Sr. Staff Systems Engineer
Northrop Grumman · Dulles, VA
$192,800–$289,200from the description
Jun 30, 2026
Dulles, VA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior-level systems engineering leadership role focused on space vehicle design, integration, and mission success within a classified government space program. Day-to-day work spans technical problem-solving, program data products, review planning, and mentoring junior engineers across a multi-discipline team. Suited to a highly experienced systems engineer with an active TS/SCI clearance and a background in complex space systems development or operations. Note: this posting describes a pipeline role, not a confirmed open position.
Principal level · 14+ years · Remote · Bachelor's required · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Staff, but the requirements read as Principal.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
Why we read it this way (11)
The job posting explicitly states this role is 100% onsite in Dulles, VA and cannot accommodate telecommute work. The caller has overridden this to remote=true and suppressed the metro; the actual posting is a hard on-site requirement.
This is a highly domain-specific aerospace/space systems engineering role at Northrop Grumman. It names no concrete software tools or platforms — the skills listed are engineering disciplines rather than named technologies. The skills list is therefore sparse by necessity, not omission.
The posting is titled 'Sr. Staff Systems Engineer Level 6' — 'Staff' is the advertised level. However, the requirements (14+ years, org-wide technical leadership, mentoring junior staff, leading multi-discipline teams, Level 6 designation) support a Principal-level assessment.
SOC classification is uncertain: the role is a space/aerospace systems engineer, which sits closest to 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) as a catch-all for technical engineering roles not cleanly fitting other codes, with 11-3021 (Computer and Information Systems Managers) as a runner-up given the explicit leadership, mentoring, and technical management responsibilities.
The posting notes it 'does not represent a current opening' and is used to pipeline candidates for future positions.
An active TS/SCI clearance is required at time of application — this is a hard gate explicitly stated in Basic Qualifications.
Minimum experience is stated as a tiered requirement: Bachelor's + 14 years, Master's + 12 years, or PhD + 10 years. The overall years minimum is set to 14 (the floor for the most common path); a Master's or PhD reduces the threshold.
Master's degree in Engineering is listed under Preferred Qualifications only; the hard minimum is a Bachelor's degree.
Ignored 4 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): systems engineering, space systems development, system architecture, CONOPs development.
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.
Caller marked this a fully-remote role — scored against the national candidate pool.
Read the full posting
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