Cyber Systems Engineer - Level 2 at Northrop Grumman
Colorado Springs, CO
$91,800–$137,600from the description
Jul 10, 2026
Colorado Springs, CO
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A cybersecurity engineering role focused on configuring, operating, and maintaining endpoint security and vulnerability assessment tools — specifically ESS and ACAS — on a government defense contract at Schriever Space Force Base. Day-to-day work involves compliance scanning, STIG and RMF assessments, alert monitoring, user account management, and coordinating with an IT team to resolve security issues. Suited to candidates with a DoD security background and an active Secret clearance.
Mid level · 2+ years · Colorado Springs, CO · Secret clearance · Full-time
“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 (6)
The role is titled 'Cyber Systems Engineer – Level 2', where Level 2 maps to a Mid-level band in Northrop Grumman's internal leveling system (0–2 years with a Master's, or 2 years with a Bachelor's, or 6 years in lieu of degree).
SOC code 15-1212 (Information Security Analysts) was chosen as the primary code because the core duties — configuring/operating ESS and ACAS, vulnerability scanning, STIG compliance, and RMF accreditation — are squarely cybersecurity/compliance work. 15-1244 (Network and Computer Systems Administrators) is a plausible runner-up given the endpoint configuration and systems administration elements.
Degree requirement is set to None: the JD states a Bachelor's in STEM is 'preferred' and explicitly allows 6 years of experience in lieu of any degree.
CompTIA Security+ CE is listed as a hard requirement under Basic Qualifications; ISC2 CISSP and 'equivalent certification under DoD 8140' are named as acceptable substitutes and are captured in alternatives.
ESS 201/301 Certificates, account management, system auditing, prior sysadmin experience, SIEM, eMASS, WSUS/DNF/YUM patch management, and hands-on ACAS/Nessus scanning experience all appear under the 'Preferred Qualifications' section.
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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