Staff Cyber Systems Engineer

Relocation assistance may be available. Must be a U.S. citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance and a Special Access Programs (SAP/SAR) level clearance as a condition of continued employment. Travel required: 10% of the time.

About the role

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage, and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way.

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. We are looking for a Staff Cyber Systems Engineer to join our team in San Diego, CA. As part of our Enterprise-wide digital transformation, you will work with Model-based Engineering, DevSecOps, and Agile practices to evolve how we deliver critical national defense products and capabilities. Our success is grounded in embracing change, moving quickly, and continuously driving innovation. The successful candidate will be collaborative, open, transparent, and team-oriented, with a focus on team empowerment, shared responsibility, flexibility, continuous learning, and a culture of automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the administration of Linux-based systems in lab and development environments, including installation, configuration, patching, monitoring, and troubleshooting.
• Load, customize, and harden Linux development workstations and servers to meet program security and performance requirements.
• Respond rapidly to high-priority incidents, diagnose root causes across the OS, and restore service for critical lab environments.
• Collaborate closely with software developers and other engineering teams to support build environments, development workflows, and OS-related issues.
• Document system configurations, procedures, and changes, and contribute to maintaining accurate lab infrastructure inventories.
• Provide senior-level technical expertise by mentoring junior and experienced team members, fostering their professional growth, and enhancing team capabilities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in science, engineering, or a related discipline with 12 years of experience, or 9 years with a Master’s (MS) degree, or 6 years with a STEM PhD. An additional 4 years of relevant experience can substitute for a Bachelor’s degree.
• Experience installing, configuring, and troubleshooting Linux operating systems, software, servers, and associated lab hardware, including managing user accounts, groups, and file system permissions.
• Experience troubleshooting operating system issues across servers and workstations.
• Experience with Linux functions such as yum, ldap, STIG implementation, SELinux, kickstart, DNS, DHCP, firewalld, log analysis, managing logical volumes, and RBAC/HBAC.
• Familiarity with scripting (e.g., shell scripting) for system configuration, automation, and maintenance tasks.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with engineers and technical leads on schedule-driven programs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong understanding of Linux system administration (Red Hat or similar enterprise distributions) in lab, development, or production environments.
• Familiarity with virtualization platforms (e.g., VMware) and applying security patches and updates to virtualized environments.
• Experience with vulnerability scanning and security compliance, applying OS/security patches, managing patch repositories, and maintaining antivirus tools.
• Experience supporting build and deployment environments, including maintaining build scripts and installation media for development environments.
• Experience working as part of an Agile development environment.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code (IAC) tools such as Ansible.
• Experience operating and managing systems within current applicable information systems cyber compliance standards in closed areas.
• Current Security+ CE, CASP, CISSP, or similar DoD 8570 security certification.
• Current DoD Secret clearance.

Pay

Primary salary range: $194,700.00 - $292,100.00. The above range represents a general guideline; base salary offers consider factors such as scope and responsibilities of the position, 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 reward individual contributions and 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.
• Paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.