Deputy Software Lead Level 5
Northrop Grumman · Aurora, CO
$177,000–$265,600from the description
Jul 1, 2026
Aurora, CO
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A Deputy Software Lead role embedded in an Agile team at a defense contractor's Aurora, CO facility, supporting two programs that share a single software baseline. Day-to-day work involves running two-week sprints toward quarterly deliveries, providing technical leadership, and contributing hands-on Java development. The role suits a highly experienced software engineer with a background in technical or product ownership leadership and an active Top Secret clearance.
Senior level · 12+ years · Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
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
What the occupation pays Median $140,636 (middle half $126,359–$175,118). 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 (8)
The role is titled 'Level 5 Software Engineer' with a 'Deputy Software Lead' function. Northrop Grumman's Level 5 is their highest individual-contributor band, but the actual scope — technical lead on an Agile team, cross-functional communications, no explicit org-wide authority — maps to Senior rather than Staff or Principal on a standard career ladder. The alt SOC (11-3021) is flagged because the Deputy Software Lead framing carries some team-lead/management flavor, though the JD reads primarily as a hands-on senior IC.
Degree requirement is set to None: the JD explicitly accepts '4 additional years of experience in lieu of a degree.'
An active TS/SCI clearance is a hard gate at time of application ('Requires an active Top-Secret clearance with SCI eligibility at time of application').
3+ years of technical leadership (Product Owner or Technical Lead) is required but names no specific technology, so it is captured in the overall years minimum context rather than as a named skill.
CI/CD appears only under Preferred Qualifications as 'familiarity with CI/CD concepts' and is marked preferred accordingly.
Certified Scrum Product Owner Certification and Cost Account Manager / Basis of Estimate experience appear under Preferred Qualifications and are not emitted as named technology skills.
SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) is listed as a required understanding alongside Agile principles in the Basic Qualifications section.
Requires a TS/SCI 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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