Northrop Grumman
Principal Engineer/ Sr. Principal Engineer Systems
- Location
- Melbourne, FL
- Work type
- On-site
- Job type
- Full-time
- Salary
- $98.4K – $147.6K / yr
- Clearance
- Top Secret
- U.S. citizenship
- Not stated
- Posted
- Oct 12, 2026
About the role
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret
TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time
Secondary Level Salary Range: $122,800.00 - $184,200.00
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 for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.
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 http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret
TRAVEL: Yes, 25% 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 Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal/Sr. Principal Engineer Systems to join our team of individuals within our Systems Engineering organization supporting the Multi-Domain Command & Control (MDC2) Business Unit. The position will be onsite in Melbourne, FL.
The selected candidate will be responsible for technical execution of systems engineering tasks and earned value management of systems engineering control accounts on assigned programs
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee and manage the cost accounts associated with ongoing E-2 engineering projects.
- Serve as liaison between project management, engineering management, and engineering integrated product teams (IPTs).
- Review project and budget status; manage schedules; prepare status reports; and input/track earned value management (EVM) data for assigned programs.
- Assess project issues and develop resolutions to meet productivity, quality, and customer-satisfaction objectives.
- Oversee preparation of estimates and proposals across MDC2 IPTs.
- Drive technical execution of systems engineering tasks.
The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, highly diverse assignments, and collaborative team settings.
This role can be filled at the Principal (level 3) or Sr. Principal (level 4).
Basic Qualifications:
At the Principal Engineer Systems (Level 3)
- 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 year of related professional/military experience.
Basic Qualifications for Sr. Principal Engineer Systems (Level 4)
- Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) discipline AND 8 years of related professional/military experience OR a Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 6 years of related professional/military experience, OR a STEM Ph.D. AND 4 years of related professional/military experience.
Applicable at both levels:
- Background in systems engineering or related engineering discipline.
- Experience with earned value management/program cost accounting
- Must have the ability to obtain or maintain a U.S. Government Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently 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.
Preferred Qualifications:
- A final, adjudicated active Top Secret clearance.
- Previous or existing E 2 Program Access Request (PAR).
- Graduate degree in STEM field.
- Prior work on multi domain command and control systems or similar mission critical platforms.
- Demonstrated leadership and strong interpersonal skills.
- Experience leading projects and/or driving performance to schedule.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office products (PowerPoint, Word, Excel).
- Prior experience with cost account management.
- EVM, PMP, or CAPM certification.
- Exposure to Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools like Visio and Cameo.
- Familiarity with collaboration and lifecycle management tools, including JIRA, Confluence, and Bitbucket.
- Experience with Agile program execution, including sprint planning, backlog management, and iterative development.
Secondary Level Salary Range: $122,800.00 - $184,200.00
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 for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.
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 http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.