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Principal / Sr. Principal Cyber Systems Engineer

Northrop Grumman

Huntsville, ALJob$120–179K/yrSeen 1w agoSeen in employer's feed 3 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$120–179K/yr
Location
Huntsville, AL
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 Certification Or HigherSecret clearance

Job overview

Northrop Grumman seeks a Principal or Sr. Principal Cyber Systems Engineer to support its Foreign Military Sales department within the Global Command and Control Solutions Business Unit. The role is on-site at a Huntsville facility and focuses on security controls, cyber infrastructure, system security assessments, and compliance with government frameworks. Candidates must meet level-specific experience requirements, hold an active DoD Secret clearance, and have a current DoD 8570 IAT Level II certification or higher.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Security Control AssessmentTechnical CommunicationThreat ModelingRisk AssessmentSecure DesignNIST SP 800-53Risk Management FrameworkCIS ControlsNetwork SecurityHost SecurityApplication SecurityIdentity and Access ManagementEncryptionKey ManagementVulnerability ManagementSecurity TestingDoD 8500-Series DirectivesRed Hat Enterprise LinuxWindows SystemsEnterprise Systems PlanningNIST 800-Series DocumentsSecurity Incident Event MonitoringACASESSSplunkVulnerability ScannersCompliance ScannersDoD STIGsSecurity Process AutomationSecure ArchitectureNIST 800-171CNSSI 1253Defense-in-Depth DesignSecurity Architecture Trade StudiesCyber Requirements DefinitionTest Approach DefinitionRisk MitigationATO StrategyRequirements DecompositionRequirements Allocation

Qualifications

Bachelor's in Science or Master's or PhDDoD Secret ClearanceDoD 8570 IAT Level II Certification or Higher5+ Years Experience With Bachelor's3+ Years Experience With Master's1+ Year Experience With PhD8+ Years Experience With Bachelor's6+ Years Experience With Master's4+ Years Experience With PhDUS Citizenship

Benefits

Relocation Assistance
Medical Insurance
Paid Time Off

Full job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be 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 is looking for a Principal Cyber Systems Engineer / Sr. Principal Cyber Systems Engineer to support our Foreign Military Sales (FMS) department as part of the Global Command and Control Solutions (GC2S) Business Unit (BU). As a member of the FMS department you’ll work in a fast-paced team environment alongside engineers of all flavors to make our technologies a reality. This position will serve on-site at an NG Facility in Huntsville, AL. This position can be filled at a Principal Cyber Systems Engineer or Sr. Principal Cyber Systems Engineer level.

Responsibilities:

  • Design, plan, implement, and perform assessment of security controls, polices, and processes that are compliant with National Security Agency (NSA) programs and DoD wide frameworks such as Risk Management Framework (RMF) and CMMC

  • Participate in assessment of systems security controls to validate control implementation and identify weaknesses

  • Document the results of Certification and Accreditation activities, technical or coordination activity, prepare the system Security Plans, and update the POA&M

  • Periodically conduct a complete review of each system's audits and monitor corrective actions until all actions are closed Implementation, automation, configuration and maintenance of security tools, centralized authentication solutions, IDS/IPS, and compliance baselines

  • Provide advanced technical analyses of cyber infrastructure challenges and problems; develop/identify technical solutions responsive to customer needs

  • 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

  • Serve as a Cyber SME supporting high-level technical and practical expertise

  • Assures the implementation of Cyber Security disciplines, including COMSEC, EMSEC, OPSEC, digital communications systems, network protocols and architectures, and penetration tools and techniques

  • Support the continuous assessment of Cyber Control compliance for systems within their responsibility

Basic Qualifications for Principal Cyber Systems Engineer:

  • 5 years of experience with Bachelors in Science; 3 Years with Masters; 1 Year with PhD

  • US Citizenship and active DoD secret clearance

  • Current DoD 8570 IAT Level II Certification (Security+) or higher.

  • Experience translating technical concepts and program information to others

  • Experience with threat modeling, risk assessment, secure design principles

  • Familiarity with common frameworks/controls (e.g., NIST SP 800-53, RMF, CIS Controls)

  • Knowledge of:

  • Network security (firewalls, IDS/IPS, VPNs)

  • Host/application security (hardening, secure coding concepts)

  • Identity & access management, encryption, key management

  • Experience with vulnerability management and security testing (scans, ST&E, pen-test coordination)

Preferred Qualifications for Principal Cyber Systems Engineer:

  • In-depth knowledge of DoD 8500-series directives.

  • System Administrator Experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows Systems

  • In-depth understanding of planning, design, and implementation necessary to support a large enterprise system

  • Working knowledge of NIST 800-series documents

  • Experience with configuring Security Incident Event Monitoring and IDS/IPS tools such as ACAS, ESS, and Splunk on Linux RedHat and Windows environments

  • Experience with vulnerability and compliance scanners such

  • Working experience deploying and configuring Linux and Windows systems in accordance with DoD STIG requirements

  • Experience in developing scripts to automate security processes

Basic Qualifications for a Sr. Principal Cyber Systems Engineer:

  • 8 years of experience with Bachelors in Science; 6 Years with Masters; 4 Years with PhD

  • US Citizenship and active DoD secret clearance

  • Current DoD 8570 IAT Level II Certification (Security+) or higher

  • Experience translating technical concepts and program information to others

  • Deep expertise in:

  • Secure architecture and design for complex, distributed, or mission-critical systems

  • Applying NIST RMF, NIST 800-53, 800-171, CNSSI 1253, or similar frameworks

  • Designing and evaluating defense-in-depth strategies (network, host, application, data, identity)

  • Experience leading security architecture trade studies

  • Experience defining cyber requirements, test approaches, and risk mitigations at system-of-systems level

  • Engage on ATO/Authorization strategy and major security reviews.

  • Comfortable owning the overall system architecture, not just one component

  • Proficiency in:

  • Requirements decomposition & allocation, especially for cyber controls

  • Interface design, integration strategies, and end-to-end V&V planning

Preferred Qualifications for Sr. Principal Cyber Systems Engineer:

  • In-depth knowledge of DoD 8500-series directives.

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

  • System Administrator Experience with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows Systems

  • In-depth understanding of planning, design, and implementation necessary to support a large enterprise system.

  • Working knowledge of NIST 800-series documents

  • Experience with configuring Security Incident Event Monitoring and IDS/IPS tools such as ACAS, ESS, and Splunk on Linux RedHat and Windows environments

  • Experience with vulnerability and compliance scanners such.

  • Working experience deploying and configuring Linux and Windows systems in accordance with DoD STIG requirements

  • Experience in developing scripts to automate security processes.

  • In-depth systems engineering knowledge to include understanding of systems engineering lifecycle

  • Experience in managing stakeholder expectations, programmatic risk management, and customer engagement

Primary Level Salary Range: $119,600.00 - $179,400.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $149,300.00 - $223,900.00

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 1,602 open Cybersecurity Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 27, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$120–179K/yr
  • US median$108–196K/yr1,279 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $150K, is close to the US median midpoint ($149K) — in the middle half of Cybersecurity Engineer salary ranges across the US.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 23 open Cybersecurity Engineer jobs in Alabama and 1,602 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Alabama
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 1,493 postings).
Education
664 of the 1,602 open Cybersecurity Engineer jobs (41%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 27, 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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