Principal Mission Architect Engineer

Company: Northrop Grumman
Location: Colorado Springs
Posted on: April 3, 2026

Job Description:

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: SCI 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. 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 Principal Mission Architect Engineer Level 3 located in Colorado Springs, CO, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one. This candidate will be a part of the Execution Planning Team working collaboratively with government customers and operators to demonstrate and develop plans to increase the effectiveness of the capabilities. This candidate will have basic knowledge of dynamic satellite operations and Rendezvous Proximity and Operations (RPO) with preferred experience executing the missions on orbit. This candidate will closely work with the On-Orbit Test Team, Systems Engineering and Integration IPT lead, and nominal and campaign operations team to plan, deconflict, and execution risk reduction activities for system effectiveness. This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off. Your mission, should you choose to accept: Provide technical solutions to enable the end state of the Mission Execution Planning Team against dynamic priorities and objectives in support of system effectiveness evaluations Contribute to design, planning, and execution of mission enabling risk reduction activities with customer and end user community Support the design, planning, and execution of activities within the end user community Support modeling and simulation of risk reduction activities with simulation capabilities and generate reports and assessments in support of on-orbit execution Contribute as a subject matter expert in space vehicle hardware configuration and trajectory flight safety in support of activity readiness reviews and recommendations Support assessments of systems effectiveness based on constellation design, space vehicle capability, ground system capability, and enterprise integrations Perform system-of-system trades, modeling, simulation and analysis to assess space mission architecture alternatives for delivering a customer mission effect, data or capability as it fits within a broader campaign If this job description reads like it was written specifically for you, consider joining our team! 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. Basic Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of professional experience or Master’s degree with 3 years of professional experience or PhD with 1 year of professional experience Requires an active Top-Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance at time of application Basic understanding of rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) and the design of dynamic satellite trajectories against constraints, restraints, and objectives Experience operating satellite systems in a dynamic environment Preferred Qualifications: Experience with RPO missions and the underpinning algorithms with knowledge of operations and planning Prior aerospace-related work experience for a U.S Government Agency or Contractor Previous experience with flight hardware on operational systems Experience in scripting languages and modeling tools (e.g. STK, Freeflyer, Python, STOL, etc) Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below: https://www.northropgrumman.com/space COSpace Primary Level Salary Range: $103,600.00 - $155,400.00 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, Castle Rock , Principal Mission Architect Engineer, Engineering , Colorado Springs, Colorado