Northrop Grumman
Principal/Senior Principal Electrical Engineer
- Location
- San Diego, CA
- Work type
- On-site
- Job type
- Full-time
- Salary
- $114K – $171K / yr
- Clearance
- Top Secret
- U.S. citizenship
- Not stated
- Posted
- Sep 30, 2026
About the role
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret
TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time
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 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, 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 Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal Electrical Engineer/ Sr. Principal Electrical Engineer to join the team of qualified individuals. Position is located in San Diego, CA.
Drive the development and execution of automated and manual test cases that validate system functionality and strengthen overall user experience. In this role, you’ll tackle complex technical challenges across air and ground systems. This is an opportunity to take ownership of fast-paced, high-impact work while shaping robust test solutions across multiple efforts.
Key Responsibilities:
- Responsible for development and execution of automated and manual test cases to verify system functional requirements
- The ideal candidate is detail oriented, organized, and able to learn challenging concepts quickly in a fast-paced environment
- Developing robust nominal & off-nominal test cases centered on improving the user experience
- Work independently on assigned tasks to meet deadlines while managing multiple projects at once
- Flexibility to support weekends, multiple shifts, and off hours.
- The candidate will also be expected to actively seek opportunities for process improvement
- Interface and present test integration and execution results to program and test leadership at pre-and-post-test reviews
- Use Wireshark/TCP, ICMP, and/or Netstat to evaluate systems
- Report, Track, and Troubleshoot Air and Ground systems discrepancies
We offer flexible work arrangements, 9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off, phenomenal learning opportunities, exposure to a wide variety of projects and customers, and a very friendly team environment. We are looking for self-motivated, proactive, and goal-oriented people to help us grow our services and become even better at what we do.
*Position may be filled at either level depending on qualifications below*
Basic Qualifications for Principal Electrical Engineer:
- Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 5 years of related professional/military experience, OR a Master's degree AND 3 years of related professional/military experience, OR a Ph.D. AND 1 year of related professional/military experience.
Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal Electrical Engineer:
- Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 9 years of related professional/military experience, OR a Master's degree AND 7 years of related professional/military experience, OR a Ph.D. AND 4 years of related professional/military experience.
Basic Qualifications for Both Levels:
- Must have an active US Government Secret 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.
- Ability to obtain and maintain US Government Top Secret clearance
- Extensive Experience in Test Program Execution
- Prior Experience in Hot bench and overall lab operations support.
- Experience working System Test, SW Development and/or Systems Engineering
Preferred Qualifications:
- Security+ certification
- Experience with IBM Rational tool suite (DOORS and Jazz)
- Experience with Atlassian tool suite (JIRA, Git, Confluence)
- Experience using software test automation tools/frameworks
- Software development experience
- Strong Troubleshooting abilities
- Experience with network diagnosis tools; Wireshark, ICMP, Netstat
- Strong understanding with interfaces of software/system environments
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 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.