Principal Systems Engineer/ Sr. Principal Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman
Melbourne, FL
$98,400–$184,200from the description
Jul 9, 2026
Melbourne, FL
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A systems engineering role focused on nuclear surety — evaluating designs for compliance with nuclear safety requirements, leading certification activities, and conducting analyses such as fault tree and signal path assessments. The work involves coordinating with government stakeholders and supporting integrated product teams across hardware, software, and testing. Suited to STEM-credentialed engineers with a background in military aircraft or weapon systems and relevant clearance.
Senior level · 5+ years · Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
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.
Why we read it this way (8)
This is a Systems Engineer role in the defense/aerospace domain (nuclear surety), not a conventional computer/IT occupation. No SOC code in the allowed list maps cleanly to Systems Engineering; 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is used as the closest available code, with 15-1211 as a secondary option. The actual BLS code for this work would be 17-2199 (Engineers, All Other) or 17-2112 (Industrial Engineers), which are not in the allowed list.
The posting covers two levels: Principal Systems Engineer (Level 3, 5+ years with BS) and Senior Principal Systems Engineer (Level 4, 8+ years with BS). The salary ranges are presented separately: $98,400–$147,600 for the principal level and $122,800–$184,200 for the senior principal level. The combined range ($98,400–$184,200) is reported here; the overall years minimum reflects the lower gate of 5 years.
The advertised title uses 'Principal' and 'Senior Principal' — these map to the Senior band on a standard career ladder for a defense contractor (they are internal Northrop Grumman level designations, not the Staff/Principal bands used in this schema's seniority classification).
Secret clearance is a hard gate ('must be in-scope or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation'). An active TS/SCI clearance is listed under Preferred Qualifications as a nice-to-have.
Nuclear surety domain knowledge (AFI 63-125, AFMAN 91-118/91-119, etc.) and stakeholder experience (AFNWC, AFSEC, NNSA, AFGSC) are listed under Preferred Qualifications.
The posting notes the opportunity is contingent on program funding; start dates are determined after funding confirmation.
Ignored 4 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): systems engineering, military aircraft/weapon system design, Fault Tree Analysis, Signal Path Analysis.
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.
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