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Sr Principal Engineer Software

Northrop Grumman

McClellan, CAJob$142–213K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$142–213K/yr
Location
McClellan, CA
Work Authorization
Citizenship required

Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Top Secret clearance, required

Job overview

Northrop Grumman seeks a Senior Principal Software Engineer in McClellan, California. The role focuses on software and system test planning, qualification and acceptance testing, and collaboration with engineering teams and customers. Candidates need a STEM degree and related experience through one of several degree-and-experience paths, U.S. citizenship, and the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance. The posting lists Agile, software development, and several preferred testing and DevOps competencies.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Agile, requiredGit, requiredGitLab, requiredBitbucket, requiredScrum, requiredC/C++, requiredPython, requiredJava, requiredDocker, requiredDeliverables Management, nice to haveSoftware Testing, nice to haveSoftware Test Planning, nice to haveContainerized Systems, nice to haveKubernetes, nice to haveCloud-Native OS, nice to haveSoftware Factories, nice to haveDevOps, nice to haveDevSecOps, nice to haveAtlassian, nice to haveJIRA, nice to haveJenkins, nice to haveConfluence, nice to haveLinux Bash, nice to haveLinux/UNIX, nice to have

Qualifications

BS+8, MS+6 or PhD+4 Yrs, requiredUS Citizenship, requiredTop Secret Clearance Eligibility, requiredActive Top Secret Clearance, nice to have

Benefits

Relocation Assistance
Medical Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Tuition Assistance

Full job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top 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.

At the heart of Defining Possible is our commitment to missions. In rapidly changing global security environments, Northrop Grumman brings informed insights and software-secure technology to enable strategic planning. We're looking for innovators who can help us keep building on our wide portfolio of secure, affordable, integrated and, multi-domain systems and technologies that fuel those missions. By joining in our shared mission, we'll support yours of expanding your personal network and developing skills, whether you are new to the field, or an industry thought leader. At Northrop Grumman, you'll have the resources, support, and team to do some of the best work of your career.

Northrop Grumman is looking for you to join our team as a Senior Principal Software Engineer in McClellan, CA.

What You'll Get To Do:

  • Synthesize software requirements into verification requirements, software test objectives, success criteria, and required resources for software and system level tests and demonstrations.

  • Support the development of software requirements and detailed integration software test plans, procedures, test readiness reviews (TRRs), test data and test reports.

  • Execution of software qualification and acceptance testing per those requirements, plans and procedures.

  • Participate in internal and customer software test planning working groups.

  • Design, develop, and implement testing methods and equipment specific to software.

  • Collaborate with systems engineers, software development engineers and other stakeholders involved in the testing process.

  • Review software test plans, procedures, and reports, witness testing as the Cognizant Engineer

  • Participate in technical exchange meetings, interfacing with customers (internal/external) and contributing to a broad range of program deliverables.

Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal Software Engineer:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 8 years of related experience, a Master's Degree in a STEM discipline and 6 years of related experience or a PhD in STEM discipline and 4 years of related experience.

  • Must be a US Citizen in order to meet the security clearance requirement

  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company

  • Experience with Agile, Git, GitLab, or Bitbucket and working in cross-functional Scrum team

  • Experience in software development using languages such as C/C++, Python, Java, Docker

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Current and active Top Secret security clearance with an investigation completed within the last 6 years.

  • Experience in Deliverables Management

  • Experience with Software Testing

  • Experience in Software Test Planning

  • Hands-on design, deployment, and dynamic management of containerized systems

  • Experience with Kubernetes (K8s, k3s) and cloud-native OS environments

  • Experience with modern software factories and DevOps/DevSecOps practices

  • Familiarity with Atlassian and CI/CD tools: Bitbucket, JIRA, Jenkins, Confluence

  • Advanced scripting in Python, Linux Bash, and related languages

  • Linux/UNIX experience in production environments

  • Practical experience working in Agile and DevOps teams

What We Can Offer You:

Northrop Grumman provides a comprehensive benefits package and a work environment which encourages your growth and supports the mutual success of our people and our company. Northrop Grumman benefits give you the

flexibility and control to choose the benefits that make the most sense for you and your family.

Your benefits will include the following: Health Plan, Savings Plan, Paid Time Off and Additional Benefits including Education Assistance, Training and Development, 9/80 Work Schedule (where available), and much more!

Primary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00

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 38,872 open Software Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 14, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$142–213K/yr
  • California median$163–243K/yr6,926 salary ranges
  • US median$132–214K/yr31,450 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $178K, is 13% below the California median midpoint ($205K) — in the middle half of Software Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 8,509 open Software Engineer jobs in California and 38,872 across the US. 8% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 4 years of experience; Software Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (32,117 postings).
Education
12,029 of the 38,872 open Software Engineer jobs (31%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Pay, requirements and demand for Software Engineer jobs

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 14, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.

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