
Sr. Principal Space Systems Engineer
Job Description
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 Space Systems Sector in Dulles, VA, seeks a qualified and experienced Sr. Principle Systems Engineer to support a new program within the Space Superiority Sector. The qualified candidate will serve on a cross-disciplinary team driving the design and development of a spacecraft and its associated mission.
Primary duties include:
· Supporting major program milestones and readiness reviews by developing technical content and summarizing them into presentations for key stakeholders.
· Authoring and providing input to program data products and other vital deliverables.
· Working with mission partners to accurately model mission-level elements.
· Assessment of a vehicle’s day-in-the-life and creation of design reference missions (DRMs).
· Producing miscellaneous analysis, such as propellant budget analyses, on-orbit fuel requirements, RF link budgets, and mission lifetime estimates.
· Development of analysis tools as required.
· Requirements Management, including the decomposition of requirements from the Mission down to Subsystems.
· Interface Management, including the development of Interface Control Documentation.
Basic Qualifications:
· BS degree in Engineering or related technical field and 8 years of applicable experience, an MS Degree and 6 years of applicable experience, or a PhD and 4 years of applicable experience.
· Must have U.S. Citizenship with active or current TS/SCI Clearance at time of application.
· Experience in systems engineering to include architectural studies, technical baseline definition, requirements & interface management, hardware/software integration, and mission planning & execution.
Preferred Qualifications:
· Exposure to Northrop Grumman space vehicle design and production.
· Experience working on Class B, C, or D Space Systems.
· Experience with developing and presenting briefing slides to senior leaders and executive level personnel.
· Ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.
· Experience in system architecture, CONOPs development, or model-based system engineering.
· Experience in scripting languages and modeling tools (e.g. Python, STOL, MATLAB, STK, etc).
· Experience in any of the following areas is also desired: orbital mechanics, orbital debris modeling, spacecraft attitude control, power systems and modeling, avionics or digital electronics design, risk analysis,, communications, or spacecraft integration and testing.
Primary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00The 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.Optimize Your Resume for This Job
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Job Details
- Category
- Aerospace Engineering
- Employment Type
- Full Time
- Location
- Dulles, VA
- Posted
- Mar 16, 2026, 08:00 PM
- Listed
- Mar 17, 2026, 04:05 PM
- Compensation
- $142,200 - $213,400 per year
About Northrop Grumman
Part of the growing space & AI ecosystem pushing the frontiers of technology.
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