Software Engineer - Level 2 or 3 at Northrop Grumman
Colorado Springs, CO
$83,400–$125,200from the description
Jul 28, 2026
Colorado Springs, CO
Jul 29, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A software engineering role at Northrop Grumman supporting missile defense, space, and intelligence programs through modeling, simulation, and analysis (MS&A) work. The engineer will design, develop, test, and debug software using C++ and Python, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams on complex defense system analysis. The posting covers two levels (Level 2 and Level 3), making it suitable for candidates with 2–5+ years of relevant experience who hold an active Top Secret clearance.
Mid level · 2+ years · Colorado Springs, CO · Top Secret clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 3 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
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $137,233 (middle half $108,638–$170,529). 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 29, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
This posting covers two levels simultaneously: Software Engineer Level 2 (2+ years or a Master's) and Principal Software Engineer Level 3 (5+ years with a Bachelor's, 3+ years with a Master's, or 1 year with a PhD). The salary range ($83,400–$125,200) and the overall years minimum (2) reflect the lower Level 2 gate; the actual hire may land at either level.
A degree is listed as 'preferred' for both levels, and equivalent experience is accepted in lieu of a degree, so no minimum degree is flagged as a hard requirement.
The C/C++, Java, Python requirement is framed as a single interchangeable gate ('C/C++, Java, Python, or similar object-oriented languages'); C++ is used as the primary name with Java and Python as alternatives. Python also appears independently in the role description as a primary language, so it is separately listed as required.
Git is listed as a required configuration management tool; GitHub/BitBucket/GitLab are named as interchangeable collaboration platforms within the same requirement.
CI/CD tools (Jenkins, Jira, SonarQube, Coverity, GitLab, Atlassian suite) appear under Preferred Qualifications and are marked accordingly.
Test-driven development and experience with automated software requirements testing are required but name no specific tool, so they are omitted from the skills list per extraction rules.
Requires a Top 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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