Systems Modeling and Simulation Engineer (Engineer or Principal Level)

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescription

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 has an opening for a Systems Modeling and Simulation Engineer (Engineer or Principal Level) to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Systems Engineering organization. This role is located in Rancho Bernardo, CA.

In this role you will support Operations Analysis and should consider yourself a self-starter with a familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team (IPT) construct. Some qualities and experience you will be expected to have include:

• A Strong grasp of agile software development methodologies
• A Proficiency with Object Oriented languages (C#, C++, Java, etc.) and Windows based development
• Demonstrated expertise in the .NET runtime, CLR internals, garbage collection, and JIT compilation
• A Proven ability to write highly optimized, performant code and conduct profiling/tuning
• An expert use of Visual Studio (debugging, refactoring, performance analysis)
• Previous experience building WPF applications using the MVVM pattern; familiarity with MVVM implementation in Blazor
• The ability to design re usable UI libraries that span WPF and Blazor
• A familiarity with CRUD, DTO, and gRPC service patterns
• Significant experience with version control tools (Bitbucket, GitHub, GitLab, Git, TFS) and CI/CD pipelines.
• A good knowledge of secure coding standards and relevant defense compliance (NIST, DoD).
• Strong problem solving skills; capacity to work independently while adhering to strict timelines.

Roles and Responsibilities include to:

• Utilize full life cycle design, implementation, and unit testing of software using C# / .NET (including CLR, garbage collection, JIT compilation).
• Leverage core computer science fundamentals—algorithms, data structures, and complexity analysis—to solve logical and mathematical problems.
• Develop, profile, and tune high performance, optimized code; conduct runtime analysis and memory usage profiling.
• Build and maintain desktop applications with WPF and the MVVM pattern; extend MVVM concepts to modern UI frameworks such as Blazor while preserving a consistent architecture across platforms.
• Design and publish re usable UI component libraries that work in both WPF and Blazor environments.
• Implement common application patterns (CRUD, DTO design, gRPC services) to enable efficient data exchange.
• Use Visual Studio at an expert level (debugging, refactoring, performance profiling, navigating large solutions).
• Follow secure coding practices and defense related compliance standards (e.g., NIST, DoD).
• Create and maintain technical documentation; translate design decisions for both technical and non technical stakeholders.
• Reverse engineer existing code bases to understand architecture and locate critical logic.
• Operate within CI/CD pipelines (Git/TFS, Azure DevOps, etc.) and collaborate in version controlled, team based environments.
• Work independently, meet strict project timelines, and synthesize input from diverse stakeholders to communicate results to leadership.

You 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 role may be filled at the Engineer or Principal Engineer level based on the qualifications below.

Basic Qualifications

For Engineer (Level 2):

• Must have a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in a STEM discipline and 2 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering, OR a Master's Degree and 0 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering.

For Principal Engineer (Level 3):

• Must have a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in a STEM discipline and 5 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering, OR a Master's Degree and 3 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering, OR a Ph.D. and 1 years of related professional/military experience in Systems Engineering.

Applicable for Both Levels:

• Must have an active DoD Top Secret clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
• Experience with Object‑Oriented languages (C#, C++, Java, etc.) and Windows‑based development.
• Experience with agile software‑development methodologies.
• Experience with the .NET runtime, CLR internals, garbage collection, and JIT compilation.
• Experience using Visual Studio (debugging, refactoring, performance analysis).
• Experience with version‑control tools (Bitbucket, GitHub, GitLab, Git, TFS) and CI/CD pipelines.
• Knowledge of secure coding standards and relevant defense compliance (NIST, DoD).

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in at least one of the following domains:
  • Mission‑planning applications
  • Systems performance monitoring and analysis.
  • Modeling or simulation of radars, missiles, aircraft, or satellites.
• Proven ability to develop and integrate prototype and pre‑production software for rapid hands‑on testing.
• Experience building WPF applications using the MVVM pattern; familiarity with MVVM implementation in Blazor.  
• Familiarity of how to design re‑usable UI libraries that span WPF and Blazor.
• Familiarity with CRUD, DTO, and gRPC service patterns.
• Experience creating physics‑based models and simulations using OOP.
• Hands‑on work with Service‑Oriented Architectures and systems‑integration projects.
• Demonstrated success in a rapid‑prototyping team environment.
• Experience with system‑of‑systems modeling tools (AFSIM, Suppressor, Brawler).
• Advanced proficiency with CommunityToolkit.Mvvm / MVVMToolkit (desired).
• Strong communication, interpersonal, and leadership skills, including project/analysis lead experience.
• Current active DoD Top Secret clearance with SAP/SCI.

Primary Level Salary Range: $91,800.00 - $137,600.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00

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 http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.