Systems/Principal Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman
Camarillo, CA
$91,800–$171,000from the description
Jul 13, 2026
Camarillo, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A systems engineering role focused on the U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack programs, working onsite at Naval Air Warfare Center Point Mugu and a nearby office. Day-to-day work centers on software integration, regression, and verification testing for electronic warfare subsystems, developing test procedures, analyzing system designs, and contributing to requirements development within an Agile team. Suits candidates with an electronic attack background and embedded software testing experience.
Mid level · 2+ years · Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
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 $122,608 (middle half $97,845–$144,959). 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 (9)
This posting covers two levels simultaneously: Systems Engineer (BS + 2 yrs or MS) and Principal Systems Engineer (BS + 5 yrs or MS + 3 yrs). The salary range spans both levels ($91,800–$137,600 for Systems Engineer; $114,000–$171,000 for Principal). Seniority and the overall years minimum are set to the lower (Systems Engineer) level as the entry point.
Airborne Electronic Attack (EA-18G / EW systems) domain experience is listed as a hard requirement in both qualification blocks but names a mission domain rather than a concrete technology or tool, so it is not emitted as a skill.
The role is explicitly onsite at Naval Air Warfare Center Point Mugu and Northrop Grumman's Camarillo, CA office — no remote option.
An active U.S. Secret clearance is required at start, per the posting header ('CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes') and both qualification blocks.
Degree requirement is set to Bachelors because the JD states 'BS in STEM related field with 2+ years' as the minimum path; an MS alone (without a years qualifier for the lower level) is listed as an alternative, but a bachelor's degree is the stated floor.
'Background in EW', 'project management experience', 'knowledge of US Navy EW systems', and 'leadership/communication' appear under Preferred Qualifications. Project management is emitted as preferred; the others name domain knowledge or soft skills rather than concrete tools.
SOC classification is a close call between 15-1211 (Systems Analysts — requirements development, test planning, systems engineering) and 15-1253 (QA/Test — software integration, regression, and verification testing). The role's primary framing is systems engineering with test as a key activity, so 15-1211 is chosen with 15-1253 as the runner-up.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): project management.
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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