Principal / Sr Principal Engineer Software
Northrop Grumman · San Diego, CA
$114,000–$213,400from the description
Jul 15, 2026
San Diego, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A software engineering role within an aerospace and defense company's research and advanced design division, focused on building enterprise data-flow and integration systems for mission-critical applications. Day-to-day work involves developing Java-based microservices, data pipelines using Apache NiFi, observability dashboards, and real-time messaging infrastructure across multiple concurrent programs. Suited to engineers with strong Java, Spring, and distributed systems backgrounds who hold or can obtain a Top Secret clearance.
Senior level · 5+ years · San Diego, CA · Bachelor's required · Top 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.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $166,860 (middle half $131,418–$198,246). 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)
This posting covers two levels simultaneously: Principal Software Engineer (5+ years with a Bachelor's, 3+ with a Master's, 1+ with a PhD) and Sr. Principal Software Engineer (8+ years with a Bachelor's, 6+ with a Master's, 4+ with a PhD). The salary range spans both levels ($114,000–$171,000 for Principal; $142,200–$213,400 for Sr. Principal). The overall years minimum is set to 5, the lower gate for the entry-level tier.
The role is listed as onsite in Rancho Bernardo or El Segundo, CA. Rancho Bernardo is within the San Diego CBSA; El Segundo is in the Los Angeles CBSA (31080). The San Diego CBSA is used as primary since it is listed first, but candidates should note the dual-location option.
Top Secret clearance is a hard gate for start ('CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes'). The ability to obtain SCI and SAP access is also required but is framed as an ability to obtain rather than an active hold, so TopSecret is the clearance level set.
Active SCI and SAP clearance is listed under Preferred Qualifications, meaning holding it already is preferred but not required at start.
Java 21+ is the specific version required; this is captured under the Java skill. Project Loom / Virtual Threads is listed under Preferred Qualifications.
The frontend framework requirement (Angular, React, or Vue) is a hard gate; all three are listed as interchangeable alternatives under Angular as the primary.
Requires a Top 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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