Principal Cyber Systems Engineer

Northrop Grumman • Colorado Springs, CO

4d • $113,900 - $170,900

About The Position

Northrop Grumman is seeking an experienced Information System Security Engineer (ISSE) to lead, manage, and optimize cybersecurity for a program onboarding a new mission into an existing program ecosystem. The position serves as a cybersecurity lead for the mission and reports to the overall program cybersecurity lead. The engineer partners with integrated product teams to develop and decompose software security requirements, technical architectures, and system designs, and provides technical oversight. The role also connects systems engineering with compliance by developing engineering test procedures and documentation supporting ISSM/ISSO needs, Risk Management Framework (RMF), and Authority to Operate (ATO) requirements. The engineer collaborates with the Platform Deployment team on secure infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines, and accreditation and sustainment of a private cloud infrastructure.

The position is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, requires an active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility at application, and includes travel approximately 10% of the time. Relocation assistance may be available.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and 5 years of relevant experience, or a master’s degree in a STEM field and 3 years of relevant experience, or a PhD in a STEM field and 0 years of relevant experience.
• Active Top Secret security clearance and SCI eligibility at the time of application.
• CISSP, CSSLP, CASP, CISM, or equivalent certification.
• Understanding of NIST 800-37, NIST 800-53, and OWASP Top 10 security controls.
• Understanding of systems engineering requirements analysis, decomposition, and analysis processes.
• Experience with cloud security and best practices.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the Software Development LifeCycle, Systems Engineering Review Processes, and system/software accreditation milestones.
• Technical leadership and/or mentorship experience.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s and/or master’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, or Information Systems Management.
• At least 2 years of experience in the Defense Space Industry.
• Experience with and/or certification in Earned Value Management (EVM).
• Experience in application security, software development, DevOps, and/or a related field.
• Familiarity with Zero-Trust security principles and implementation approaches.

Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and/or implementation of secure systems in an Agile engineering environment and continuously ensure compliance with program security requirements.
• Work with vehicle vendors to communicate ground security requirements and support integration of space vehicle hardware into overall operational ground accreditation.
• Help identify, prioritize, and guide strategic oversight of software security requirements, including triaging Static Code Analysis findings and prioritizing technical debt in the Software Development LifeCycle backlog.
• Advise software development scrum teams on secure coding, cybersecurity for containerized and orchestrated environments and CI/CD pipelines, security-focused engineering trade studies, and security best practices.
• Conduct mission software security assessments, including code reviews, vulnerability assessments, and application security testing, contributing to the system and software architecture’s overall security posture.
• Assist with development and implementation of security tools and automation for static and dynamic code analysis, software dependency scanning, compliance and vulnerability scanning, and auditing and event monitoring.
• Develop RMF artifacts, including System Security Plans, Risk Assessment Reports, Security Controls Traceability Matrices, Plans of Action and Milestones, and application security policies and practices.
• Support system accreditation and Authority to Operate efforts, including security assessments conducted through the RMF process.
• Document Standard Operating Procedures and, when needed, perform software patch installation, flaw remediation, antivirus updates, and continuous monitoring activities.
• Ensure systems are operated, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with security policies and procedures in the system security authorization package.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Savings plan.
• Company-paid holidays.
• Paid time off for vacation and/or personal business.
• Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus.

What This Job Offers

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