Mission Systems Engineer (Principal/Sr Principal) - Signatures Limitations and Constraints Management Lead
Northrop Grumman · Linthicum Heights, MD
$108,800–$203,600from the description
Jul 14, 2026
Linthicum Heights, MD
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A mission systems engineering role focused on managing Signatures, Limitations, and Constraints across space-based RADAR programs. Day-to-day work involves coordinating integration and test activities across payload, space vehicle, and ground teams — spanning ground development environments through on-orbit checkout — as well as vehicle simulation planning and discrepancy resolution. Suits engineers with hardware/software integration and test backgrounds who hold an active Top Secret clearance.
Senior level · 5+ years · Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD · Bachelor's required · TS/SCI 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.
Why we read it this way (9)
This role is a Mission Systems Engineer focused on Signatures, Limitations, and Constraints (SLC) management for classified Space RADAR programs — it sits at the intersection of systems engineering and integration & test, not squarely in any single SOC code. 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is used as the closest fit; 15-1211 (Computer Systems Analysts) is a plausible alternative given the systems analysis and integration coordination work.
The posting covers two levels simultaneously: Principal Engineer (BS + 5 yrs or MS + 3 yrs) and Sr. Principal Engineer (BS + 8 yrs or MS + 6 yrs). The overall years minimum is set to 5 (the lower gate). The salary range spans both levels ($108,800–$203,600).
Advertised seniority reflects 'Principal' as stated in the title/framing; the actual requirements (5–8 years, component/program-level scope) map to Senior on the standard career ladder.
An active Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility is explicitly required at time of application — this is a hard gate.
Hardware/Software I&T experience is listed as a Basic Qualification (hard gate) but names no specific tool or platform, so it is captured as a named capability rather than a specific technology.
The Atlassian tool suite (Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket) appears under Preferred Qualifications. Jira is listed as the primary skill with Confluence and Bitbucket also emitted separately, as all three are distinct tools listed individually.
Active SCI clearance (as opposed to SCI eligibility) is listed under Preferred Qualifications, suggesting candidates with eligibility but not yet a full SCI adjudication are acceptable at application time.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): Hardware/Software Integration & Test.
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.
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