Jobs Companies Northrop Grumman Staff Integration & Test Engineer (SME) (26-424)

About this Staff Integration & Test Engineer (SME) (26-424) role at Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman · Onsite · United States-Colorado-Colorado Springs
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

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 Space Systems—Missile Defense Integration offers an excellent opportunity for a Staff Integration & Test Engineer (SME) (26-424) to join our team of skilled and diverse professionals. Based in Colorado Springs, CO, this role is essential to supporting the U.S. President, the Secretary of Defense, and combatant commanders at the strategic, regional, and operational levels.

This position does not provide relocation assistance and requires on-site work with no remote options.

Position Overview:

The Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) program is an essential part of the Missile Defense System (MDS). It provides a critical operational platform that enables the U.S. President, the Secretary of Defense, and Combatant Commanders at strategic, regional, and tactical levels to systematically plan missile defense operations, monitor battle progress, and actively control networked sensors and weapon systems to achieve global and regional mission objectives. C2BMC provides layered missile defense capabilities, delivering an optimized response to threats across all ranges and flight phases. It acts as a force multiplier by connecting, integrating, and synchronizing autonomous sensor and weapon systems and operations—both worldwide and locally—to improve overall performance. Additionally, C2BMC is a key component of all ground and flight tests that verify and demonstrate the missile defense system's current and future capabilities.

The successful candidate will join the C2BMC Regional Applications Analysis team and work directly with the C2BMC Chief Analyst. This role is ideal for a seasoned missile defense systems integrator and mission analyst who brings deep BMDS domain knowledge, a proven history of integration and test leadership across real-world operations and MDA-sponsored events, and a track record of mentoring the next generation of analysts.

As a Senior Analyst and Systems Integration SME, you will lead the integration, test, verification, and mission performance analysis of C2BMC regional applications. You will serve as a trusted technical authority across engineering teams, test ranges, Warfighter organizations, and DoD stakeholders—translating complex system behavior into clear, actionable findings that drive corrective action and inform program decisions.

Essential Functions:

  • Serve as a Systems Integrator and Analyst for C2BMC regional applications, performing first-line troubleshooting and deep-dive root cause analysis of issues encountered during integration, operations, test, and training events
  • Support developers through investigation, problem resolution, and test verification of Findings, Trouble Reports (TRs), and Change Reports (CRs)
  • Conduct investigations of uncovered issues in distributed and integrated ground test events demonstrating new BMDS functionality (e.g., System Track and related capabilities)
  • Produce timeline, performance, throughput, and latency analyses of C2BMC products used in real-world events, MDA-sponsored flight and ground test activities, and Warfighter training events
  • Develop and execute test verification plans demonstrating software functionality in benchmark and continuous lab environments; use results to assess build health at completion
  • Plan and execute integration tasks in support of multiple concurrent builds; provide lab demonstrations and workshops of build enhancements to internal and external customers while maintaining system stability and performance
  • Serve as a primary liaison and Subject Matter Expert (SME) between engineering teams, DoD senior leaders, test ranges, Warfighter organizations, and external partners; facilitate technical interchange meetings, technical reviews, and decision-making forums
  • Support definition and refinement of Warfighter Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) and Concepts of Operations (CONOPS); design and manage distributed training scenarios and exercises and provide onsite, real-time SME support during Warfighter training runs and crew certifications
  • Interface with scrum teams, build teams, and lead architects across geographically distributed sites to ensure alignment between mission needs, engineering execution, and test/analysis results
  • Incorporate manual methods of analysis into automated analysis tools to improve efficiency, repeatability, and data quality
  • Mentor and coach junior analysts and engineers on system design, behavior characteristics, integration and test processes, and analysis techniques
  • Contribute to Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) and capture technical risk metrics for program reporting aligned to missile defense acquisition milestones

Basic Qualifications:

 

Please list your current security clearance and IAT or relevant certifications on your resume, if applicable.

