Staff Engineer - Network Systems Architect - Top Secret

Company: Northrop Grumman
Location: Redondo Beach
Posted on: April 3, 2026

Job Description:

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available 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. Northrop Grumman Space Systems pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission! We offer phenomenal learning opportunities, exposure to a wide variety of projects and customers, and a very friendly collaborative workplace. We are looking for self-motivated, proactive, and goal-oriented people to help us grow our services and become even better at what we do. Does this sound like you? Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) provide benefits for the member, our leaders and the company. Our ERGs offer opportunities to be a friend, be active, be a volunteer, be a leader, to be recognized and to be yourself! Every ERG is inclusive of all employees! Our diverse portfolio of programs means there are endless paths to cultivate your career. We are well-known for our inclusive environment, as well as our excellent work/life balance. We also offer exceptional benefits/healthcare, a 9/80 schedule, and a great 401K matching program. Northrop Grumman Space Systems is seeking a highly motivated and qualified Staff Network Systems Architect in Redondo Beach, CA . In this role, the successful candidate will lead the Network Emulation and Research Development team. This is a unique opportunity for an entrepreneurial, forward-looking, and market-aware professional to drive cutting-edge innovation in the networking and technology space, with the ability to identify and capitalize on synergistic opportunities across diverse customer bases. The position demands a motivated self-starter who is highly collaborative and willing to participate in consortiums and shape industry standards. The ideal candidate will have subject matter expertise level technical insight and experience for Northrop Grumman’s Proliferated Space Mesh Networking IR&D work. The position requires deep knowledge of OSI layers 2 – 6, SD-WAN, Software Defined Networking, carrier provider architecture, variable trust, use of abstraction and virtualization within networking to include Hypervisor, VM, and Container layers, Linux OS, cloud infrastructures (AWS, Azure, and GCP), and awareness of various CPU/GPU architectures (x86, ARM, AMD, etc.). This position is 100% on site and has a mixture of classified and unclassified work. Responsibilities will include: Ongoing research in the emerging proliferated space mesh networking sector Application of various open-source / commercial networking standards to specific space-ground networks Building emulated network architectures in tools like GNS3, EVE-NG, and Containerlabs Ability to work with all major network vendor equipment (Cisco, Juniper, Nokia, etc.) Ability to tailor network design to unique system requirements and constraints Apply a firm understanding of Software Defined Networking (SDN) paradigm and the SDN architecture (data plane, control plane, northbound/southbound interfaces, etc.) Understanding of MPLS, IPv4/6, SR-MPLS, Traffic Engineering, Network Emulation, and Time Variant Routing Comfortable with deploying virtual router and switch images on various hardware platforms Awareness of cybersecurity controls, Zero-Trust Architecture and guidelines as they are applied to network architecture design Basic Qualifications: Must have at least 12 Years experience with bachelor’s in science degree; 10 Years with Masters; or 8 Years with PhD Active Top Secret Clearance with ability to obtain SCI at start Extensive experience and knowledge of IPv4/IPv6, subnetting Extensive experience and knowledge of L2 thru L6 networking Solid understanding of dynamic routing protocols (i.e. IS-IS, OSPF, BGP) Solid understanding of Carrier grade networking protocols and solutions such as TP-MPLS, SR-MPLS, PCEP Experience in implementing open-source management/control plane interfaces (gNMI, RPC, YANG models, NETCONF, RESTCONF) Experience developing, deploying, and maintaining cloud-native SDN controllers Experience with DISA STIGs as they apply to network devices Previous leadership experience Strong ability to engage with diverse stakeholders, foster collaboration, and influence industry advancement Preferred Qualifications: SCI Clearance Master’s Degree in a STEM discipline preferred Experience with Cisco, Juniper, and Nokia applications Experience with Software Defined Networking Experience with various hypervisors (VMware, OpenShift, etc.) Experience in virtual environments (required to help host virtual images of routers, etc. including containers, hypervisors, VMs Experience with Crypto units such as HAIPE Experience with AWS Experience with Network Emulation (Containerlabs, EVE-NG, GNS3, etc.) Mathematical understanding of common approaches to Networking and Traffic Engineering problems (i.e. Dijkstra’s Algorithm, Multi-Commodity Flow Problem) CISSP, Cisco, and/or Juniper certifications Knowledge of bridging hardware to software and virtual environments, including bridging virtual network ports to physical hardware Knowledge of multiple hardware bases (x86, AMD, ARM) Awareness of industry partners, technology disrupters, and Experience with Subcontract management Security or better certification Adjudicated CI Poly Familiarity with Space Architectures Primary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00 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.

Keywords: Northrop Grumman, Los Angeles , Staff Engineer - Network Systems Architect - Top Secret, Engineering , Redondo Beach, California