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Systems Engineer - Level 2/3 - East Hartford

Northrop Grumman

East Hartford, CTJob$92–138K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$92–138K/yr
Location
East Hartford, CT
Work Authorization
US work authorization required

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Top Secret clearance

Job overview

Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector seeks a Level 2 or Level 3 Systems Engineer to support the Optics product area in East Hartford. The role leads MBSE architecture development and translates mission needs into architectures, requirements, behaviors, interfaces, and traceable model artifacts. The engineer will support requirements management, modeling and analysis, interface development, and collaboration across engineering and mission teams. The position is 100% onsite and follows a 9/80 schedule.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Model-Based Systems EngineeringSystem ArchitectureRequirements AnalysisInterface DefinitionTechnical DecompositionAnalytical Problem SolvingOral CommunicationWritten CommunicationPresentation SkillsMS OfficeIndependent WorkTeamworkAdvanced DevelopmentCampaign PlanningConcept DefinitionCross-Functional InfluenceCATIA Magic/Cameo ModelerDigital Engineering ToolchainsModel-Based MethodsModel-Centric Architecture DevelopmentProblem Solving

Qualifications

Bachelor's in STEM + 2 Years or Master's + 0 YearsBachelor's in STEM + 5 Years or Master's + 3 Years or PhD + 1 YearTop-Secret Clearance EligibilityAdvanced Degree in Systems Engineering or Related Technical FieldActive Top-Secret Clearance

Benefits

Relocation Assistance
Medical Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off

Full job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: None

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’s Space Sector is seeking a Systems Engineer – Level 2 or Level 3 to join our team in East Hartford, CT. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.

While the preferred home location for this role is East Hartford, CT, highly qualified candidates currently based near Hanover, MD may be considered to sit at our Hanover, MD site.

Thermal, Optics, & Power Systems (TOPS) Operating Unit is a leading supplier of complex electro-optic and photonic systems, heat-pipe thermal systems and electronic power systems.

Reporting to the Structural Engineering Manager, the Systems Engineer will support the Optics product area under TOPS: Thermal heat pipes, opto-mechanical systems, and electrical power systems. We are seeking a Systems Engineer with deep Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) expertise, strong systems thinking, and the judgment, drive, and work ethic to help teams move faster and smarter. You will play a key role in enabling our engineers to make better decisions, reduce iteration cycles, and deliver high-confidence solutions.

This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.

Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Lead MBSE architecture development for advanced concept and campaign efforts

  • Translate high-level mission needs into coherent architectures, requirements, behaviors, interfaces, and traceable model artifacts

  • Requirements Development & Management:

  • Organize and define system level requirements, derive and allocate requirements to subsystems (performing or coordinating analyses as required), manage the requirements baseline in a relational database (such as DOORS), write clear requirement specifications, create Requirements Traceability and Verification Matrices (RTVMs), and collect the objective quality evidence (OQE) that verifies requirements are met.

  • Modeling, Simulation & Analysis:

  • Develop system modeling, simulation, analysis and trade study activities, system capability analysis, system performance/effectiveness analysis to ensure performance capabilities are consistent with mission requirements.

  • Interface Development & Management:

  • Identify external and internal interfaces, define parameters that characterize those interfaces (performing or coordinating analyses as required), develop interface control documents & deliverables, and participate in system architecture & design development to resolve interface issues and ensure interface compliance

  • Collaborate across systems, software, hardware, integration, and mission teams to align technical solutions and execution

  • Communicate complex technical ideas in clear, concise terms tailored to both engineering teams and senior leadership

  • Conduct peer reviews of engineering work products to ensure quality, consistency, and technical integrity

  • undefined

  • Other duties as assigned

If this job description reads like it was written specifically for you, consider joining our team!

This position can be filled at either a Level 2 or Level 3.

Basic Qualifications for Level 2:

  • Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field with 2 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 0 years of professional experience.

  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret security clearance

  • Hands-on Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) experience on complex aerospace, defense, or advanced technology programs

  • Demonstrated strength in system architecture, requirements analysis, interface definition, and technical decomposition of complex systems

  • Analytical problem solver with strong technical abilities; results and deadline driven; excellent oral and written communication skills including presentation skills

  • Proficient in MS Office software

  • Ability to work independently with minimal direction while contributing effectively in a team environment

Basic Qualifications for Level 3:

  • Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field with 5 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 3 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 1 year of professional experience.

  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret security clearance

  • Hands-on Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) experience on complex aerospace, defense, or advanced technology programs

  • Demonstrated strength in system architecture, requirements analysis, interface definition, and technical decomposition of complex systems

  • Analytical problem solver with strong technical abilities; results and deadline driven; excellent oral and written communication skills including presentation skills

  • Proficient in MS Office software

  • Ability to work independently with minimal direction while contributing effectively in a team environment

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Advanced degree in Systems Engineering or related technical field.

  • Experience supporting advanced development, campaign planning, or early-phase concept definition activities for Space applications

  • Experience influencing technical direction across cross-functional teams.

  • Demonstrated ability to solve hard problems with urgency, creativity, and discipline

  • Experience with MBSE software tools (e.g. CATIA Magic/Cameo Modeler)

  • Familiarity with digital engineering toolchains, model-based methods, and model-centric architecture development

  • Active Top Secret security clearance

Working Environment & Physical Demands:

  • Travel as required (10%)

  • Ability to sit and/or stand for extended periods of times and light physical effort as required

Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below:

https://www.northropgrumman.com/space

Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.

Northrop Grumman Total Rewards (https://totalrewards.northropgrumman.com/?\_gl=1*1y2u5rc*\_gcl\_au*MTkyMjcyNDUxNS4xNzUyNTg4MDg3*\_ga*MzA4NDM5NjgzLjE2NzM5ODM3ODg.*\_ga\_7YV3CDX0R2*czE3NTMyNzU3NDgkbzEyMzckZzEkdDE3NTMyNzY2ODQkajU5JGwwJGgw)

#SpaceEngJobs

#SpaceSysEngJobs

Primary Level Salary Range: $91,800.00 - $137,600.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $108,800.00 - $171,000.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.

Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.

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 http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.

Job Category: Engineering

How this job compares

Set against the 10,973 open Systems Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 29, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$92–138K/yr
  • Connecticut median$97–196K/yr42 salary ranges
  • US median$115–188K/yr8,067 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $115K, is 22% below the Connecticut median midpoint ($146K) — in the middle half of Systems Engineer salary ranges in Connecticut.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 76 open Systems Engineer jobs in Connecticut and 10,973 across the US. 4% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Connecticut
Experience
This posting asks for no prior experience — less than three in four Systems Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 9,115 postings).
Education
4,704 of the 10,973 open Systems Engineer jobs (43%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 29, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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