Principal/Senior Principal Systems Engineer

Northrop Grumman

Principal/Sr. Principal Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman leading system-level architecture for aeronautics programs.

Posted 6/24/2026full-timeRedondo Beach • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $114,000 - $171,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Lead development of system-level architectures, concepts of operations, and interface definitions for advanced aeronautics projects.
Apply MBSE using SysML to produce and maintain system models, traceability, and architectural views throughout the program lifecycle.
Drive requirements engineering and configuration: elicit, decompose, allocate, and manage requirements; ensure bidirectional traceability.
Perform and oversee risk management activities (identification, assessment, mitigation planning, and tracking); support FMEA/FTA and risk registers.
Conduct trade studies, system analyses, and feasibility assessments to support architectural decisions
Define verification & validation strategies and support test planning and integration activities.
Coordinate cross-disciplinary engineering teams (hardware, software, avionics, propulsion, structures) and external partners/suppliers to ensure architectural integrity and system integration.
Prepare technical briefings, architecture artifacts, and documentation for stakeholders and review boards.
Mentor and provide technical leadership to systems engineers and architects; establish best practices for MBSE and systems engineering across projects.

Requirements

What you’ll need

Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) discipline AND 5 years of related professional/military experience OR a Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 3 years of related professional/military experience, OR a STEM Ph.D. AND 1 years of related professional/military experience
Must have an active US Government Secret (or higher) clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation)
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
Must have experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and SysML—creating and maintaining SysML models and using MBSE to support requirements, design, and verification.
Must have experience with requirements management (tools such as DOORS, Polarion, or equivalent), including requirements decomposition and traceability.
Must have experience in risk management methods (e.g., FMEA, FTA, risk registers) and applying risk-informed design decisions.
Must have experience developing system architectures, interface control documents (ICDs), and performing system-level trade studies.
Must have familiarity with systems engineering lifecycle processes (V-model) and standards (e.g., INCOSE SE Handbook).
Must have communication, leadership, and stakeholder management skills; ability to present complex technical material clearly.

Benefits

Comp & perks

Health insurance coverage
Life and disability insurance
Savings plan
Company paid holidays
Paid time off (PTO)
Flexible work arrangements
9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off
Phenomenal learning opportunities
Exposure to a wide variety of projects and customers
Very friendly team environment

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

Model-Based Systems EngineeringSysMLrequirements managementrisk managementFMEAFTAsystem architectureinterface control documentstrade studiesverification and validation

Soft Skills

communicationleadershipstakeholder managementmentoringtechnical leadership

Certifications

Bachelor of Science degreeMaster of Science degreePh.D.US Government Secret clearanceSpecial Access Program clearance