Staff Systems Engineer - TRMC Systems Engineering Lead

United States-California-San DiegoPosted Jul 27, 2026

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: 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 has an opening for a Staff Engineer Systems – TRMC Systems Engineering Lead to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals in our Systems Engineering discipline. This position will be located in San Diego, CA.

In this role, you will lead the Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) effort for the TRMC RQ-4 portfolio, holding overall responsibility for SE&I execution across multiple programs and reporting directly to the RQ-4 Enterprise SE&I IPT Lead.

Essential Functions:

  • Manage and lead a team of SE&I engineers and managers across R&V, Integration, Specialty, and Integrated Functional Capability disciplines.
  • Manage and oversee Systems Engineering execution of the overall cost, schedule, and technical baseline
  • Extensive interface and coordination with program management, customer counterparts, and sub-contractors
  • Drive first-time quality across TRMC capability design and promote culture of technical rigor within TRMC Systems Engineering team
  • Lead and oversee successful milestone reviews (e.g. SRR, SFR, PDR, CDR, FCA).
  • Lead successful requirements definition, decomposition, allocation, and final verification across a complex system.
  • Lead a multidisciplinary team to decompose and define customer CONOPs, Performance Specifications, and Use Cases/OpsCon scenarios into robust, verifiable requirements at the System and Segment Level.
  • Perform Risk and Opportunity management
  • Lead and prepare proposals and baseline planning for new activities
  • Provide technical guidance, leadership and mentorship to multi-disciplinary team across Systems Engineering to ensure success of team members across all levels

Basic Qualifications:

  • Must have a Bachelors of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 12 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a Master's Degree in a STEM field and at least 10 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a PhD and at least 8 years of relevant military / professional experience
  • Must have experience executing Systems Engineering processes, including full Systems Engineering life cycle and Systems Engineering Technical Reviews (SETR)
  • Must have experience briefing or leading technical discussions with outside stakeholders including other IPTs, customer representatives or supplier personnel
  • Must have experience leading a team of 10+ individuals in a technical environment
  • Must have an active US Government Secret or higher 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.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • MS degree in a STEM Field
  • DOORS experience with an emphasis on requirements management and metrics generation.
  • Previous Control Account Manager experience on Earned Value programs
  • Previous Experience in managing Technical Baselines (Functional and Allocated Baselines)
  • Experience with interfaces ICDs
  • Experience in developing proposals
  • Experience managing suppliers
  • Experience in Agile Development
  • Experience in implementation of Quick Reaction Capabilities (QRCs) or other similar short development capability implementation
  • Experience in Autonomous Systems Programs
  • Experience working on US Air Force Programs
  • Experience working on FMS or Export controlled Programs
  • Active TS/SCI.

Primary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00

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.

Want jobs like this matched to you?

SimpleCareer scores fresh postings against your résumé so you only see the matches that matter.

Get started free