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McLean, Virginia, United States
Onsite
Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations. Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams. As a Software Developer you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.
In these roles, the focus will be on development, integration, deployment, and sustainment of satellite ground software.
This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.
Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
Full‑stack development at the OS, platform, and mission‑unique software layer.
Develop client and server applications and services using service‑oriented or object‑oriented architectures, micro‑services, and message‑bus‑based data exchange that include first‑of‑a‑kind capabilities.
Tech stack – Primary language Python (with C++ and occasional Java), PostgreSQL, Qpid message broker (AMQP) – exploring gRPC (both use Protocol Buffers).
GUIs built in Qt (transitioning to web‑based GUIs using Elixir).
Containerization with Docker for local development and Kubernetes for production orchestration.
Operating systems: Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows workstations.
Act as a self‑starter capable of making decisions with overall project budget and schedule in mind.
Support ground‑software operations and associated configurations, including troubleshooting software errors and hardware affecting ground software.
Support Acceptance Test events, run tests, and provide test automation.
Configure ground‑segment software, resolve and remediate software defects, and deliver enhancements per customer change requests or mission needs.
Provide ground‑software support during launch and launch‑rehearsal events.
Other duties as assigned
This position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company.
This position can be filled at either a Level 3 or Level 4.
Basic Qualifications for Level 3:
Bachelor’s degree in STEM field with 5 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 3 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 1 year of professional experience.
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret clearance.
Demonstrated software development experience.
Python application development, C++, Bash scripting experience.
Design and implement mission‑planning tools (trajectory generation, timeline creation, resource allocation).
Build graphical user interfaces and APIs that enable operators to create, edit, and validate mission plans.
Integrate real‑time data feeds (ephemeris, weather, space‑environment models) via the Qpid message bus.
Automate plan validation and collision‑avoidance checks using Python‑based rule engines.
Basic Qualifications for Level 4:
Bachelor’s degree in STEM field with 8 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 6 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 4 years of professional experience.
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret clearance.
Demonstrated software development experience.
Python application development, C++, Bash scripting experience.
Design and implement mission‑planning tools (trajectory generation, timeline creation, resource allocation).
Build graphical user interfaces and APIs that enable operators to create, edit, and validate mission plans.
Integrate real‑time data feeds (ephemeris, weather, space‑environment models) via the Qpid message bus.
Automate plan validation and collision‑avoidance checks using Python‑based rule engines.
Preferred Qualifications:
Knowledge of orbital mechanics basics (or willingness to learn), experience with GUI frameworks (e.g., Flask/Django, Plotly/D3), familiarity with real‑time data streaming (Kafka, RabbitMQ), understanding of mission‑timeline concepts.
Strong preference given to Top Secret.
Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below:
https://www.northropgrumman.com/space
Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.
