Principal/ Sr. Principal Electronics Responsible Engineer
Northrop Grumman· Defense· Oct 25, 2026 · 1d ago
United States-California-San Diego
Location
Hybrid
Work mode
Full-time
Schedule
Principal
Level
$133K–$210K
Compensation
5+ years exp
Experience
Job description
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret
TRAVEL: Yes, 25% 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 a Principal/ Sr. Principal Electronics Responsible Engineer to join our team in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo), CA .
The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct.
This candidate will be responsible for overseeing the lifecycle of design, buildup, and delivery of large data centers using commercially available IT equipment. These deliveries will consist of new data center deployments and upgrades to existing data centers.
Roles and Responsibilities will include:
Technical and schedule lead for assigned system upgrade or new delivery:
• Solicit requirements/expectations for building and establish execution plan
• Prepare and present kickoff meetings to establish initial schedule, identify critical needs/deliverables, and coordinate with supporting organizations
• Work with Production Lead to develop cost/schedule baseline for the effort
• Generate implementation instructions & present implementation plan to change board(s)
• Drive engineering deliverables: part procurement, drawings, configuration guides, installation guides, test procedures, and maintenance procedures
Execution Lead for field integration team:
• Coordinate personnel, travel, and visit requests for integration team
• Coordinate delivery & security approval of all required materials (hardware, cables, media, etc)
• Perform morning standup meeting with integration team
• Regularly updated detailed execution plan and report end of day status to leadership
• Solve technical challenges and/or resolve issues by leveraging support from both engineering and field integration teams
• Perform system checkout and acceptance testing leveraging support from field installation team
• Verify all aspects of system integration have been completed, compile list of liens/deviations, and ensure system handoff is coordinated with sustainment team
Reporting:
• Work with Cost Account Manager (CAM) or Work Package Manager (WPM) to provide weekly status, claim earned value, and provide updates to the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS)
• Work with Lead Responsible Engineer to report daily status, identifying current tasking, needs, and projected risks
The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility. There is no remote / hybrid / telework available for this position. Travel up to 25% may be required
**This position may be filled either at the Principal Electronics Engineer level OR at the Sr. Principal Electronics Engineer level based on the qualifications listed.**
Basic Qualifications
• Principal Electronics Engineer: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 5 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 1 year of related engineering experience.
• Sr. Principal Electronics Engineer: Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 6 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a relevant STEM discipline and 4 years of related engineering experience.
• Understanding of data centers and their basic constituent parts
• Experience managing projects that involve groups of 8 or more engineers and technicians
• Ability to research and develop solutions to address technical issues on subsystems that are comprised of 5 – 10 LRUs
• Ability to operate modern computer systems on both Windows OS and UNIX-like command shells
• Must have an active US Government Top-Secret Clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
• Ability to obtain and maintain US Government SCI clearance
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
Preferred Qualifications
• Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
• Current Special Program Access
• Experience with Engineering Drawings Experience with IT/documentation tools such as Sphinx, Jinja, YAML, reST
• Experience with Agile processes
• Cost Account Management experience
• Experience using MS Project
• Experience with datacenter design and/or hardware/software field installations
Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00
Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00
The 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 northropgrumman.com. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.
Requirements
Must-haves
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret
TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time Description
Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Principal/ Sr. Principal Electronics Responsible Engineer to join our team in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo), CA .
The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct.
Technical and schedule lead for assigned system upgrade or new delivery:
Solicit requirements/expectations for building and establish execution plan
Prepare and present kickoff meetings to establish initial schedule, identify critical needs/deliverables, and coordinate with supporting organizations
Work with Production Lead to develop cost/schedule baseline for the effort
Generate implementation instructions & present implementation plan to change board(s)
Drive engineering deliverables: part procurement, drawings, configuration guides, installation guides, test procedures, and maintenance procedures
Coordinate personnel, travel, and visit requests for integration team
Coordinate delivery & security approval of all required materials (hardware, cables, media, etc)
Perform morning standup meeting with integration team
Regularly updated detailed execution plan and report end of day status to leadership
Nice-to-haves
Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
Current Special Program Access
Experience with Engineering Drawings Experience with IT/documentation tools such as Sphinx, Jinja, YAML, reST
Experience with Agile processes
Cost Account Management experience
Experience using MS Project
Experience with datacenter design and/or hardware/software field installations
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.
Application prep
Use the role’s language and application details while tailoring your materials.