Mission Autonomy Software Developer

Northrop Grumman•El Segundo, CA

2d•$91,800 - $158,400•Onsite

About The Position

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’s Aeronautics Systems – Research & Advanced Design (R&AD) transforms breakthrough ideas into mission-ready capabilities through intelligent anticipation. We’re the front-end design engine, defining what comes next. From developing cutting-edge next-generation future aircraft to trailblazing collaborative autonomous platforms, we push the boundaries of technology and forge industry-leading partnerships that set new standards for what’s possible. Our team owns the full lifecycle of advanced concept creation, from visionary early-stage designs and rapid prototyping to high-impact demonstrations and solving the toughest technical challenges in survivability, autonomy, and battle management. We seek curious, adaptable people who thrive on turning intuition into breakthrough solutions. If you’re driven to invent the future, build what’s next, and shape the landscape of national security, this is where you belong. Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Software Engineer or Principal Software Engineer position to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals onsite in El Segundo, CA.

Requirements

Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline with 2 years of engineering related experience or a Masters in STEM with 0 years of related engineering experience (for Software Engineer level).
Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline with 5 years of engineering related experience or a Masters in STEM with 3 years of related engineering experience (for Principal Software Engineer level).
Experience with Python, C++, and Linux based development environments
Experience with Object Oriented Programming concepts, and test-driven development practices
Experience with Agile best practices and processes.
Knowledge of software engineering practices and patterns for the full software/hardware/network development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, and testing
Experience implementing containerized software using open standards such as OCI (Open Container Initiative)
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a US Government clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs

Nice To Haves

Experience implementing on-board mission system software.
Experience developing Mission Autonomy software for tasking, routing, or other behaviors
Experience with Government Reference Architectures like OMS/UCI and A-GRA
Knowledge or experience with software infrastructure as code for technologies such as (Kubernetes/K3s, Podman/Docker, Helm, etc.).
Experience with Operating System fundamentals such as memory management, scheduling, and concurrency.

Responsibilities

Develop mission autonomy software and infrastructure in C++ that interacts directly with our autonomous flight testbed.
Work with external partners to onboard their autonomy code into our systems.
Deploy software utilizing containerization and associated technology.
Work with a multi-disciplinary team including Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Cloud & Application, DevOps, in an Agile software development environment.