Software Engineer 4

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman · Aerospace · Huntsville, AL +1 · Software

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Sr. Principal Software Engineer to join their IRAD Test Team in Huntsville, AL. The role focuses on designing, developing, and implementing automated tests for mission-critical software systems, ensuring quality assurance through collaboration with developers and systems engineers. Responsibilities include developing and optimizing test frameworks, executing various test types, troubleshooting issues, and supporting CI/CD workflows. Requires a Secret security clearance and experience with scripting languages (Python), object-oriented programming (Java, C#), and containerization tools (Docker, Kubernetes).

What you'd actually do

  1. Collaborate with test leads, developers, and systems engineers to design test cases and implement automated tests to validate system requirements.
  2. Develop, maintain, and optimize automated test frameworks to ensure scalability, accuracy, and maintainability of automated test suites.
  3. Execute automated regression, integration, and performance tests, documenting and reporting results to the team.
  4. Identify, troubleshoot, and resolve issues found during testing, including collaboration with developers to investigate root causes.
  5. Support continuous testing workflows in CI/CD pipelines, incorporating automated testing tools to improve validation efficiency.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in a STEM-related field, and 8 years of related experience; or a Master’s degree with 6 years of related experience; or 4 years with a PhD.
  • Active in-scope DoD-issued Secret security clearance at the time of application, which is required to start.
  • Experience designing, developing, and executing automated tests in alignment with defined test cases.
  • Hands-on experience with test automation frameworks and libraries in CI/CD environments.
  • Proficiency with scripting languages (e.g., Python) and object-oriented programming languages (e.g., Java, C#).
  • Strong knowledge of containerization and orchestration tools (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes) as part of a software delivery/testing pipeline.
  • Familiarity with testing tools and platforms such as Jenkins, GitLab CI, or similar for automating builds and execution.
  • Unix/Linux operating system experience.
  • Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills.
  • Quick to learn and adopt new concepts and technologies.

Nice to have

  • Advanced scripting capabilities in Python or Java for custom automation needs.
  • Previous experience integrating Gherkin syntax and Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) methodologies into automated testing workflows.
  • Familiarity with tools such as Cucumber, SpecFlow, or similar.
  • Experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) systems and real-time testing environments.
  • Understanding of testing in containerized environments, using Docker and orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes.
  • Familiarity with Static & Dynamic Code Analysis tools (e.g., SonarQube, Fortify, Coverity).
  • Familiarity with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools and processes.
  • Advanced degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or Mathematics

What the JD emphasized

  • Secret security clearance
  • Secret