Principal / Sr. Principal Software Engineer (C++ and TS Clearance)

Relocation assistance may be available.

Clearance required for start: Yes.

Clearance type: Top Secret.

Travel: Yes, 10% of the time.

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 Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission‑enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission!

Principal / Sr. Principal Software Engineer – Woodland Hills, CA

As a Principal / Sr. Principal Software Engineer at Northrop Grumman, you will have a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be a part of our Enterprise‑wide digital transformation. Through the use of Model‑based Engineering, DevSecOps and Agile practices we continue to evolve how we deliver critical national defense products and capabilities for the warfighter. Your success will be grounded in your ability to embrace change, move quickly and continuously drive innovation.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for junior software engineers.
• Develop software utilizing C/C++ to modernize and productionize a research codebase with modern C++ features.
• Develop software infrastructure to support CI/CD, software metrics collection, and MLOps.
• Implement software‑systems, applications, and architectures that leverage techniques to support increased modularity, scalability, and reliability, while also maintaining precision, accuracy, and speed to meet performance requirements.
• Ensure industry software engineering best practices and standards are applied and maintained.
• Work closely with Software Leads and Architects to understand program intent, system capabilities, and output requirements.

Basic Qualifications for a Principal Software Engineer (T03)

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline with 5+ years of relative experience; Master’s degree in a STEM discipline with 3+ years of relative experience; PhD + 1 year of relative experience.
• Active Top Secret security clearance and enrolled in Continuous Evaluation.
• Ability to meet customer‑specific security screening requirements within a timeframe set forth by management.
• Willingness and ability to work onsite full‑time.
• Experience working in C/C++.
• Familiarity with modern C++ standards and features (e.g., C++ 17 onwards).
• Demonstrated ability to analyze system requirements to derive software design and performance requirements.
• Proven ability to design and code new software, as well as modify existing software to add new features.
• Ability to debug existing software and correct defects.
• Experience with open software/system architecture solutions.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Experience with developing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with Git‑based or other software configuration management tools.

Basic Qualifications for a Sr. Principal Software Engineer (T04)

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline with 8+ years of relative experience; Master’s degree in a STEM discipline with 6+ years of relative experience; PhD + 4 years of relative experience.
• Active Top Secret security clearance and enrolled in Continuous Evaluation.
• Ability to meet customer‑specific security screening requirements within a timeframe set forth by management.
• Willingness and ability to work onsite full‑time.
• Experience working in C/C++.
• Familiarity with modern C++ standards and features (e.g., C++ 17 onwards).
• Demonstrated ability to analyze system requirements to derive software design and performance requirements.
• Proven ability to design and code new software or modify existing software to add new features.
• Ability to debug existing software and correct defects.
• Experience with open software/system architecture solutions.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Experience with developing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Experience with Git‑based or other software configuration management tools.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading the performance of tasks on schedule, at cost and achieving specified requirements.
• Experience with modern C++ standards and features (e.g., C++ 20 onwards).
• Experience with containers (Docker, Kubernetes).
• Experience with Linux operating systems.
• Experience with CUDA and GPUs.
• Experience with high performance numerical/scientific computing, parallel computing.
• Experience with developing for SWaP‑constrained environments.
• Experience with developing and maintaining CI/CD pipelines.
• Familiarity with signal‑processing algorithms.
• Familiarity with Agile lifecycle process including Scrum and DevSecOps.

Salary and Benefits

Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 – $171,000.00.

Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 – $213,400.00.

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.

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.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit U.S. citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.