Principal/ Sr. Principal Data Center Electronics Engineer

Northrop Grumman • San Diego, CA

9d • $114,000 - $213,400 • Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is hiring a Principal or Senior Principal Data Center Electronics Engineer for its team in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo). The role is full-time and on-site, with no remote, hybrid, or telework option. Travel of up to 25% may be required. Relocation assistance may be available. The position level depends on the candidate’s qualifications and experience.

The engineer operates and supports data center infrastructure, including servers, networking equipment, storage hardware, and power distribution units. The role includes managing virtualized environments and VDI, planning capacity, automating infrastructure provisioning, and providing Tier 2/3 support. The engineer also performs hardware and firmware refreshes, maintains technical documentation, supports security compliance and ATO, and collaborates with tenants, Tenant Solutions Architecture, and Lab Ops to align physical infrastructure with virtual workloads.

The position requires an active U.S. Government Top Secret clearance, the ability to obtain and maintain SCI clearance, and the ability to obtain and maintain SAP clearance within a reasonable time as determined by business needs. U.S. citizenship is required for positions requiring government clearance.

Requirements

• Principal level: Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of related professional or military engineering experience, or a STEM master’s degree and 3 years of related experience.
• Senior Principal level: Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline from an accredited university and 8 years of related professional or military engineering experience, or a STEM master’s degree and 6 years of related experience.
• Hands-on experience in data center operations, server hardware, and networking.
• Strong knowledge of Windows Server system administration, especially Active Directory and Group Policy Management, and Linux (RHEL).
• Strong knowledge of virtualization platforms, including VMware ESXi and Red Hat OpenShift, and VDI.
• Experience and proficiency with scripting in PowerShell, Bash, and Python.
• Exposure to or knowledge of IaC tools such as Terraform and Ansible.
• Familiarity with Grafana monitoring tools and the JIRA ticketing system.
• Active U.S. Government Top Secret clearance, with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrollment in Continuous Evaluation.
• Ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Government SCI clearance.
• Ability to obtain and maintain SAP clearance within a reasonable time as determined by business needs.
• Ability to work full-time on-site; travel up to 25% may be required.

Nice To Haves

• Certifications such as Cisco CCNA/CCNP, Network+ CE/Security+ CE, CEH, CASP+, CISM, and/or CISSP.
• Experience with Cisco UCS and Cisco networking devices and networking.
• Knowledge of NetApp storage technologies.
• Knowledge of Docker and Kubernetes.
• Experience implementing CI/CD pipelines in GitLab in support of IaC.
• Active Top Secret DoD clearance with previous or current program access.

Responsibilities

• Install, configure, troubleshoot, and maintain Dell servers, Cisco servers and network devices, NetApp storage solutions, and power distribution units.
• Configure and manage virtualized environments using VMware vCenter and virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
• Monitor resource utilization, forecast capacity growth, and recommend upgrades or consolidations.
• Develop, deploy, and maintain automated deployment scripts to streamline infrastructure provisioning through Infrastructure as Code (IaC).
• Implement and manage infrastructure configuration using tools such as Ansible or Terraform.
• Lead Tier 2/3 support for end users and Engineering Product Teams (IPTs), perform root cause analysis, and document remediation steps, including defect resolution or system enhancements.
• Execute hardware refreshes, firmware upgrades, and network architecture changes.
• Maintain documentation for COTS hardware and software, including configuration matrices, release procedures, and system compatibility mapping.
• Apply hardening standards, conduct vulnerability scans, and support audits to maintain ATO.
• Collaborate with tenants, Tenant Solutions Architecture, and Lab Ops to align physical resources with virtual workloads across environments.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Savings plan.
• Company-paid holidays.
• Paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.
• Employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus, depending on the position.
• Relocation assistance may be available.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal