Senior Principal Systems Engineer – Space Missions

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE:
Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START:
Yes

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 in Dulles, Virginia, is seeking an experienced Systems Engineer to join the rapidly growing Space Superiority Division. Space is no longer a sanctuary— it is increasingly contested and operationally complex, and the need for resilient, responsive spacecraft and mission capabilities has never been greater. This is a chance to work on some of the most consequential technical challenges in the space domain and to see your work fly.

You’ll join a cross-disciplinary team that develops, integrates, tests, and delivers advanced spacecraft and mission systems for space security missions, while building expertise in and contributing to Northrop Grumman’s rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) capabilities. RPO is routine work for this team, backed by hands-on operational experience and a proven on-orbit track record. Northrop Grumman leads the industry in this capability, and joining this team means working alongside the people who helped make that true.

As a Systems Engineer, you'll apply systems engineering principles across the full mission lifecycle, from early concept development and analysis through integration, test, launch, and on-orbit mission execution.

Prior space experience is not required, but demonstrated experience developing, integrating, testing, or operating complex technical systems is essential. Some of our strongest engineers came from naval systems, aircraft, missiles, electronics, autonomous vehicles, robotics, and other engineering fields. If you know how to make complex systems work and you want to apply those skills to one of the most important and fastest growing areas of national security, we want to hear from you.

Primary responsibilities include:

Supporting major program milestones and readiness reviews by developing technical content and translating complex information into clear presentations for key stakeholders.

Authoring and contributing to program data products, systems engineering artifacts, and other critical deliverables.

Collaborating with mission partners to develop and mature the system with a focus on successful mission execution.

Supporting the development of new spacecraft or modification of existing spacecraft to enable an accelerated path from concept to launch.

Developing and applying an understanding of spacecraft operations and design reference missions, particularly missions involving RPO in a contested space domain.

Developing analysis and modeling tools to evaluate mission concepts and spacecraft performance.

Managing requirements, including decomposing mission-level objectives into system and subsystem requirements and maintaining traceability throughout the development lifecycle.

Managing internal and external interfaces, particularly payloads, host vehicles, and RPO sensor…