Sr Principal Network Engineer - Evergreen (AHT) at Northrop Grumman
Aurora, CO
$129,300–$193,900from the description
Aug 14, 2026
Aurora, CO
Sep 25, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior-level network engineering role at Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Aurora, CO, focused on designing, planning, and maintaining large-scale LAN/WAN network architectures for classified government programs. The position involves specifying hardware and software selections, troubleshooting network faults, and serving as a WAN Subject Matter Expert. It requires an active TS clearance with a full-scope polygraph at time of application.
Senior level · 8+ 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 $107,401 (middle half $89,864–$133,850). 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 Aug 18, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (7)
The posting title is 'Senior Principal Network Engineer,' which maps to the Principal advertised level; however, the actual scope and experience requirements (8+ years, WAN SME, large-network design) are consistent with a Senior band rather than a true Principal/org-wide authority role.
A full-scope polygraph is explicitly required at time of application — this is a hard gate beyond a standard TS/SCI clearance.
The degree requirement accepts equivalent experience (12+ years in lieu of a degree), so the degree requirement is set to None.
Firewall hardware/software knowledge and Cisco router/switch knowledge appear under Preferred Qualifications and are marked accordingly.
The role is classified as 15-1244 (Network/Systems Admins) rather than 15-1252 (Software Developers) because the primary work described is designing, operating, and troubleshooting network infrastructure — not writing and shipping software. The alt code 15-1299 reflects that senior network architect/SME roles sometimes fall outside the standard admin bucket.
Travel requirement is stated as 'minimum of 20%' in the Basic Qualifications, despite the header listing '10% of the Time' — the stricter 20% figure from the qualifications section is the operative requirement.
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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