Principal Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman
Melbourne, FL
$98,400–$147,600from the description
Jun 30, 2026
Melbourne, FL
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior on-site IT systems engineering role focused on architecting and operating a Digital Engineering Ecosystem (DEE) — an integrated infrastructure connecting engineering models, program data, and tools across a defense program's full lifecycle. The work spans MBSE, cloud and on-premises infrastructure, AI/ML integration, cybersecurity compliance (NIST 800-53, CMMC 2.0), and direct technical engagement with a government customer. Suited to experienced defense IT architects comfortable leading technical workstreams and formal program reviews.
Senior level · 5+ years · Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
“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
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
What the occupation pays Median $104,182 (middle half $80,175–$142,680). 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 (7)
The posting is titled 'Principal Systems Engineer' but the actual scope and experience requirements (5–8 years, senior technical lead on one program) align with a Senior-level role on a normal career ladder. 'Principal' at Northrop Grumman is a grade designation, not necessarily the org-wide technical authority that the seniority band requires.
SOC classification is a genuine judgment call: the role blends IT systems architecture, MBSE/systems engineering, and some software/infrastructure delivery. 15-1211 (Computer Systems Analysts) was chosen because the primary day-to-day work is architecting and governing an integrated IT ecosystem (DEE) and producing systems engineering artifacts (ConOps, SRDs, SEMP, architecture diagrams) — not writing application code. 15-1299 is noted as a runner-up given the strong MBSE/defense-engineering flavor.
A current Secret clearance is a hard gate for start; the ability to obtain Top Secret/SCI is listed under Preferred Qualifications and is a condition of continued employment, not a start requirement.
AI/ML familiarity is described in the Basic Qualifications as 'a plus,' placing it in preferred despite appearing in the required section — it is explicitly softened by that language and is therefore treated as preferred.
VMware Horizon and Nutanix appear only under Preferred Qualifications, as do cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP), ML frameworks (TensorFlow/PyTorch/scikit-learn), LLMs, MLOps, and data lake architecture.
The degree requirement is a Bachelor's in Engineering, Computer Science, or related STEM; the JD does not accept equivalent experience in lieu of a degree — it only adjusts years required based on degree level.
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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