RF Systems Engineer 3/4 at Northrop Grumman
Boulder, CO
$114,000–$213,400from the description
Jul 13, 2026
Boulder, CO
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A systems engineering role focused on RF-based ground systems for space missions, covering the full lifecycle from concept development through integration and test. Day-to-day work involves defining system architecture, decomposing requirements, and coordinating across hardware, software, and infrastructure teams — with particular emphasis on antennas, RF front-end equipment, and ground communications. Suits engineers with a background in RF or ground system development who are comfortable working in multidisciplinary environments.
Senior level · 5+ years · Boulder, CO · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Mid, but the requirements read as Senior.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
Why we read it this way (8)
This is a dual-level requisition that may be filled as either a Level 3 (requiring 5 years with a BS, 3 with MS, 0 with PhD) or Level 4 (requiring 8 years with a BS, 6 with MS, 4 with PhD). The minimum experience floor of 5 years is used for the overall years minimum; the Level 4 floor is 8 years.
The salary ranges for the two levels are quoted separately in the posting: Level 3 is $114,000–$171,000/year and Level 4 is $142,200–$213,400/year. The combined range ($114,000–$213,400) is reported here to cover both levels.
The posting states 'CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret' and that candidates must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. government clearance, but the header also says 'CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No', meaning a clearance is not required on day one but must be obtainable. Clearance is treated as a hard gate given the explicit citizenship and clearance-obtainability requirement.
The advertised title is 'RF Systems Engineer 3/4'. Level 3 maps to a mid-level band by Northrop Grumman's internal ladder, but the experience requirements (5–8+ years) and scope of work support a Senior classification.
SOC classification is uncertain: RF Systems Engineering for space/ground systems does not map cleanly to a single standard SOC code. 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is used as the closest fit given the ground systems software, networking, and RF integration focus; 15-1211 (Computer Systems Analysts) is the runner-up given the systems architecture and requirements decomposition emphasis.
The primary salary figure in the posting appears to show '$11,400.00' as the lower bound for Level 3, which is almost certainly a typo for '$114,000.00'. The corrected figure of $114,000 is used.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): systems engineering.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
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