Northrop Grumman
Principal/Sr Principal Software Engineer- Force Ops
- Location
- Huntsville, AL
- Work type
- On-site
- Job type
- Full-time
- Salary
- $108.8K – $163.2K / yr
- Clearance
- Secret
- U.S. citizenship
- Not stated
- Posted
- Oct 26, 2026
About the role
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret
TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time
Secondary Level Salary Range: $135,800.00 - $203,600.00
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 Defense Systems is seeking Software Engineers to join the Global C2 Solutions Business Unit in Huntsville, Alabama. You will help design, develop, integrate, test, and sustain mission‑critical command and control (C2) software used by our warfighters and customers around the world.
In this role, you will support the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) program on Agile Software Teams, working closely with software, systems, hardware and IT engineers to build robust, secure, and scalable software solutions that address complex logical and mathematical challenges in support of Global C2 missions.
This position is ideal for engineers who enjoy hands‑on development, solving complex technical problems, and collaborating in a highly integrated, Agile environment.
Responsibilities / Essential Functions
- Design, develop, document, test, and debug applications and software systems that implement logical and mathematical solutions for Global C2 missions.
- Work in a fast-paced environment with high expectations, diverse assignments, and collaborative team settings across all levels of the organization.
- Participate on Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) Scrum teams to develop and maintain software products across multiple software baselines.
- Provide technical solutions to a wide range of complex and difficult problems that are imaginative, thorough, practicable, and aligned with program objectives.
- Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability; be willing to learn new technologies and operate outside of your comfort zone as mission and program needs evolve.
- Perform software development and upgrades in multiple programming languages/versions while minimizing changes to the operational behavior of tactical software.
- Support testing activities including unit and functional testing, code coverage analysis, and static code analysis.
Basic Qualifications
- Principal Software Engineer: Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant experience; 3 years with a Master’s; 1 year with a PhD.
- Senior Principal Software Engineer: Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and at least 8 years of relevant experience; 6 years with a Master’s; 4 years with a PhD.
- Active Secret Clearance.
- Strong object-oriented software development experience in Java and C++.
- Proficiency in Linux-based development and runtime environments, including scripting with Bash and Python.
- Experience with modern configuration management and source control tools (e.g., Git, GitLab).
- Experience with DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines to build, integrate, test, and deliver software.
- Experience with Agile development using SAFe and Atlassian tools (e.g., Jira, Confluence).
- Experience developing and sustaining real-time or distributed systems using RTI/DDS publish/subscribe middleware.
- Experience with tactical data links and external interfaces such as MIL‑STD‑6016 (Link 16), Blue Force Tracker (BFT), IBS, ADS‑B, or similar systems.
- Experience providing software sustainment support, including log file maintenance, software version tracking, data recording and playback, and Interactive Data Language (IDL) management.
- Experience with the Open Service Gateway initiative (OSGi) framework.
- User interface development experience using JavaFX.
- Experience using XML for data exchange and configuration.
- Experience developing models and simulations.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with Model‑Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), including Cameo or similar tools.
- Experience with Jenkins or similar CI/CD pipelines.
- CompTIA Security+
#HSVFall2026
Primary Level Salary Range: $108,800.00 - $163,200.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $135,800.00 - $203,600.00
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.