Staff Ground Software Development Lead
About The Position
Northrop Grumman Space Systems is seeking a Staff Ground Software Development Lead (Level 5) for its Space Superiority Division. This hands-on technical and leadership role is based in Dulles, Virginia, and is 100% onsite with no telecommuting. The schedule is 9/80, with every other Friday off. The lead owns the end-to-end software development lifecycle for a high-visibility ground software capability, using Northrop Grumman’s SAFe Agile framework. The role leads a focused team of approximately 10–15 developers to deliver high-quality increments aligned with the product roadmap. It involves regular coordination with the Chief Engineer, Program Manager, IPT leadership, and external customers, including support for major program milestones and readiness reviews. The lead provides technical direction for architecture, design, implementation, and integration; supports cost and schedule tracking; and works across Systems Engineering, Cyber, DevOps, Training, and Integration & Test. The position requires an active TS/SCI clearance at application and U.S. citizenship. Travel is 10% of the time; relocation assistance may be available.
Requirements
- Active Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) clearance at the time of application; U.S. citizenship is required.
- For Level 5: a bachelor’s degree and 12 years of software development experience; alternatively, an additional four years of experience may be considered in lieu of a completed bachelor’s degree, or a master’s degree and 10 years of experience, or a Ph.D. and 8 years of experience.
- Strong, in-depth software development background, including design, implementation, integration, and troubleshooting.
- Experience with ground segment or ground software for space systems, such as mission operations, command and telemetry, data processing, or ground infrastructure.
- Experience leading software development teams to deliver complex capabilities; experience with small, focused teams is preferred.
- Experience in an Agile development environment, such as SAFe or similar, including planning and executing sprints or program increments.
- Experience leading requirements development, testing, and verification for software systems.
- Demonstrated ability to write and present technical information to customers and executive or program management.
- Experience with Atlassian tools such as Jira and Confluence, or similar Agile lifecycle management tools.
- Awareness of Earned Value Management practices and experience supporting or partnering with CAMs on cost and schedule tracking, forecasts, and variance analysis.
Nice To Haves
- A degree in a STEM discipline.
- Hands-on technical lead experience with ground software for space or similarly complex, distributed systems.
- Experience with modern object-oriented languages such as C++, Java, or C#.
- Experience in Linux-based development environments.
- Experience with cloud-native architectures and containerization, such as Docker or Kubernetes.
- Experience with telemetry and command, mission planning, or ground data processing systems.
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-visibility environment with direct customer interaction and support for major milestone events.
- Strong communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills, including conflict resolution and negotiation while maintaining customer and stakeholder relationships.
- A record of improving team efficiency by streamlining processes, improving workflows, and introducing pragmatic best practices.
- Experience mentoring and developing early-career engineers.
Responsibilities
- Lead an Agile ground software team of approximately 10–15 engineers in delivering incremental capabilities, interfaces, and defect fixes aligned with the product roadmap, emphasizing schedule execution and quality.
- Serve as the primary ground software technical lead, guiding architecture, design, implementation, and integration decisions and helping resolve complex technical trade-offs.
- Interface with the Chief Engineer, Program Management, IPT and sub-IPT leads, and external customers, especially during design reviews, readiness reviews, demonstrations, and other major milestones.
- Coordinate and prepare technical content and briefings for recurring customer and internal reviews, including Integrated Design Reviews, PI Prioritization, Release Planning, and Program Management Reviews.
- Maintain team performance by removing obstacles, coaching the team, and refining processes to improve efficiency and predictability.
- Partner with CAMs and IPT leadership on staffing, schedule, and scope trades; monitor progress against cost and schedule baselines; and contribute to variance analysis, forecasts, and corrective actions.
- Chair or co-lead Agile ceremonies, including PI Planning, Sprint Planning, Sprint Reviews, and daily stand-ups.
- Collaborate with Systems Engineering, Cyber, DevOps, Training, and Integration & Test teams to ensure ground software integrates with the ground segment and mission concept of operations.
- Present technical approaches, risks, and recommendations clearly at technical and program boards.
- Drive continuous improvement by streamlining non-value-added processes, improving workflows, and promoting best practices.
Benefits
- Comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package.
- Health insurance coverage.
- Life and disability insurance.
- Savings plan.
- Company-paid holidays.
- Paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.
- Employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus, depending on the position.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
