Principal Engineer Software

Northrop Grumman • Colorado Springs, CO

1d • $103,600 - $155,400

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Space Systems is seeking a Software Engineer to support a program developing and fielding a new ground-based radar for Space Domain Awareness missions. The engineer will be a key member of the technical team, contributing to the design, implementation, integration, and sustainment of software used for mission execution, system control, data processing, and long-term radar-system sustainment. The role calls for foundational software-engineering knowledge and the ability to collaborate using systems-engineering principles to define, develop, test, debug, and document software solutions.

Requirements

• Experience developing software in Java.
• Experience building services or microservices using Spring Boot.
• Experience with containerization technologies such as Docker or Podman.
• Experience with Kubernetes for container orchestration and deployment.
• Experience with GitLab and CI/CD pipelines for automated build, test, and deployment.
• Experience developing software in a Linux environment.
• Experience with RESTful APIs and JSON-based interfaces.
• Experience with unit and integration testing, such as JUnit and Mockito.
• Familiarity with relational databases such as PostgreSQL or MySQL and basic SQL.
• Experience using debugging tools and techniques for Java and Linux, such as IDE debuggers, jstack, jmap, strace, gdb, or log-based debugging.
• Effective written and verbal communication skills.
• Must have an active U.S. Government Secret security clearance at the time of application, current and within scope.
• Five years of experience with a STEM bachelor's degree, or three years with a STEM master's degree; four additional years of experience are required in lieu of a degree.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with cloud-native or on-premise distributed systems.
• Experience designing and implementing microservice architectures.
• Experience with message-based or streaming systems such as Kafka or RabbitMQ.
• Experience with API gateways and service discovery mechanisms.
• Experience with infrastructure-as-code tools such as Ansible, Terraform, or Helm.
• Experience with monitoring, logging, and observability for containerized applications, such as Prometheus, Grafana, or ELK/EFK stack.
• Experience performing root-cause analysis in distributed systems using logs, traces, and metrics.
• Experience with profiling and performance tuning Java applications, such as VisualVM, JFR, JMC, or async profilers.
• Experience implementing robust logging and error-handling strategies to support production debugging.
• Experience with secure coding practices and a basic understanding of cybersecurity principles.
• Experience with Agile/Scrum software development methodologies.
• Experience integrating with C/C++ or other languages in mixed-technology systems.
• Experience working on real-time or mission-critical systems, such as radar, command and control, or other defense-related applications.
• Familiarity with DevSecOps practices and automated security scanning in CI/CD, such as SAST/DAST tools.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, integrate, and sustain software supporting mission execution, system control, data processing, and long-term radar-system sustainment.
• Collaborate with the technical team to define, develop, test, debug, and document software solutions.

Benefits

• Relocation assistance may be available.
• Health insurance coverage.
• Life insurance.
• Disability insurance.
• Savings plan.
• Company-paid holidays.
• Paid time off (PTO) 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: Principal