Northrop Grumman Corporation · San Diego, California, US

Principal Software Engineer

OpenFull-timePay not stated

Open — Northrop Grumman Corporation has a posting for this job. Posted 26 Aug 2026.

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Posted 26 Aug 2026 · Full-time · Pay not stated

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About this job

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

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 is looking to add a Principal Software Engineer - Development to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Software organization. This position is located on site in San Diego, California.

In this role you will design, develop, integrate and test software (SW) for our end-user customers and businesses. You will be responsible for the design, architecture, development, and administration of embedded and real time systems. You will work with multi-disciplinary teams, such as Systems Engineering, Cloud & Application, Test Automation, DevSecOps and Systems Test, in an Agile SW development environment. You will analyze system capabilities to resolve problems on program intent, output requirements, input data acquisition, programming techniques and controls.

Duties and Responsibilities:

  • Work in a fast-paced environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, and collaborative team settings across all levels
  • Participate in the full SW development life cycle including requirements, design, implementation, qualification, and delivery of SW products to our customers
  • Operate in an embedded technology development environment working with real-time operating systems for use in flight and mission critical systems
  • Work in Agile Scrum teams to develop SW products for multiple SW baselines

Basic Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 5 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 1 year of related engineering experience.
  • Experience with the full SW Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
  • Experience with the following programming and scripting languages: C, C++, and Python
  • Experience developing software for Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS)
  • Experience with developing multi-threaded SW used for one of the following real-time applications: flight critical SW, Safety critical SW, medical SW, or mission critical SW
  • Experience with one of the following tools: Jira, GitLab, Fortify, or Coverity
  • Experience with Agile SW development, embedded system programming, SW integration and testing
  • Active US Secret Clearance issued by the U.S. Government

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Familiarity with at least two of the data interfaces: 1553, RS-232, RS-422, ARINC-429, Serial, Discrete, or Ethernet/IP
  • Familiarity with a Unit Test framework such as Google Unit Test
  • Familiarity with Matlab, Simulink, or similar platforms
  • Recent experience and proficiency in software architecture, design, implementation, integration, and debugging C++ SW running on Real-Time Operating systems such as: VxWorks, Integrity, RTX 64, AND/OR Real Time Embedded Linux.
  • Able to read assembly and use CPU documentation to understand behaviors
  • Can identify moderate execution defects by only reading code
  • Understanding of how their embedded SW component will fit into a larger SW system / architecture
  • Able to document, capture, and present software architectural components in modeling or diagramming tools
  • Familiarity with OS partitions and isolation architectures
  • High level understanding of architectural requirements for airworthiness certifications

Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00

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.

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What do Corporate – Information Technology jobs in California pay?

Talentify has no pay figure for this posting. The lines below are about Corporate – Information Technology jobs on Talentify in California as a group, computed by Talentify's job index across their postings. They are not the pay for this job.

Of the 922 Corporate – Information Technology jobs on Talentify in California, 229 list pay per year.

Taking the midpoint of each listed range, the middle half pay 125,500–188,950 USD per year and the median is 155,000 USD per year.

135 of these 229 name no currency; they are counted as USD because the jobs are in the United States.

Pay as employers listed it, not adjusted or verified. Updated 2026-11-07.

Computed on 2026-11-07 from the pay in 229 listings.

Not this job's pay

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, for Software Developers, the occupation this job title matches. It describes the occupation, not this job.

The median wage for Software Developers in California was 83.85 USD per hour (174,410 USD per year) in May 2025; the middle half earned 65.86–104.17 USD per hour.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025

Software Engineer pay and outlook in California

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