Principal Ground Software Development Engineer

RTX • El Segundo, CA

7d • $118,300 - $224,900 • Onsite

About The Position

At Raytheon, the foundation of everything we do is rooted in our values and a higher calling – to help our nation and allies defend freedoms and deter aggression. We bring the strength of more than 100 years of experience and renowned engineering expertise to meet the needs of today’s mission and stay ahead of tomorrow’s threat. Our team solves tough, meaningful problems that create a safer, more secure world.
We are looking for a skilled Principal Ground Software Development Engineer with embedded development experience to join our Space and RF Sensors team in El Segundo, CA.
Raytheon El Segundo, CA Location

Requirements

• Typically requires a Bachelor’s degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and 8 years of relevant software experience.
• Experience leading software teams or technical execution for mission-critical systems.
• Experience developing object‑oriented software using C++ / C / Python in Linux environments.
• Experience with containerization (Docker or Podman), orchestration tools such as Kubernetes, and modern deployment workflows.
• Experience facilitating Agile teams, including Kanban or Scrum leadership roles.
• Active and transferable U.S. Government issued TS clearance (w/SCI eligibility) is required prior to start date. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.

Nice To Haves

• Experience deploying and debugging software in Kubernetes clusters using Helm charts, Podman container images, YAML files, and Kubectl diagnostic workflows.
• Expertise with CI/CD automation, especially Jenkins, automated system/unit tests, and DevSecOps pipelines.
• Experience with satellite ground systems, mission data processing, real-time operations, or other aerospace/defense mission systems.
• Familiarity with Atlassian tools (Confluence, Jira, Bitbucket) for backlog management, documentation, and workflow coordination.
• Experience performing technical reviews, DR/CR impact assessments, and customer-facing technical status presentations.
• Experience serving as a Product Owner or technical lead, including backlog prioritization, story creation, acceptance criteria, and execution management.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills to coordinate across multiple engineering disciplines and interface with customers.
• Proven ability to manage complex technical execution across multiple internal and external stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a technical leader within a highly-focused team responsible for developing, integrating, and delivering real-time embedded and mission‑critical software for satellite ground systems.
• Own major technical execution areas, guide architectural decisions, coordinate across multiple engineering disciplines, interface directly with customers, and ensure successful delivery of Ground Software (GSW) capabilities.
• Work closely with systems engineering, integration and test, mission operations, program leadership, and external stakeholders to drive execution, mitigate risks, and ensure the success of high-visibility software deliveries.
• Own the technical execution and delivery of mission‑critical Ground Software (GSW), ensuring performance, quality, and schedule adherence.
• Lead planning, development, and maintenance of build plans, including recurring build releases, execution priorities, and coordination with control accounts and program leadership.
• Facilitate Kanban workflow, assign stories, manage backlog health, and provide technical direction to the GSW team.
• Design, develop, test, deliver, and maintain software for advanced satellite ground systems, applying modern architectures and high‑reliability coding practices.
• Lead and present technical content at internal and external meetings, including Control Change Boards (CCB), Software Segment Review Boards (SSRB), Working Groups, and weekly program/customer technical sessions.
• Prepare, coordinate, and deliver technical artifacts such as build readiness packages, impact assessments (ICDs/requirements changes), discrepancy report (DR/CR) reviews, and technical status briefings.
• Coordinate cross-team work, including Hardware-to-Hardware (H2H) transfers, Configuration Management (CM), Data Management (DM), and lab/IT support.
• Provide senior technical oversight, reviewing peer designs, PMR charts, discrepancy reports, and software installations for new releases.
• Drive DevSecOps and CI/CD improvements, including automated testing in Jenkins pipelines, containerization workflows (Docker/Podman), and Kubernetes-based deployments.
• Guide software architecture decisions across multi-threaded applications, microservices, AWS services, Kubernetes clusters, Helm charts, and YAML configurations.
• Collaborate directly with customers, supporting install events, prioritizing DRs, resolving issues, and providing build forecasts to CAMs and IMS stakeholders.
• Support program-wide leadership meetings, including daily SW leadership syncs, mission engineering customer forums, SDRL coordination updates, and weekly execution sessions.
• Work onsite in El Segundo, CA.

Benefits

• The RTX Employee Scholar Program pays for tuition, academic fees and books for undergraduate and graduate study at approved educational institutions
• 401(k) plan that offers a broad range of investment options. For eligible employees, we will match up to 4% of your savings to help you build financial security
• Flexible work schedules and paid time off to accommodate work/life balance including many with every other Friday off
• medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays.
• annual short-term and/or long-term incentive compensation programs

What This Job Offers

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