Sr Principal Software Engineer - Embedded and Real Time
Northrop Grumman
- Location
- United States California San Diego
- Work model
- On-Site
- Level
- Principal
- Posted
- Sep 1, 2026
Skills
About this role
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time Description At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history. Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add Sr Principal Embedded & Real Time Software Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Software organization. This position can be filled on site in San Diego or Palmdale, California. In this role you will design, develop, integrate and test software (SW) for our end-user customers and businesses. You will be responsible for the design, architecture, development, and administration of embedded and real time systems. You will work with multi-disciplinary teams, such as Systems Engineering, Cloud & Application, Test Automation, DevSecOps and Systems Test, in an Agile SW development environment. You will analyze system capabilities to resolve problems on program intent, output requirements, input data acquisition, programming techniques and controls. Duties and Responsibilities include, but are not limited to: • Work in a fast-paced environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, and collaborative team settings across all levels • Participate in the full SW development life cycle including requirements, design, implementation, qualification, and delivery of SW products to our customers • Operate in an embedded technology development environment working with real time operating systems for use in flight and mission critical systems • Work in Agile Scrum teams to develop SW products for multiple SW baselines Basic Qualifications: •Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 6 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 4 years of related engineering experience. •Experience with the full SW Development Life Cycle (SDLC) •Experience with the following programming and scripting languages: C, C++, and Python •Experience with developing multi-threaded SW used for one of the following real-time applications: flight critical SW, Safety critical SW, medical SW, or mission critical SW •Experience with two of the following tools: Jira, Crucible, Bitbucket, Subversion, Bamboo, Jenkins, Sonarqube, Fortify, or Coverity •Experience with Agile SW development, embedded system programming, SWintegration and testing •Familiarity with at least two of the data interfaces: 1553, 1394, 422, 429, Serial, CAN, Discrete & Analog I/O, Ethernet/IP, or Fibre Channel •Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and the ability to interface with all levels of employees and management •Recent experience and proficiency in software architecture, design, implementation, integration, and debugging C++ SW running on Real-Time Operating systems such as: VxWorks, Integrity, AND/OR Real Time Embedded Linux. •Ability to collaborate with systems engineers, hardware designers and integration/test engineers to develop and maintain complex SW systems •Active in-Scope, U.S. Government Top Secret clearance.