Sentinel - Systems​/Principal Systems Engineer; GN&C

Relocation assistance may be available.

Clearance required:

Secret. Travel:
Yes, 10% of the time.

At Northrop Grumman Defense Systems, we seek a Systems Engineer or Principal Systems Engineer to support flight simulator development, Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) algorithm development, and rigorous model and requirements verification and validation, for the Sentinel program. The position will be located in Roy, UT / Huntsville, AL / Manhattan Beach, CA.

• Work in multi‑disciplinary teams to develop, verify, and validate a complex 6‑degree of freedom missile flight simulator.
• Design and implement guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) algorithms.
• Develop software tools for analyzing GN&C performance.
• Conduct system performance assessments for performance against mission requirements.
• Perform GN&C system and accuracy analysis of flight tests.

• Eligibility: US Citizen with an active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at time of application and an investigation completed within the last 6 years. Must be able to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) approval within a reasonable period of time.
• Experience: 2+ years in guidance, navigation, or control algorithm development and/or analysis for launch vehicles, missiles, spacecraft, and/or aircraft applications.
• 2+ years in high‑level programming languages (MATLAB, C++) and Object‑Oriented Programming design.
• 2+ years working in a highly collaborative and dynamic team‑based environment.
• For T‑02 Systems Engineer: 2 years experience with Bachelor’s degree or 0 years with Master’s degree. Additional 4 years experience can be considered in lieu of degree.
• For T‑03 Principal Systems Engineer:
  • 5 years with Bachelor’s degree or 3 years with Master’s degree or 1 year with PhD.
  • Additional 4 years experience can be considered in lieu of degree.

• Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• DoD Top Secret Clearance.
• Experience in sensor navigation, including inertial, radio, and/or optical navigation techniques.
• Experience with strategic missile guidance and implementation of guidance algorithms.
• Experience in trajectory optimization, non‑linear control, and/or adaptive/autonomous flight control systems.
• Experience with optimal state estimation filters (e.g., Kalman).
• Knowledge of machine learning applications for adaptive flight control.
• Proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, C/C++, Python, and/or other tools for GN&C simulation and development.
• Knowledge of aerodynamic modeling, flight mechanics, missile/re‑entry vehicle dynamics.
• Experience with hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HWIL) testing, embedded control systems, and real‑time software integration.
• Experience with software version control system (e.g., Git) and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) practices.

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) plan.
• Educational assistance.
• Life insurance.
• Employee assistance programs and work/life solutions.
• Paid time off and health & wellness resources.
• Employee discounts.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit