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Principal Engineer Systems RQ-4 FMS IFC Manager

Northrop Grumman

San Diego, CAJob$114–171K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$114–171K/yr
Location
San Diego, CA
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.

Secret clearance, required

Job overview

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems seeks a Principal Systems Engineer to manage RQ-4 FMS IFC activities. The role integrates engineering, integration/test, and program management, coordinating scope, schedules, and technical content across teams. The manager tracks IFC readiness and drives closure of gaps and risks, while ensuring aligned deliveries and technical solutions meet contractual and system-level objectives.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

IFC Management, nice to haveScope Coordination, requiredSchedule Coordination, requiredTechnical Content Coordination, requiredSystems Engineering, requiredConfiguration Planning, requiredCommunication, nice to haveOrganization, nice to haveFacilitation, nice to haveIFC Release Management, nice to haveRequirements Management Tools, nice to haveIntegrated Scheduling, nice to haveSystem Integration, nice to haveRisk Management, nice to haveIssue Management, nice to have

Qualifications

BS in STEM + 5 Years, MS in STEM + 3 Years, or PhD + 1 Year, requiredSystems Engineer or Technical Project Engineer or Technical Program Manager Experience, requiredComplex Systems or Software-Intensive Programs Experience, requiredActive Secret or Higher Clearance, requiredUS Citizenship, required

Benefits

Medical Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off

Full job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

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 Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal Systems Engineer - RQ-4 FMS IFC Manager to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Systems Engineering organization. This position is located in Rancho Bernardo, CA .

In this role, you will serve as a key integrator across engineering, integration/test, and program management, with your primary responsibility in IFC Management. You will coordinate scope, schedules, and technical content to ensure aligned deliveries across multiple teams.

Responsibilities:

  • Define and maintain IFC scope and content in coordination with engineering, integration, and program leadership.

  • Collaborate with Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) to develop, maintain, and execute program IFC plans.

  • Manage project execution rhythm, including coordination of cross-functional activities, schedule integration, and status reporting to program leadership.

  • Act as a technical focal between systems, software, hardware, network, cyber, and integration labs to ensure end to end alignment.

  • Track IFC readiness (requirements, design, implementation, integration, and test status) and drive closure of gaps and risks.

  • Apply familiarity with and understanding of system requirements, Interface Control Documents (ICDs), and Statements of Work (SOW) to ensure technical solutions and deliverables meet contractual and system-level objectives.

  • Exercise strong communication, organization, and facilitation skills, with the ability to work across engineering, integration/test, and program management.

Basic Qualifications:

  • Must have a Bachelors of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a Master's Degree in a STEM field and at least 3 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a PhD and at least 1 year of relevant military / professional / academic experience

  • Must have experience in a systems engineer, technical project engineer, or technical program manager role on complex systems or software-intensive programs.

  • Must have experience coordinating scope, schedule, and technical content across multiple teams or disciplines.

  • Must have experience with configuration/increment planning (e.g., builds, drops, releases).

  • Must have an active US Government Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Experience managing or supporting IFC/release content for aerospace, defense, or other complex systems.

  • Familiarity with requirements and configuration management tools (e.g., DOORS, Jira, or similar).

  • Experience building and maintaining integrated schedules or technical roadmaps.

  • Background in system integration, lab integration, or system-level test and the associated readiness/entry-exit criteria.

  • Experience in risk and issue management, including tracking, reporting, and mitigation planning on technical programs.

#Yellow

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 3,197 open Systems Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 11, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$114–171K/yr
  • California median$158–232K/yr467 salary ranges
  • US median$129–205K/yr2,291 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $143K, is 27% below the California median midpoint ($195K) — in the lowest quarter of Systems Engineering salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 570 open Systems Engineering jobs in California and 3,197 across the US. 6% 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 Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for (median 7 years, across 2,518 postings).
Education
1,090 of the 3,197 open Systems Engineering jobs (34%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 11, 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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