Sr. Principal IT Systems Engineer

This position's primary locations is Palmdale, CA.
Role Overview
The selected candidate will serve as the technical lead for the Strike Program, responsible for overall system design and integration. The role involves interfacing with management, project managers, enterprise architects, technical specialists, and customers to drive technical discussions and ensure program success.
Key Responsibilities

Lead technical planning, system integration, verification and validation, cost and risk analysis, and supportability assessments for total systems.

Perform analyses at all levels, including concept/scope, requirements, design, verification and validation, and transition to production.

Conduct functional and schedule analysis, trade studies, and interface definition studies to translate customer requirements into optimal solutions, considering technical, schedule, and cost constraints.

Clearly articulate analysis results to colleagues, management, and customers.

Security Clearance

Must possess an active DOD Secret or higher security clearance (or active within the last 24 months) and be able to obtain a Top-Secret clearance.

Clearance must meet government customer criteria for the Strike Program.

Specific Roles and Responsibilities

Perform functional analysis, timeline analysis, detailed trade studies, requirements allocation, and interface definition studies.

Demonstrate strong foundational expertise in Information Technologies, with subject matter expertise in one or more of the following areas:

Virtualization
Data Center designs and solutions (on-premises and co-location) Data Center Backup design Software as a Service Cloud technologies

Determine high-level business requirements and manage specifications throughout the systems lifecycle.

Conduct requirements elicitation, definition, systems analysis, and design.

Architect definition, interface, and context diagram documentation.

Identify compute and storage requirements to support customer needs.

Provide and verify installation diagrams/models for compute and storage facilities.

Deliver As-Is and To-Be technical designs and assessments, perform gap analysis.

Identify technology roadmaps to reduce program execution costs.

Define disaster recovery requirements and implementation.

Implementation and Execution

Establish test plans, requirements traceability, and transition to production artifacts.

Ensure system validation is performed against requirements.

Execute system design for Data Center and Network Architecture & Design, including supplier integration and extranet implementation.

Execute system design for application and data integration.

Implement security technologies to ensure policy compliance.

Manage and track project status, metrics, schedules, and prepare status reports; ensure remediation and ongoing compliance goals are met.

Systems Engineering Background

Demonstrate systems engineering and systems thinking experience across the product development lifecycle (concept design, detailed design, integration, verification, qualification, and validation).

Prepare and present briefings, papers, and reports; lead working groups and technical interchange meetings.

Develop and derive customer/product requirements into total systems solutions, considering technical, schedule, cost, and non-functional requirements (user experience, cyber and physical security), often within tools such as DOORS or requirement traceability matrices.

Develop and organize test plans, integrate test cases, and ensure complete and documented testing, including automated verification and validation methods.

Demonstrate familiarity with Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools (e.g., Cameo, Orbus).

Perform detailed market analysis and trade studies.

Basic Qualifications

9 years of IT Project Management, System Engineering, or related IT experience with a BS degree in a STEM or Business discipline; or 7 years with a related Masters; or 4 years with a PhD.

In lieu of education, 13 years of relevant IT experience with at least 4 years in System Engineering.

Experience with designing IT systems and infrastructure.

Understanding of Networking Architecture and Design.

Understanding of Cloud Architecture and Design.

Must possess an active DOD Secret or higher security clearance (or active within the last 24 months) and be able to obtain a Top-Secret clearance.

Primary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.

Client-provided location(s): Palmdale, CA

Job ID: NorthropGrumman-R10222512

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2026-02-14T19:50:54