Software Engineer Level 1 or 2 at Northrop Grumman
Aurora, CO
$76,200–$137,600from the description
Jul 9, 2026
Aurora, CO
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A full-stack software engineering role focused on building and maintaining satellite ground systems, covering areas such as command and control, mission planning, constraint checking, and multi-dimensional visualization. Work spans the entire development lifecycle using tools including Python, Go, Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, and PostgreSQL in a Linux environment. Suited to cleared engineers comfortable working across OS, platform, and mission-specific software layers within an Agile team.
Junior level · Aurora, CO · TS/SCI 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 $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)
This posting covers two levels simultaneously: Associate Software Engineer (Level 1, 0 years experience) and Software Engineer (Level 2, 2 years experience). The seniority and salary range reflect the full span ($76,200–$137,600/yr). The lower band is used for pool sizing since the posting explicitly opens at entry level.
Three possible work locations are listed: Aurora, CO; Linthicum, MD; and Morrisville, NC. Aurora, CO is listed first and is the primary CBSA reported; the role is onsite at one of these campuses.
A Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility is a hard gate at time of application for both levels — not merely the ability to obtain one.
Bash scripting is called out as required in the narrative ('A solid experience in bash scripting, Python, or other OOP languages, in a Linux environment is required'), making it a hard gate alongside Python and Linux.
PostgreSQL, PKI, Ansible, microservices architecture, and UI/UX experience appear either in the 'What You'll Have an Opportunity to Do' stack narrative or the Preferred Qualifications section, so they are treated as preferred rather than required.
Satellite ground software domain experience (Command & Control, Mission Planning, Visualization, Astrodynamics) is listed under Preferred Qualifications as 'highly preferred' but is not a hard gate.
Degree requirement is set to None because the JD explicitly accepts equivalent years of experience in lieu of a Bachelor's degree at both levels.
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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