Software Engineer / Principal Software Engineer (AHT) at Northrop Grumman
Manhattan Beach, CA
$91,800–$171,000from the description
Jul 13, 2026
Manhattan Beach, CA
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
This on-site role involves building, testing, and maintaining software for military mission planning systems. Day-to-day work spans CI/CD pipeline upkeep, Windows installer creation, automated and formal test development, and contributing features within an Agile scrum team. The position suits engineers with a background in C# or Java, Windows environments, and software testing who can obtain a DoD Secret Clearance.
Mid level · 2+ years · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA · Secret clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Mid.
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
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
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
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)
This posting covers two levels simultaneously: 'Software Engineer' (2+ years, primary salary $91,800–$137,600) and 'Principal Software Engineer' (5+ years, secondary salary $114,000–$171,000). The advertised seniority reflects the highest title in the posting; the seniority band and total experience minimum reflect the lower-level entry point (Software Engineer, 2 years), as the posting is open to both levels.
The role blends software development (CI/CD pipelines, C#/Java application development) with significant QA/test engineering duties (test plans, test procedures, automated test scripts, acceptance testing). The primary SOC is Software Developers given the breadth of development responsibilities; Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers is a genuine runner-up.
Clearance: no active clearance is required at start ('CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No'), but candidates must be US citizens and able to obtain a DoD Secret clearance.
The scripting requirement ('one or more of: YAML, Python, PowerShell, Batch, TypeScript') is a single OR-group; Python is listed as the primary name with the others as alternatives.
The revision control requirement names BitBucket, git, and CVS as examples; Git is used as the canonical primary name with the others as alternatives.
All preferred/nice-to-have skills are listed under the explicit 'Preferred (Nice to Have) Qualifications' section.
The role is explicitly on-site in Manhattan Beach, CA — no remote work.
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.
Read the full posting
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