Principal Engineer Software/Sr Principal Engineer Software (Software Release Train Engineer)

Company: Northrop Grumman
Location: San Diego
Posted on: April 1, 2026

Job Description:

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No 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 Aerospace Systems is seeking a Principal Software Engineer/Sr Principal Software Engineer – Release Train Engineer (Level 3/4) to join the Sustainment contract team in Rancho Bernardo, CA . This position will work full time for Sustainment Program Management, acting as the Release Train Engineer/Scrum Master for the scaled agile framework that supports multiple product lines and their own Scrum teams. The role blends deep software engineering experience with strong Agile leadership to keep the program’s task planning, execution, and data collection efforts on track. What you’ll do Facilitate all SAFe ART ceremonies – PI Planning, Scrum of Scrums, ART Sync, System Demo, Inspect & Adapt – for the eight plus Scrum teams that make up the Triton sustainment train. Translate high level program epics into train level features and work with each team to decompose those into sprint stories that align with system engineering requirements. Serve as the primary point of contact for the program manager, gathering status, risk, and performance data from each product team and consolidating it into program wide reports and dashboards. Coach individual Scrum Masters and their teams on Agile best practices, Definition of Done, and the consistent use of metrics such as velocity, predictability, and defect density. Maintain the ART’s PI objectives, track milestones, and remove cross team impediments that could affect schedule or quality. Provide technical oversight on software architecture, design, and implementation for the assigned product(s), ensuring work aligns with higher level system models and MBSE artifacts (CAMEO). Lead continuous improvement initiatives, driving adoption of DevOps pipelines, automated testing, containerization (Kubernetes), and cloud deployment practices across the train. Communicate regularly with stakeholder groups—including cyber security, configuration management, test & evaluation, and Navy customers—to keep the program’s delivery status transparent and actionable. Mentor junior engineers and foster a culture of psychological safety, inclusion, and relentless improvement. Basic qualifications (Principal Engineer Software) Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or a related STEM field plus 5 years of experience (or Master’s degree with 3 years experience). (Sr Principal Engineer Software) Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or a related STEM field plus 8 years of experience (or Master’s degree with 6 years experience). Minimum 5 years of professional software engineering experience and at least 3 years of experience leading Agile teams or acting as a Scrum Master on large, multi team programs (preferably SAFe). Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance Experience with the Software System Product Lifecycle from inception to development, testing, and release Willingness to travel up to 15% of the time for customer site visits, program events, and training. Preferred qualifications Certification as a SAFe Release Train Engineer (RTE) or Scrum Master. Experience in a DevOps environment (Jira, Confluence), including CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, Azure Pipelines, GitLab) Familiarity with maritime ISR, UAV command and control, or other C4ISR domains. Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate technical details into clear status updates for senior leadership and non technical stakeholders. Experience applying Earned Value Management (EVM) principles to agile programs, including aligning EVM processes with agile planning frameworks. Familiarity leveraging an Agile EVM Performance Measurement Baseline (PMB) to track and communicate program performance effectively. Certification as a Control Account Manager (CAM). 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.

Keywords: Northrop Grumman, Laguna Niguel , Principal Engineer Software/Sr Principal Engineer Software (Software Release Train Engineer), IT / Software / Systems , San Diego, California