Software Engineer Level 3 or 4

About the Role

Northrop Grumman Space Systems (NGSP) is seeking a Software Engineer Level 3 or 4 to join our team in the Payload & Ground Software Engineering organization supporting a Ground program. The successful candidate will have software development experience, with the ability to digest changes and synthesize them into working designs, generate efficient code according to the specifications, and adapt to changes as necessary that are driven by bugs or specification updates or the customer. This position will be at our site either in Morrisville, North Carolina or Fairfax, Virginia. This position requires being on-site and does not support remote or hybrid work.

Responsibilities

• Operate independently with little oversight in a dynamic environment.
• Report information to leads and the customer.
• Handle diverse assignments with efficiency, finding unique solutions.
• Work in a collaborative and fast-paced environment.

Qualifications

This position can be filled at either a Level 3 (Principal) or Level 4 (Sr Principal).

Basic Qualifications For Level 3 (Principal)

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 5 years of software development experience – OR – Master’s degree with 3 years of software development experience – OR – PhD with 1 year of software development experience. May consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access (TS/SCI). US Citizenship required.
• Experience developing applications on Linux/Unix operating systems.
• Exposure to Agile principles, and Atlassian tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket).
• Basic understanding of asynchronous messaging systems (e.g., NATS, ActiveMQ, gRPC, etc.).
• Working knowledge of one or more server-side languages, including Python, C++, Node.js, Go, or Java.
• Familiarity with integrating systems using a data-driven design approach.
• Strong knowledge of integration best practices, focusing on subsystem interfaces, APIs, and complex workflows.

Basic Qualifications For Level 4 (Sr Principal)

• Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 8 years of software development experience – OR – Master’s degree with 6 years of software development experience – OR – PhD with 4 years of software development experience. May consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access (TS/SCI). US Citizenship required.
• Experience developing applications on Linux/Unix operating systems.
• Exposure to Agile principles, and Atlassian tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket).
• Basic understanding of asynchronous messaging systems (e.g., NATS, ActiveMQ, gRPC, etc.).
• Working knowledge of one or more server-side languages, including Python, C++, Node.js, Go, or Java.
• Familiarity with integrating systems using a data-driven design approach.
• Strong knowledge of integration best practices, focusing on subsystem interfaces, APIs, and complex workflows.

Preferred Qualifications

• Previous experience developing Mission Management and Control software for Satellite Ground Systems.
• Experience in developing security/reliable code (Unit Test, Code Coverage, SonarQube scans, Fortify).
• Proficiency in developing container-based applications (podman/docker, horizontal scaling, etc.).
• Proficiency in developing software using C++ and Python.
• Experience implementing a Data Centric software design (developing data schemas, translating between data formats).

Pay

Primary Level Salary Range: $108,800.00 - $163,200.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $135,800.00 - $203,600.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills, and current market conditions. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. 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.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage
• Life and disability insurance
• Savings plan
• Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business

Relocation assistance may be available. Travel is required, approximately 10% of the time.