Senior Principal Software Engineer at General Dynamics Mission Systems, Inc
Bloomington, MN
$202,197–$213,254from the description
Jul 20, 2026
Bloomington, MN
Jul 23, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A senior embedded software engineering role focused on airborne defense systems, including cockpit mission-data displays, crypto identification products, and precision weapon control systems. The work involves C/C++ development on hardware-centric real-time platforms, requirements analysis, and software design documentation. It suits an experienced engineer comfortable with classified defense environments and technical leadership across a cross-functional team.
Senior level · 10+ years · Bloomington, MN · Bachelor's required · Secret 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.
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.
Why we read it this way (7)
All skills in this posting appear under a 'preferred skills or experiences' section — the JD explicitly frames them with 'We encourage you to apply if you have any of these preferred skills or experiences.' No technology is hard-gated; all are marked preferred accordingly.
The title 'Senior Principal Embedded Software Engineer' is advertised at the Principal level, but the actual scope and experience requirements (10 years, individual contributor embedded engineering) are consistent with a Senior band. 'Principal' here appears to be an internal grade label rather than an org-wide technical authority role.
The clearance requirement is stated as 'ability to obtain' a Secret clearance — not an active clearance in hand — but it is explicitly required at time of hire, so it is treated as a hard gate.
Degree requirement: Bachelor's in a STEM field is the minimum stated; a Master's with 8 years is an alternative path. The minimum degree is therefore Bachelor's.
The 9/80 schedule and hybrid/flex workplace note indicate the role is primarily on-site at the Bloomington, MN office, with some flexibility; it is not fully remote.
Bloomington, MN falls within the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI CBSA (33460). The 5-digit code used reflects that metro.
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.
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