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Northrop Grumman

Principal or Sr. Principal Software Engineer - Embedded

United States-California-San Diego

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hirly's read of this role

Role family
Engineering
Seniority
Lead / management
Country
US
Work mode
On-site / unstated
First seen by hirly
3 Oct 2026

Derived automatically from the posting. Upload your resume above to see how the role scores against it.

the posting

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

Description

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 - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. 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. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems – Research & Advanced Design (R&AD) transforms breakthrough ideas into mission-ready capabilities through intelligent anticipation. We’re the front-end design engine, defining what comes next. From developing cutting-edge next-generation future aircraft to trailblazing collaborative autonomous platforms, we push the boundaries of technology and forge industry-leading partnerships that set new standards for what’s possible.

Our team owns the full lifecycle of advanced concept creation, from visionary early-stage designs and rapid prototyping to high-impact demonstrations and solving the toughest technical challenges in survivability, autonomy, and battle management. We seek curious, adaptable people who thrive on turning intuition into breakthrough solutions. If you’re driven to invent the future, build what’s next, and shape the landscape of national security, this is where you belong.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Principal or a Sr. Principal Embedded Software Engineer to join our team of qualified and diverse individuals. This position will be sourced out of Software Engineering organization in Rancho Bernardo, CA.

In this role you will work in an embedded technology environment to develop, integrate, and test software working with real-time operating systems for use in flight and mission critical systems, with a particular focus on hardware/software integration and modeling and simulation software development. You will work with multi-disciplinary teams, such as with Systems Engineering, Real-time & Embedded Software, Guidance, Navigation & Control Engineering, DevSecOps, and Systems Test. In an Agile software development environment, candidates will work on software supporting various systems in all phases of the software development lifecycle including requirements, design, development, integration, and test. The position requires working knowledge of the full development life-cycle processes that acknowledge technical, schedule, and cost constraints. Candidates must exhibit strong leadership characteristics in coordinating with multiple teams and managing tasks.

Roles and Responsibilities will include but not limited to :

Design, development, maintenance, and execution of automated software tests for qualification of embedded software products

Experienced in working in a lab environment on an Agile project

Knowledge of, and experience working in, all phases for the Software Development Lifecycle

Analyze requirements allocated to computer software configuration items (CSCI).

Develop detailed, clear, and concise technical documentation.

Candidate will work with software developers and other engineers, as needed, to help diagnose and identify the root cause of problems found during software installation, integration, acceptance test, and operational events.

Submit detailed problem reports for errors found.

Candidates must be comfortable in development, lab, and operational environments, as well as be able to collaborate closely with system engineers, hardware designers, integration/test engineers, and program leadership.

**This role may be filled at either the Principal Software Engineer or a Sr. Principal Software Engineer level based on the qualifications below.**

Basic Qualifications:

Principal: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 5 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years of related engineering experience OR a PhD degree in a STEM discipline and 1 years of related engineering experience

Sr. Principal: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 6 years of related engineering experience OR a PhD degree in a STEM discipline and 4 years of related engineering experience

Experience with safety-critical embedded real time software.

Experience with developing software and scripts in C/C++, and Python.

Experience with software development methodologies and frameworks such as waterfall and / or Agile for all phases of the software development life cycle.

Experience with software change control, change management, and CI/CD tools such as: Atlassian tool suite, GitHub, GitLab, AND/OR Jenkins.

Experience with software architecture, design, implementation, integration, debugging, and testing safety-critical embedded real time software written in C/C++ running on real-time operating systems such as: VxWorks, Integrity, AND/OR Real Time Embedded Linux.

Your ability to obtain and/or transfer and maintain the final adjudicated government Top -Secret clearance , and any program access(es) required for the position within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company. ( Note: SAP/PAR will be upgraded once selected candidate is in role. Therefore, candidates must also be able to obtain and maintain upgraded SAP/PAR.)

Preferred Qualifications:

Experience with UAV route planning, routing algorithms or other geometrically based algorithms.

Familiarity with static code analysis tools such as: Coverity, SonarQube, and Fortify.

Familiarity with using MATLAB

Previous experience with existing avionic system

Recent experience and proficiency with scripting languages such as Python, MATLAB, JavaScript, AND/OR Bash.

Recent experience and proficiency with multi-threaded programming in C/C++ for real time systems.

Differentiating characteristics include demonstrated leadership, excellent teamwork, and excellent oral and written communication.

Recent experience and proficiency with multi-threaded programming in C/C++ for real time systems.

Experience with SOAP and Java services.

Recent experience and proficiency with scripting languages such as Python, MATLAB, JavaScript, AND/OR Bash.

Current Special Program Access

Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00

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. 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.

The application period

Original posting on Northrop Grumman's site ↗

Listed on hirly, a job board. hirly is not the employer: Northrop Grumman is hiring for this role.

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