Cyber Systems Engineer - Level 4
Northrop Grumman · Aurora, CO
$156,400–$234,600from the description
Jul 15, 2026
Aurora, CO
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior cybersecurity engineering role focused on designing, implementing, and assessing security controls in compliance with NIST SP 800-53, CNSSI 1253, and DoD Risk Management Framework guidance. Day-to-day work involves supporting system security architecture, analyzing cyber infrastructure challenges, and serving as an ISSE on a classified space systems program. Suits an experienced practitioner holding an active TS/SCI clearance with full-scope polygraph and relevant security certifications.
Senior level · 8+ years · Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO · TS/SCI clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
Posted 8 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 $139,675 (middle half $110,017–$174,679). 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)
The posting is titled 'Cyber Systems Engineer - Level 4', which Northrop Grumman's internal leveling maps to a senior individual-contributor band; seniority is assessed as Senior.
A TS/SCI clearance with Full Scope Polygraph is explicitly required at time of application — this is a hard gate, not merely a condition to obtain later.
The degree requirement accepts equivalent experience in lieu of a degree ('An additional 4 years of relevant experience may be considered in lieu of a degree'), so the degree requirement is set to None. The minimum experience floor under the degree-substitution path is 12 years, but the lowest stated path (PhD + 4 years) yields 4 years; the most common path (Bachelor's + 8 years) is used as the overall years minimum.
Security certification is required; the JD lists Security+ CE, CASP, and CISSP as acceptable alternatives — Security+ is named first with the others captured as alternatives.
Rapid7, Trellix, and Splunk are listed in the Basic Qualifications section as required experience, though the phrase 'among other industry standard technologies' signals the list is illustrative rather than exhaustive.
IASAE-level certifications (CISSP, CASP, CSSLP, CISSP-ISSEP) and DoD 8500-series policy knowledge appear under Preferred Qualifications.
Ignored 1 non-technology phrase(s) as skills (responsibilities/concepts, not named tools): NIST SP 800-53.
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.
Read the full posting
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