On call Staff Software Engineer at Northrop Grumman
Rolling Meadows, IL
$169,000–$253,600from the description
Jul 15, 2026
Rolling Meadows, IL
Jul 20, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior embedded software engineering role focused on designing, developing, testing, and integrating software and firmware for RF systems within a defense context. Day-to-day work spans the full development lifecycle — requirements through integration — using C++, Linux or VxWorks environments, and Agile or Waterfall methodologies. Suited to a highly experienced engineer comfortable working on-site and obtaining a Secret clearance.
Senior level · 10+ years · Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance
Advertised as Staff, 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.
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 $134,380 (middle half $104,530–$167,650). 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 (11)
The title is 'On Call Staff Software Engineer' but the posting describes an on-site, full-time-equivalent embedded software engineering role; 'On Call' here appears to refer to an employment status/scheduling arrangement rather than a traditional on-call support role.
The experience requirement is tiered: 12+ years with a Bachelor's or 10+ years with a Master's. The overall years minimum is set to 10 (the lower bound achievable with a Master's), which is the minimum possible qualifying experience.
The degree requirement is Bachelor's at minimum; a Master's is an alternative path that reduces the years requirement. Since a Bachelor's is the floor, the degree requirement is set to Bachelors.
Linux and VxWorks are listed together as the required embedded OS targets ('running Linux or VxWorks'); they are treated as interchangeable alternatives for the same hard gate.
Python, Bash, and Batch are listed together under 'scripting languages' in the required qualifications; Python is used as the primary name with the others as alternatives.
Git, GitLab, GitHub, Bitbucket, and ClearCase are all listed as examples of version control systems under the required qualifications; Git is used as the primary name.
Rally and Jira are listed as examples of Agile planning tools under the required qualifications; Jira is used as the primary name.
C++11 is listed separately under Preferred Qualifications as a more specific version of the required C++ skill.
VxWorks also appears as a standalone preferred skill (experience testing/debugging on target hardware with embedded OS context), though it is already captured as an alternative to Linux in the required gate.
An active Secret clearance is listed as a preferred qualification; the hard gate is the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance prior to start.
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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