental procedures into reproducible virtual workflows.

Requirements

• Must have a Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 5 years of related professional/military experience in a Software environment; OR a Master’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 3 years of related professional/military experience in a Software environment; OR a Ph.D. in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 1 year of related professional/military experience in a Software environment.
• Must have an active DoD Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation) and the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
• Willingness and ability to obtain a RedHat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) certification.
• Experience using Git or similar version control systems.
• Experience working across Windows and/or Linux environments (e.g., RHEL, Debian, Ubuntu, or similar distributions).

Qualifications

• This requisition may be filled at a Principal Engineer Software - Virtualization (Level 3) OR Sr. Principal Engineer Software - Virtualization (Level 4) level based on the qualifications below.

Skills

• Experience with systemd, (e.g., use of systemctl, journalctl)
• Experience with hypervisors (e.g. VMWare ESXi, Xen, kvm, Hyper-V), virtualization, and creating virtual machines
• A RedHat Certified System Administrator (RHCSA) certification
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and software-in-the-loop (SIL) testing approaches
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team and to communicate effectively with a range of technical and non-technical stakeholders
• Experience with setting up and configuring a firewall and reverse proxy software PFSense or OPNSense and HAProxy or nginx
• Experience working with OS automation tools
• Experience with implementing and tailoring the implementation of DOD STIGs

Benefits

• Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results.
• Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives.
• In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

Pay

Primary Level Salary Range: $98,400.00 - $147,600.00
Secondary Level Salary Range: $122,800.00 - $184,200.00