Software Engineer - Level 5
Northrop Grumman · Redondo Beach, CA
$177,000–$265,600from the description
Jul 1, 2026
Redondo Beach, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior software engineering role focused on maintaining and expanding mission-critical operational software product lines within a large, multi-subsystem team. Day-to-day work centers on object-oriented development in C++ on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, with new capability development alongside sustainment work. Suited to a highly experienced engineer holding or eligible for an SCI clearance, with a background in Linux-based development and strong algorithmic skills.
Senior level · 12+ years · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
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
What the occupation pays Median $164,459 (middle half $130,334–$195,752). 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)
The posting is for 'Software Engineer - Level 5' at Northrop Grumman, which internally maps to a Principal/Fellow-level title. However, the actual scope and requirements — mission software development on a large team — are consistent with a Senior engineer, not a true org-wide Principal. Seniority is assessed as Senior accordingly.
The role can be based in either Redondo Beach, CA (Los Angeles CBSA) or Aurora, CO (Denver CBSA). The Los Angeles CBSA is used as primary since it is listed first; the Aurora, CO location is a meaningful alternative for candidates.
The experience requirement scales with degree: 12 years (Bachelor's), 10 years (Master's), 8 years (PhD), or 4 additional years in lieu of degree. The 12-year figure (Bachelor's baseline) is used as the overall years minimum.
Degree is not hard-required — the JD explicitly accepts 4 additional years of relevant experience in lieu of a degree.
The clearance gate is SCI: applicants must hold an active SCI or an active TS with the ability to obtain SCI before start. This is a hard gate. An active TS/SCI is listed under Preferred Qualifications as a bonus (already holding SCI at application time rather than needing to obtain it).
Object-oriented programming is listed as a required skill but names no specific technology beyond C++, which is captured separately; the OOP requirement is subsumed by the C++ hard gate.
DevSecOps test automation experience is listed under Preferred Qualifications and is marked accordingly.
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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