Northrop Grumman logo

Sr Principal Engineer Systems

Northrop Grumman

Plymouth, MNJob$136–204K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

Most applications go out cold — see where you stand first. No sign-up to start.

You apply on the employer's site, with no Olive account needed.

Watch jobs like this.

Don't just apply. Show up ready.

Olive works from this exact posting.

At a glance

Compensation
$136–204K/yr
Location
Plymouth, MN
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

Job overview

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Systems Engineer for its Specialty Engineering team in Plymouth, Minnesota, supporting munition, fuzing, and weapon system development programs. The role plans and performs specialty engineering analyses, leads safety programs and design-review activities, and collaborates with design, test, and environmental health and safety teams. The team’s domains include systems safety, reliability, maintainability, product cybersecurity, logistics support, human factors, and cost modeling.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Cross-Disciplinary CollaborationSpecialty EngineeringMicrosoft OfficeLearning New ToolsetsVerbal CommunicationWritten CommunicationInterpersonal SkillsTechnical LeadershipEngineering AnalysisAerospace and Defense ProductsDesign Qualification PlanningMIL-STD-882ETechnical Presentations

Qualifications

BS Engineering+9 Yrs or MS+7 YrsU.S. CitizenshipSecret Clearance EligibilityCSP, CISSP, CSEP, CRE or Equivalent

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: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 25% 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.

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 Armament Systems Business Unit is looking for a Systems Engineer to join the Specialty Engineering team in Plymouth, MN. The Specialty Engineering team supports munition, fuzing, and weapon system development programs. Members of the Specialty Engineering team are Systems Engineers who support multiple engineering domains including: Systems Safety, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Product Cybersecurity, Integrated Logistics Support, Product Support, Human Factors, and Unit Production Cost Modeling.

Responsibilities of the Position:

  • Work with and mentor team members to plan and execute specialty engineering tasks from the Specialty Engineering domains to support a wide variety of programs. Specialty Engineering domains include: Systems Safety, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Product Cybersecurity, Integrated Logistics Support, Product Support, Human Factors, and Unit Production Cost Modeling.

  • Perform detailed Specialty Engineering analyses in close collaboration with design engineering throughout weapon system development programs. Examples are: Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Fault Tree Analysis (FTA), and System Hazard Analysis (SHA).

  • Lead Safety Programs from planning to successful safety acceptance with Safety Review Boards.

  • Perform as a lead Specialty Engineer in design reviews, failure investigations, and customer working group meetings.

  • Support bidding and proposal work in collaboration with Specialty Engineering Manager.

  • Work with Systems Design Engineering team to define, track, and verify requirements that support system development objectives tied to specialty engineering domains.

  • Work with Test Engineering and Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S) to define processes and procedures that permit safe conduct and execution of test events and manufacturing of systems.

Basic Qualifications:

  • Bachelor of Science degree in an engineering discipline + 9 years of experience; or master’s degree plus 7 years of relevant engineering experience experience.

  • U.S. Citizenship

  • Ability to obtain a DOD Secret clearance.

  • Experience working closely with engineers from various engineering disciplines. These disciplines include: Systems, Mechanical, Electrical, Software, and Production Engineering.

  • Subject Matter Expertise in one or more of the following engineering domains: Systems Safety, Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Product Cybersecurity, Integrated Logistics Support, Product Support, Human Factors, CE Certification, and Unit Production Cost Modeling

  • Familiarity with standard Microsoft Office products and ability to learn new toolsets.

  • Strong verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills

Desired Qualifications:

  • Experience leading technical efforts

  • Experience performing engineering analyses (e.g. Hazard Analysis, FMECA, FTA, etc.)

  • Aerospace and defense product experience

  • Experience with Design Qualification planning efforts.

  • Experience with MIL-STD-882E System Safety, or equivalent system safety standard

  • Expertise in multiple relevant Specialty Engineering domains (e.g. Safety, Maintainability, Reliability, Cybersecurity etc.)

  • Certification in a relevant engineering domain or discipline (e.g. CSP, CISSP, CSEP, CRE, etc.)

  • Experience presenting technical information to large audiences

Primary Level Salary Range: $135,800.00 - $203,600.00

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: Engineering

How this job compares

Set against the 11,832 open Systems Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 5, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$136–204K/yr
  • Minnesota median$103–151K/yr103 salary ranges
  • US median$116–190K/yr8,718 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $170K, is 32% above the Minnesota median midpoint ($128K) — in the top quarter of Systems Engineer salary ranges in Minnesota.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 134 open Systems Engineer jobs in Minnesota and 11,832 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Minnesota
Experience
This posting asks for at least 7 years of experience; Systems Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (9,875 postings).
Education
4,501 of the 11,832 open Systems Engineer jobs (38%) 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.

Prepare for this role

You've read the whole posting — now see how you match it.