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Principal Guidance Navigation Control Engineer

Northrop Grumman

Manhattan Beach, CAFull-time$114–171K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$114–171K/yr
Location
Manhattan Beach, 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.

Top Secret clearance

Job overview

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Principal Guidance Navigation Control Engineer to support GSSC in Manhattan Beach, California. The engineer will develop and sustain the ICBM Minuteman III Operational Targeting Program, contribute to reviews and technical meetings, verify and validate targeting software requirements, and develop test materials and missile simulations. The role requires U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Orbital MechanicsLaunch Vehicle DynamicsNumerical Methods3DOF/6DOF SimulationsSimulation ArchitectureFORTRANC++PythonSoftware RequirementsSoftware TestingWritten CommunicationVerbal CommunicationAttention to DetailSoftware LifecycleRequirements AnalysisCodingVAX 3185vtVAX Systems

Qualifications

5 Years With Bachelor's in STEM or Related3 Years With Master's1 Year With PhDU.S. CitizenshipDoD Security Clearance EligibilityMaster's in Mechanical, Aerospace Engineering, or PhysicsActive DoD Secret or Higher Clearance

Benefits

Relocation Assistance
Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match
Tuition Assistance
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 Defense Systems is seeking Principal Guidance Navigation Control Engineer - 20430. This position will be located in Manhattan Beach, CA and will support GSSC.

What you’ll get to do:

  • Develop and sustain the ICBM Minuteman III Operational Targeting Program (MOTP)

  • Be part of a multi-disciplinary team of mathematicians, physicist, software, and system engineers

  • Participate and contribute to peer/code reviews, critical milestone reviews, and technical interchange meetings

  • Verify and validate targeting software requirements through systems engineering V process

  • Develop software test plans, software test descriptions, and software test reports

  • Develop and maintain 3 DOF and 6DOF missile simulations to test and analyze ICBM system performance

  • Collaborate with our customer, internal NGC sites and other disciplines

Position Benefits

As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman, you are eligible for our robust benefits package including

  • Medical, Dental & Vision coverage

  • 401k

  • Educational Assistance

  • Life Insurance

  • Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions

  • Paid Time Off

  • Health & Wellness Resources

  • Employee Discounts

This positions standard work schedule is a 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off. This role may offer a competitive relocation assistance package.

Basic Qualifications:

•5 Years with Bachelors in STEM Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or Applied Mathematics or related field; 3 Years with Masters; 1 year with PhD.

•Must be a US Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government DoD security clearance (Secret, Top Secret, etc.) within a reasonable period, as determined by the company to meet its business need.

•Experience with ICBMs and one or more of the following subject matters: orbital mechanics, launch vehicle dynamics, numerical methods.

•Experience with developing, analyzing, and maintaining 3DOF or 6DOF simulations and simulation architecture.

•Experience in FORTRAN, C++, Python or similar

•Experience in software system requirements and testing.

•Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

•Excellent attention to detail.

Preferred Qualifications

•Master’s degree in mechanical, aerospace engineering, or physics

•Active DoD Secret or higher clearance

•Experience in full software lifecycle: Requirements analysis, coding, testing, and sell off

•Experience with VAX 3185 and/or vtVAX systems

#Sentinelsoftware

Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $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 11,576 open Systems Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 4, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$114–171K/yr
  • California median$142–210K/yr1,765 salary ranges
  • US median$116–190K/yr8,504 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $143K, is 19% below the California median midpoint ($175K) — in the lowest quarter of Systems Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 2,078 open Systems Engineer jobs in California and 11,576 across the US. 5% 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 Systems Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 9,652 postings).
Education
4,541 of the 11,576 open Systems Engineer jobs (39%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 4, 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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