Staff Software Sustainment Lead

Description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

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.

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.

We are looking for team members who want to solve interesting, complex problems, which protect our nation. Your talents and passion are most important to us. Become a part of our enthusiastic team where we have fun working together and take pride in our contributions to the nation’s safety.

We are recruiting for a senior engineers with a background in Software Development, Systems Engineering, Team Leadership, and Program Management.

In this role, the focus will be on development and sustainment of satellite ground software. This positions is located onsite on our Colorado Springs, CO campus with part time on-site at our local customer site, and requires a Top Secret / SCI clearance at the time of application.

What you’ll get to do:

Lead Software Sustainment Team – Lead a small (10-15 FTE) team of software developers on fixing top priority software defects. This includes regularly organizing the work, buying off on schedule for completion, providing status to program leadership, and ensuring the team makes and communicates timely fixes.

Chair the Government Defect Review Board (GDRB) – Weekly meeting with govt and operator stakeholders to status open defects, report status, and field prioritization requests to communicate back to the Sustainment team and broader Software Development team(s).

Own the bug‑fix flow – Triage defects, facilitate priority setting, and improve cycle‑time and predictability.

Use data to drive decisions – Track team efficiency, defect metrics, and act on the insights.

Be a technical bridge – Connect development teams with program leadership and customers

Cost Account Manager – be the CAM for the Sustainment team, ensuring all program execution takes place according to EVMS cost and schedule targets

Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree (ideally Computer Science or Systems Engineering) and 12 years of experience; OR a master’s degree and 10 years: OR a PhD and 8 years. Experience can be considered in lieu of degree (4 years of additional experience)

Experience with satellite operations

Demonstrated people leadership experience for teams of 6+ engineers

Ability to work on site daily

Ability to translate technical requirements / status to non-technical audience

Ability to communicate operational needs into technical requirements for software developers

Experience with customer interaction & expectations management

U.S. Citizenship

Must have a current and active Top-Secret clearance at the time of application

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Preferred Qualifications:

Proven track record of navigating unfamiliar or rapidly‑changing environments

Space Mission Planning Experience

Cost Account Manager (CAM) experience

Software development experience

Understanding of greater program goals with motivation to succeed

Ability to mentor junior engineers

Primary Level Salary Range: $161,000.00 - $241,400.00

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.