Cyber Systems Engineer – Network Security Engr II (26-331)
Northrop Grumman · Colorado Springs, CO
$91,800–$137,600from the description
Jul 21, 2026
Colorado Springs, CO
Jul 22, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
An on-site network security engineering role supporting a missile defense command-and-control program in Colorado Springs. Day-to-day work involves configuring and troubleshooting firewalls, routers, and switches; maintaining DoD Risk Management Framework compliance documentation; and assisting with the testing and deployment of network upgrades. Suited to early-career engineers with a current Secret clearance and an active IAT Level II certification.
Junior level · 2+ years · Colorado Springs, CO · Secret clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Mid, but the requirements read as Junior.
“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.
How this req sits in the market our data
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $133,758 (middle half $108,740–$165,225). 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 Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (11)
The title 'Network Security Engr II' maps to a mid-level band in Northrop Grumman's internal leveling, but the actual requirements (2 years of experience, or a Master's with 0 years, or 6 years in lieu of a degree) and the scope — working under senior engineers, learning DoD processes — are consistent with an early-career/junior role.
Clearance gate: an active Secret clearance is required to start; Top Secret is preferred but not required at start. The ability to obtain TS is listed as a basic qualification.
Degree requirement is set to None because the posting explicitly accepts 6 years of relevant work experience as an alternative to a degree.
The overall years minimum is set to 2, reflecting the primary path (Bachelor's + 2 years); the 6-year no-degree path is an alternative, not the minimum.
DoD 8140 IAT Level II certification (e.g., Security+, CISSP, etc.) is a hard gate — applicants must hold it at the time of application.
CCNA / JNCIA-SEC are listed under Preferred Qualifications as 'highly desired.'
NSX, vSAN, and Aria are listed together as examples of 'other virtual network technologies' under Preferred Qualifications; they are grouped as alternatives since the posting treats them as a single preferred area.
Ansible and scripting languages are listed under Preferred Qualifications for network automation; scripting languages are a generic concept and not emitted as a separate skill.
This role is strictly on-site in Colorado Springs, CO — the posting explicitly states no remote options.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): DoD Risk Management Framework.
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
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