 

  • A Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or a related field from an accredited university, along with 12 years of experience; or a Master’s degree (preferred) in a related field with 10 years of relevant work experience; or 16 years of relevant work experience may be considered as an alternative to a degree
  • Applicants must have a current, active in-scope Government-issued Secret security clearance at the time of application, which is required to start with the ability to be cleared at Top Secret clearance
  • Generally, 8+ years of related experience, with significant progressive experience in systems integration, test, and analysis of complex, defense-grade command and control (C2), sensor, or weapon systems (missile defense experience strongly preferred)
  • Proven record of producing authoritative integration, test, and analysis reports for large-scale, real-time systems, including performance, reliability, functional behavior, throughput, and latency
  • Hands-on proficiency operating in UNIX/Linux environments (including IBM AIX) at the command line
  • Working proficiency with a scripting or data analysis language (e.g., Python, MATLAB, or comparable), including the ability to convert manual analysis methods into automated tools
  • Experience with Agile development and collaboration tools such as JIRA, Bitbucket, FishEye, and Crucible
  • Excellent analytical abilities with strong attention to detail and a commitment to reliability and quality
  • Understanding of systems and software engineering processes, principles, and lifecycles
  • Superior written and oral communication skills, with a proven ability to brief senior military officials, Warfighters, and technical peers on system behavior, anomalies, and analysis results
  • Demonstrated mentorship of junior engineers and the ability to influence decisions in a fast-paced environment

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Applicants with a current, active in-scope Government-issued Top Secret security clearance at the time of application are highly desired
  • Applicants with current, active Government-Issued 8140 certification at IAT Level II or higher (such as Security+ CE, CCNA-Security, CySA+, CND, etc.) at the time of application are highly desired. The candidate is responsible for maintaining their 8140 certifications throughout the entire contract period
  • In-depth, hands-on experience with the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) Fire Control (GFC) product or comparable missile defense battle management/fire control architectures
  • Experience supporting real-world operations, MDA-sponsored flight and ground tests, and Warfighter training, exercise, and certification events
  • Experience with BMDS System Track (BST) functionality and distributed/integrated ground test events
  • Experience designing scenarios in a distributed training architecture and managing distributed training exercises with internal and external command components
  • Familiarity with CORBA Interface Definition Language (IDL) and distributed, real-time system interfaces
  • Experience developing or contributing to automated assessment tools, parsers, and data-reduction pipelines
  • Experience applying earned value management (EVM) methodologies or improving requirements traceability
  • Exposure to secure DevSecOps practices and CI/CD pipelines (e.g., GitLab, Jenkins)
  • Prior U.S. military or intelligence experience related to air, missile, and space domains, including threat analysis and aircrew training support

What We Can Offer You:

Northrop Grumman provides a comprehensive benefits package and a supportive work environment that encourages your growth, benefiting both employees and the company. The benefits are flexible and customizable, enabling you to choose options that suit your individual and family needs. Your benefits will include the following:

  • Health Plan
  • Savings Plan
  • Paid Time Off
  • Education Assistance
  • Training and Development
  • Flexible Work Arrangements

https://benefits.northropgrumman.com/us/en2/BenefitsOverview/Pages/default.aspx

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Primary Level Salary Range: $133,000.00 - $199,600.00

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.
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How this QA Engineer salary compares

This role pays $166,300/yrabove the typical range for QA Engineer roles.

$108,540 median $133,500 $180,260

Typical range $117,700–$156,600/yr, from 7 comparable QA Engineer listings on JobsRadar (pay annualized to USD). See QA Engineer salary insights →

About Northrop Grumman

We are a pioneering company. With careers across all areas: air, cyber, land, sea and space – our 90,000 employees work as one to defend and define the future. Northrop Grumman careers and internships are as varied as your interests, with a lifetime of potential that will give you every opportunity to do your best work. Working together with people from many backgrounds, personal passions and disciplines, we share a drive to push the boundaries of science, technology and engineering to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide.

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