RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret
TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time
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 Defense Systems (NGDS) is seeking a Principal/ Sr. Principal Engineer to maintain and enhance capabilities in support of DAF CLOUDworks at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Rome, NY. DAF CLOUDworks is a rapidly growing secure cloud program that encompasses 10+ teams. These teams span all different areas of cloud engineering including information security, infrastructure development, and cloud migration. You will be an active part of one of these teams providing technical support of customers leveraging DAF CLOUDworks. Along with operations and sustainment, DAF CLOUDworks focuses on modifying and enhancing offerings to implement new requirements, enhance functionality, increase efficiency, or lower operating/deployment. Successful candidates should:
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Have a track record as an effective communicator and problem solver who is able to develop and maintain good working relationships with internal stakeholders.
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Be able to follow Agile Development process and full life cycle development
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Interface with multiple, geographically disbursed teams and effectively communicate project statuses and blockers
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Ability to support 24X7 on-call
This position is contingent on customer funding and approval and may be filled at a level 3 or level 4.
Basic Qualifications:
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Principal Engineer (level 3): A high school diploma with 9+ years of relevant experience OR a bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience OR a master’s degree with 3+ years of relevant experience
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Sr. Principal Engineer (level 4): A high school diploma with 12+ years of relevant experience OR a bachelor’s degree with 8+ years of relevant experience OR a master’s degree with 6+ years of relevant experience
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An active Top Secret clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI), or an inactive TS/SCI clearance that was debriefed less than two years ago.
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Able to obtain IAT Level II certification per DoD 8570.01 such as CASP+ or Security+ within 60 days of start date.
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Expertise with infrastructure components, including network, storage, Linux/Windows, and IT security concepts
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Strong technical knowledge of Cloud-based technologies (AWS Platform, Azure Platform, Google Cloud)
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Expertise with Infrastructure as Code (IaC), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and microservices
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Experience with networking
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3+ years of experience scripting in Bash or PowerShell
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Experience with Agile methodologies and tools (Atlassian suite: Jira, Confluence)
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Strong interpersonal, problem-solving, organizational, and multi-tasking skills
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Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Preferred Qualifications:
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An active Top Secret clearance with Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI)
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CompTIA Security+ certification or IAT Level II equivalent per DoD 8570.01
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Certified (associate level or above) in cloud platform
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AWS Platform (>= Solutions Architect Associate)
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Azure Platform (>= Azure Administrator Associate)
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Google (>= Google Cloud Engineer)
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Expertise leveraging git for code management (ArgoCD, Flux, Gitlab)
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Experience with administering cloud-based networking (ACL, Security Groups, WAF)
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Demonstrated experience in cloud adoption, environment prototyping, and data migration
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Knowledge of account management solutions (RBAC, AWS IAM, Azure AD)
#InSITESpring2026
Primary Level Salary Range: $103,600.00 - $155,400.00
Secondary Level Salary Range: $129,300.00 - $193,900.00
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.
