Software Engineer - AI​/ML Specialist Security Clearance

Position: Staff Software Engineer - AI/ML Specialist with Security Clearance
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE:
No relocation assistance available CLEARANCE TYPE:
Top Secret TRAVEL:
Yes, 10% of the Time Description At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon.

We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work - and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Northrop Grumman Space Systems, Multi-Domain Operations, and Missile Defense Integration Business Unit (BU) has an exciting career opportunity for a Staff Software Engineer - Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) Specialist to support the design, guidance, and implementation of AI/ML-enabled capabilities for missile defense mission areas. The successful candidate will contribute across multiple phases of the mission lifecycle, supporting analytical, modeling, simulation, and decision-support activities related to detection, tracking, discrimination, fire control, and engagement functions within a complex system-of-systems environment.

The position is in Huntsville, AL.

Position Overview:

The selected Staff Software Engineer - AI/ML Specialist will collaborate with systems engineers, domain experts, and software developers to identify appropriate problem formulations and opportunities for the application of AI/ML techniques. Responsibilities include developing and curating training and evaluation datasets from diverse sources, defining data management and labeling strategies, and designing scalable training, testing, and validation infrastructure consistent with program constraints and security requirements.

Essential Functions:

* The selected candidate will be responsible for guiding the selection, development, and integration of AI/ML models into existing analytical, modeling, and simulation frameworks, ensuring alignment with system architectures, interfaces, and performance objectives. This includes supporting model evaluation, uncertainty characterization, robustness assessments, and lifecycle considerations such as retraining, configuration management, and traceability.

* The AI/ML Specialist will also contribute to the establishment of best practices, standards, and governance for AI/ML usage, including documentation, verification and validation approaches, and coordination with broader digital engineering and systems engineering processes. Emphasis will be placed on explainability, testability, and integration within mission-relevant workflows, while maintaining compliance with applicable policies, security requirements, and program constraints.

* The AI/ML Specialist will provide guidance and subject matter expertise to the Digital Ecosystem and Platforms team for the SE&I Team's AI adoption strategy. Key tasks include identification, evaluation, and integration of Large Language Model(s), as well as use case specific AI tooling such as SysML modeling and Integrated Development Environment (IDE) plug-ins.

* Represent the Systems Engineering and Integration Team to Missile Defense Agency to internal and external stakeholders in reviews and technical interchanges related to AI/ML.
* Collaborate with team Subject Matter Experts to ensure technical quality of engineering and analysis products.
* Create and present briefings within the team and to Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and supporting stakeholders.

* Duties will include leading small teams of engineers in the development of products.

* The position is in Huntsville, AL and is located on a customer site at the Boeing Jetplex facility. The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, and collaborative/team settings across all levels.

Basic Qualifications:

* Bachelor's Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 12 years of related experience, or a Master's Degree and 10 years of related experience, or 8 years of related experience with a PhD.

* Demonstrated experience applying multiple Artificial Intelligence and/or Machine Learning techniques (e.g., artificial neural networks, Bayesian belief networks, decision trees) to complex technical or analytical problems.
* Experience working with data-centric workflows, including data preparation, curation, labeling, and quality assessment for analytical or modeling purposes.

* Familiarity with the full AI/ML lifecycle, including model development, training,…