Software Systems Engineer-Level 3/4 (AHT) at Northrop Grumman
Los Angeles, CA
$114,000–$213,400from the description
Jul 29, 2026
Los Angeles, CA
Sep 24, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A systems engineering role bridging software and systems engineering teams on a defense weapons program (SiAW) at Northrop Grumman's Northridge, CA facility — 100% on-site, no hybrid. The position involves translating system-level requirements into software requirements for individual CSCIs, developing software architecture models, and supporting verification and validation activities. Suited to candidates with embedded software familiarity and a background in aerospace/defense systems integration.
Senior level · 5+ years · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
Posted 2 times — it's one opening, so apply once.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $124,233 (middle half $103,180–$143,549). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Aug 1, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (8)
This posting covers two levels simultaneously: Level 3 (Principal Software Systems Engineer, 5+ years with BS or 3+ years with MS, salary $114K–$171K) and Level 4 (Sr. Principal Software Systems Engineer, 8+ years with BS or 6+ years with MS, salary $142.2K–$213.4K). The overall years minimum and salary range reflect the lower (Level 3) threshold; the upper salary bound reflects Level 4.
The role sits between Systems Analyst (15-1211) and Software Developer (15-1252): the primary day-to-day work is requirements analysis, allocation, and verification (systems analysis), but it also involves developing software architecture models and reading/verifying embedded code. 15-1211 was chosen as the primary classification because requirements engineering and V&V are the dominant described activities.
Cameo Enterprise Architecture is explicitly named in both the responsibilities and the required qualifications sections; it is listed as 'CAMEO' in the qualifications block.
'Requirements Analysis' and 'Systems Engineering' are listed as named methodological disciplines rather than specific tools, but they appear as hard gates in the qualifications sections and are retained here as the posting explicitly gates on them.
Preferred qualifications include experience with aerospace/defense technology domains (sensors, navigation, guidance, propulsion) and military mission areas — these are domain knowledge areas rather than named tools and are therefore not emitted as skills.
A current Secret clearance adjudicated within the past 5 years is a hard requirement to start, per both the header and the qualifications sections.
Ignored 2 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): Cameo Enterprise Architecture, 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.
Read the full posting
The employer publishes the full description on their own site — read it there ↗. Or sign in to read it here — it's free, and it also lets you track this application.