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Principal / Senior Principal Cyber Systems Engineer

Northrop Grumman

Los Angeles, CAFull-time$125–235K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$125–235K/yr
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Schedule
Full-time
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.

DoD 8570 IAT Level II+Secret clearance

Job overview

Northrop Grumman seeks a Principal or Senior Principal Cyber Systems Engineer for its Specialty Engineering Team in Woodland Hills, California. The role implements cybersecurity tasks under the Risk Management Framework, supports engineering teams using Agile methods, and applies government cyber requirements to weapons systems. The position is fully onsite and follows a 9/80 schedule.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Risk Management FrameworkSecurity Control ImplementationGovernance Risk ComplianceSecurity Control AssessmentDoD Systems EngineeringNetwork TechnologiesSystem Development LifecyclesIT Infrastructure ManagementIT Infrastructure MonitoringCommunicationTeamworkAnalytical SkillsTroubleshootingTechnical DocumentationSystem ConfigurationNIST SP 800-53DoD RMF GuidanceDoD 8500.01DoD 8510.01NIST 800-37NIST 800-53NIST 800-171DISA STIGsVulnerability RemediationSystem Security PlansPOA&MsRemediation PlanningSecurity AssessmentsAuditingCloud SecuritySecDevOpsSASTNegotiationInterpersonal Skills

Qualifications

Bachelor's+5, Master's+3 or PhD+1 YearsDOD 8570 IAT Level II+U.S. CitizenshipSecret Clearance or Ability to ObtainBachelor's or Master's Technical DegreeActive Secret DoD Clearance

Benefits

Relocation Assistance
Medical Insurance
Paid Time Off

Full job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: 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 Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission!

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Principal or Senior Principal Cyber Systems Engineer with the ability to obtain a security clearance to work with our Specialty Engineering Team out of Woodland Hills, CA. As a Cyber Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman, you will have a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be a part of our Enterprise-wide digital transformation. Through the use of Model-based Engineering, DevSecOps and Agile practices we continue to evolve how we deliver critical national defense products and capabilities for the warfighter. Our success is grounded in our ability to embrace change, move quickly and continuously drive innovation. The successful candidate will be collaborative, open, transparent, and team-oriented with a focus on team empowerment & shared responsibility, flexibility, continuous learning, and a culture of automation. This is an exciting, challenging and specialized role for a talented, energized and innovative individual. This is fully onsite position located in Woodland Hills, CA working a 9/80 schedule.

What You’ll get to Do:

Candidate will perform Cybersecurity tasks to implement the Risk Management Framework (RMF). Including: Selection and implementation of security controls to meet applicable government standards, Interfacing with engineering teams practicing Agile development methods, applying specific understanding of the risk management framework (RMF), and using knowledge of government Cyber requirements applicable to weapons systems.

Roles & Responsibilities:

  • Have fundamental knowledge of DOD Systems Engineering practices, network technologies, system development life-cycles and methodologies, and insight into information technology infrastructure management/monitoring and applications;

  • Understand how their tasks fit within the overall program operational objectives and perform their work accordingly, have strong verbal/written communication skills, the ability to work well within a team environment, and strong analytical capabilities with the interest in applying troubleshooting skills and techniques to solve problems.

  • Develop and document technical documentation and procedures as needed

  • Participate in team reviews of technical requirements, design and implementation plans prior to deployment

  • Recommend and implement system enhancements that will improve the performance, reliability, and security of the system including installing, upgrading, monitoring, problem resolution, and configuration

  • Ensure systems are operated, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with internal security policies and practices outlined in the security plan

  • Provide analysis, design, development, implementation and security assessments to ensure compliance with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-53, and DoD RMF Knowledge Service guidance.

  • Serve as Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) supporting high-level technical and practical expertise

  • Support the continuous assessment of IA Control compliance for the program

  • Expected to perform peer reviews of customer facing cyber documentation

This requisition may be filled as a Principal Cyber Systems Engineer or Senior Principal Cyber Systems Engineer.

Basic Qualifications Principal Cyber Systems Engineer:

  • Bachelor’s degree plus 5 years of relevant experience; Master's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience; PhD. plus 1 year of relevant experience

  • Must possess DOD 8570 IAT Level II or greater (e.g. Security+)

  • Demonstrated experience in governance, risk, and compliance, and Implementation and assessment of security controls.

  • Working knowledge of:

  • DoD 8500.01

  • DoD 8510.01

  • NIST 800-37

  • NIST 800-53

  • NIST 800-171

  • Working knowledge of:

  • DISA Secure Technical Implementation Guide (STIGs)

  • Vulnerability Remediation, System Security Plans (SSPs)

  • Plan of Actions and Milestones (POAMs)

  • Remediation Planning

  • Security Assessments

  • Auditing

  • Cloud Security

  • Security Development Operations (SecDevOps)

  • Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

  • U.S. citizenship is required

  • The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance is required.

Basic Qualifications Senior Principal Cyber Systems Engineer:

  • Bachelor’s degree plus 8 years of relevant experience; Master's degree plus 6 years of relevant experience; PhD. plus 4 years of relevant experience

  • Must possess DOD 8570 IAT Level II or greater (e.g. Security+)

  • Demonstrated experience in governance, risk, and compliance, and Implementation and assessment of security controls.

  • Working knowledge of:

  • DoD 8500.01

  • DoD 8510.01

  • NIST 800-37

  • NIST 800-53

  • NIST 800-171

  • Working knowledge of:

  • DISA Secure Technical Implementation Guide (STIGs)

  • Vulnerability Remediation, System Security Plans (SSPs)

  • Plan of Actions and Milestones (POAMs),

  • Remediation Planning

  • Security Assessments

  • Auditing

  • Cloud Security

  • Security Development Operations (SecDevOps)

  • Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

  • U.S. citizenship is required

  • The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance is required.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree with a technical emphasis (e.g. Information Systems, Information Technology, Computer Science, EE).

  • Possess active Secret DoD Security Clearance.

  • Excellent communication (written and oral), negotiation and interpersonal skills necessary to support activities/challenges working with engineering teams, management, customers, partners and government

Primary Level Salary Range: $125,300.00 - $187,900.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $156,400.00 - $234,600.00

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: Information Technology

How this job compares

Set against the 1,759 open Cybersecurity Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 5, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$125–235K/yr
  • California median$125–200K/yr111 salary ranges
  • US median$122–200K/yr1,395 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $180K, is 6% above the California median midpoint ($170K) — in the middle half of Cybersecurity Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 124 open Cybersecurity Engineer jobs in California and 1,759 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Cybersecurity Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 1,626 postings).
Education
512 of the 1,759 open Cybersecurity Engineer jobs (29%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 5, 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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