Pr./Sr. Pr. Systems Engineer - Fault Management & System Autonomy
United States-Virginia-Dulles$114k–$213kPosted Jul 14, 2026
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: SCI
TRAVEL: No
## 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’s Space Sector is seeking a Pr./Sr Principal Systems Engineer Level 3 or Level 4 to join our team in Dulles, VA. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.
The job responsibilities will be as an individual-contributor and deliverable/product lead within a multi-disciplinary engineering team, specifically supporting functions related to Fault Management and System Autonomy (FMSA) for space systems.
This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.
Your Role and Impact:
* Perform traditional Systems Engineering functions, including requirements synthesis and flow-down, verification/validation planning, system trades study support, systems analysis, coordination of design efforts, and management of technical budgets & interface definitions
* The application of these systems engineering functions will be in the context of fault management, system autonomy
* The candidate must be able to assist in the formulation of system design, definition of concept of operations, and systems analysis for failure modes and effects, including their identification and mitigation through autonomous or operational controls
* Designing, implementing, and validating Fault Management and System Autonomy Flight Software using flight-like simulations and flight hardware
* Must be knowledgeable in spacecraft subsystem design, spacecraft testing, flight software best practices, and mission operations
* Candidate may be called on to assist in new business activities, such as conceptual design and analysis for proposals and funded studies and may include authoring sections for both
* Presentation skills and the ability to communicate complex technical concepts to either technical or nontechnical audiences is required
This position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company.
This position can be filled at either a Level 3 or Level 4.
Basic Qualifications for Level 3:
* Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of professional experience or Master’s degree with 3 years of professional experience or PhD with 1 year of professional experience
* Requires an active Top-Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance at time of application
* Experience in Systems Engineering for mission critical applications
* Mission and/or vehicle systems engineering experience
* Software coding or scripting experience
Basic Qualifications for Level 4:
* Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of professional experience or Master’s degree with 6 years of professional experience or PhD with 4 years of professional experience
* Requires an active Top-Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance at time of application
* Experience in Systems Engineering for mission critical applications
* Mission and/or vehicle systems engineering experience
* Software coding or scripting experience
Preferred Qualifications:
* Failure analysis or fault management technical...