Systems Engineer - Level 5 at Northrop Grumman
Chandler, AZ
$152,900–$229,300from the description
Jul 15, 2026
Chandler, AZ
Jul 21, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior systems engineering role focused on developing architectures, requirements, and operational concepts for advanced aerospace programs. Day-to-day work involves model-based systems engineering, functional and trade-study analysis, requirements allocation, interface definition, and supporting flight test verification. The position suits a highly experienced STEM professional with a background in military aerospace development and an active Secret clearance.
Senior level · 12+ years · Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
Advertised as Principal, but the requirements read as Senior.
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 $113,022 (middle half $81,585–$150,090). 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 is a Systems Engineering role — no single SOC code maps cleanly. 15-1299 (Computer Occupations, All Other) is used as the closest available code; 15-1211 (Computer Systems Analysts) is a plausible alternative given the requirements/interface analysis emphasis, but neither is a precise fit for a hardware/software systems engineer in aerospace.
The posting is titled 'Systems Engineer - Level 5', which at Northrop Grumman corresponds to their highest individual-contributor grade (Principal/Fellow equivalent). Advertised seniority is set to Principal accordingly, though the actual experience requirements (12 years with a BS) are consistent with a Senior-level role on a standard career ladder.
The minimum experience requirement is 12 years with a Bachelor's degree; 10 years with a Master's; or 8 years with a PhD. The 12-year figure is used as the overall years minimum (the most conservative gate).
Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) appears only under Preferred Qualifications, as does the aerospace/military domain experience preference.
The skills listed under Basic Qualifications are largely methodological (functional analysis, timeline analysis, requirements allocation, interface definition, CONOPS, automation workflow) rather than named commercial tools or platforms, so they are captured at the activity/method level. No specific software tools are named in the posting.
An active DoD Secret clearance is a hard gate per the Basic Qualifications section.
Ignored 4 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): Model-Based Systems Engineering, systems architecture, CONOPS development, automation workflow development.
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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