Sr. Principal Software Development Analyst – Quality Engineering & Business Process Integration

Northrop Grumman•San Diego, CA

7d•$122,800 - $213,400•Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman’s CIDO team is seeking a Sr. Principal Software Development Analyst to support PLM Architect Solutions. This senior individual contributor operates at a senior principal level and provides enterprise-wide leadership in software testing, quality engineering, and quality governance. The role defines and drives testing standards, strengthens software quality practices, advances test automation, and helps ensure technology solutions integrate effectively with critical business processes. The successful candidate brings deep software testing and quality engineering expertise, an understanding of business processes, and strong cross-functional collaboration skills. The role works with product, development, operations, and business teams to influence engineering excellence at scale and ensure business requirements become reliable, secure, high-performing solutions. This is a full-time, on-site position at one of the listed locations: Roy, Utah; Melbourne, Florida; San Diego, California; or Palmdale, California. No virtual or telecommute work is available because of the classified nature of the work. A current U.S. Government Secret clearance is required for consideration. Travel is 10% of the time. Relocation assistance is not available.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related STEM discipline and 8 years of relevant experience, or a master’s degree in one of those fields and 6 years of relevant experience.
Current U.S. Government Secret security clearance.
At least 5 years of experience in software development, quality engineering, software testing, or a closely related discipline.
At least 3 years of experience leading enterprise or multi-program testing and quality initiatives as a senior technical individual contributor or quality lead.
Experience with software testing methodologies, SDLC, and Agile/DevOps practices, including test planning, design, execution, and reporting.
Strong experience with automated testing tools and frameworks, such as UI, API, performance, and regression automation.
Experience validating enterprise applications, APIs, integrations, and cloud-based solutions, including microservices and SaaS/PaaS platforms.
Demonstrated ability to establish and enforce quality standards, governance processes, and test automation strategies across multiple teams.
Proven experience working directly with business stakeholders to align technology solutions, testing strategies, and quality outcomes with business processes.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering, or a related discipline.
Active Security+ certification or higher.
Quality-related certification such as ISTQB, CSQA, CSTE, or equivalent.
Experience with cloud platforms such as Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud and testing strategies for cloud-native applications.
Experience with CI/CD platforms and DevSecOps practices, including security and compliance checks in pipelines.
Knowledge of performance testing, security testing, service-level validation, and test data management techniques.
Experience supporting large-scale digital transformation initiatives, modernizing legacy platforms, or implementing new enterprise systems.
Background in process improvement methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, or Business Process Management.
Experience with metrics-driven dashboards and reporting for quality and delivery performance.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including interpreting metrics, identifying trends, and proposing data-driven improvements.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to influence and collaborate across technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

Define and drive enterprise-wide software testing and quality engineering standards aligned with engineering and delivery frameworks.
Establish and maintain quality metrics, KPIs, and reporting to measure software reliability, release confidence, and delivery effectiveness.
Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of testing frameworks, methodologies, and best practices across applications and platforms.
Champion shift-left testing and quality-by-design principles throughout the software development life cycle.
Provide technical leadership for functional, integration, regression, performance, and user acceptance testing, including strategy, planning, and execution oversight.
Advise product teams, engineering leadership, and operations stakeholders on software quality.
Lead the design, expansion, and governance of automated testing for enterprise applications, APIs, and integrations.
Evaluate, recommend, and help implement testing tools and frameworks for UI automation, API testing, performance testing, and test data management.
Define and enforce CI/CD quality gates and automated validation, integrating automated tests into build and deployment pipelines.
Ensure automated test coverage supports release readiness, operational stability, and safe deployment.
Partner with DevOps and engineering teams to integrate testing into continuous integration and continuous delivery workflows.
Develop and maintain software quality assurance controls, standards, and governance frameworks across programs and platforms.
Conduct quality reviews and testing assessments for critical initiatives and recommend improvements to test strategy, coverage, and risk mitigation.
Identify quality risks and defect trends, and recommend mitigation strategies and systemic improvements.
Support regulatory, audit, compliance, and security testing requirements in partnership with security and compliance teams.
Facilitate root cause analysis and corrective action planning for production incidents, and incorporate lessons learned into standards and practices.
Collaborate with business stakeholders to understand operational workflows, process dependencies, and customer experience goals.
Ensure software solutions align with business objectives, process efficiencies, and quality outcomes; identify gaps between intended and actual process behavior.
Analyze business processes and identify opportunities to improve quality through automation, workflow optimization, and better test coverage.
Translate business requirements and process changes into measurable quality objectives and testing strategies.
Support process improvement initiatives that enhance software delivery effectiveness, operational stability, and business performance.
Partner with Product Management, Software Engineering, Architecture, Operations, Security, and Business teams to align quality engineering with strategic priorities.
Guide and mentor quality engineers, analysts, and testing teams in adopting consistent best practices.
Facilitate quality planning sessions, release readiness reviews, and go/no-go discussions for critical releases.
Communicate testing outcomes, quality risks, and recommendations to executive and technical stakeholders; prepare concise, data-driven quality summaries.
Promote continuous improvement in engineering and quality practices across teams and programs.

Benefits

Flexible work arrangements
Learning opportunities
Friendly team environment
Health insurance and healthcare coverage
Life insurance
Disability insurance
9/80 work schedule
401(k) matching
Company-paid holidays
Paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business
Potential eligibility for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus, depending on the position