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Spacecraft Fault Management & System Autonomy Principal/Sr. Principal Test Engineer - R10223774

Northrop Grumman McLean, Virginia, United States

onsitefull-time

Salary: $114,000 - $213,400 / year

Posted Feb 25, 2026Apply by Mar 27, 2026

Role & seniority: Senior Systems Engineer track ( Principal/Sr. Principal level options based on experience) for Space Systems fault management and autonomy; individual-contributor and deliverable lead within a multi-disciplinary team.

Stack/tools: Aerospace systems domain; Spacecraft fault management and autonomy software; unit/system testing; Dynamic Satellite Simulator; verification/validation documentation; scripting (VBA, Matlab); requirements flow-down and interface definition; familiarity with spacecraft integration/test and mission operations.

Top 3 responsibilities

  • Develop unit testing scripts and perform unit/system-level tests on the Dynamic Satellite Simulator for Flight Software.

  • Evaluate test results, produce reports/review packages, and ensure verification traces to requirements and hazard controls.

  • Support systems engineering deliverables, technical reviews, and integration/test activities for spacecraft readiness and mission success.

Must-have skills

  • BS in a technical field with 5+ years (or MS with 3+ years; PhD acceptable) and experience in mission-critical systems engineering.

  • Experience in systems engineering, requirements definition/flow-down, interfaces, and test/verification activities.

  • Knowledge of spacecraft subsystems design, integration/test, launch/mission operations, and flight software verification.

Nice-to-haves

  • Failure analysis or fault management experience; architecture development and verification do

Full Description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: None

TRAVEL: No

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.

This Systems Engineering position is an engineering support role at Northrop Grumman Space Systems located in McLean, VA as a part of the Fault Management & System Autonomy (FMSA) Team. The job responsibilities will be as an individual-contributor and deliverable/product lead within a multi-disciplinary engineering team. Successful candidate will support development and verification/validation of the test framework for Spacecraft Fault Management & System Autonomy Flight Software. Other responsibilities may include traditional Systems Engineering functions, including requirements synthesis and flow-down, system trades study support, systems analysis, coordination of design efforts, and management of technical budgets & interface definitions. The application of these systems engineering principals will be in the context of fault management and system autonomy. The candidate must be able to assist in development/debugging of unit tests within a complex system, operation of the Satellite Simulator for testing the flight software, and generation of verification/validation documentation.

The candidate must be knowledgeable in aerospace systems, spacecraft subsystems design, or mission operations. Position will also include responsibilities relating to integration, testing, and operational readiness of spacecraft. The engineer will develop original ideas, design unit tests and scripts to meet verification/validation objectives, conduct test programs to evaluate design work, evaluate test outcomes with their program/functional supervisors and other technical groups, and make the necessary design/implementation modifications to achieve the best design within the program constraints.

Responsibilities/Duties

Develop Unit Testing scripts for Fault Management & System Autonomy Flight Software Conduct Unit/System Level test programs on the Dynamic Satellite Simulator Evaluate Unit Level test results and generation reports & review packages Evaluate design documentation and verification for compliance with customer and internally derived requirements Provide support to selected elements of the program Systems Engineering Team Support and deliver SE Products and other deliverables, with a focus on mission success. Evaluate design documentation to provide evidence for requirement verification, hazard control verification closure, and validation of the Spacecraft Flight Software design. Develop/implement and communicate solutions to routine Engineering problems Contribute to the technical tasks supporting the program Provide systems engineering support for technical reviews Write status and technical performance reviews, analyses and reports

Basic Qualifications

Principal Systems Engineer - Bachelors of Science degree in technical field and 5+ years of experience, or Masters of Science de gree in technical field with 3+ years of experience; or a PhD Sr. Principal Systems Engineer - Bachelors of Science degree in technical field and 8+ years of experience, Master’s Degree and 6+ years of experience; or a PhD and + years of experience Experience in Systems Engineering for mission critical applications

Preferred Qualifications

Failure analysis or fault management technical experience Experience with Systems Engineering process Experience defining requirements & interfaces Understanding of spacecraft integration & test, launch, and mission operations Experience operating Spacecraft Simulations Experience with human spaceflight vehicle development including integration & test Experience developing verification documentation Experience with architecture development Familiarity with electrical & computer systems Familiarity with command and telemetry database Mission and/or vehicle systems engineering experience Software coding or scripting experience Strong Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) & Matlab scripting skills

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

Fault ManagementSystem AutonomyTest Framework DevelopmentRequirements SynthesisSystem Trades StudySystems AnalysisUnit TestingSatellite Simulator OperationVerification DocumentationAerospace SystemsSpacecraft Subsystems DesignMission OperationsIntegrationVBA ScriptingMatlab ScriptingFlight Software Testingmulti-location

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