Senior Staff AI Systems Engineer

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be 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.

At the heart of Defining Possible is our commitment to missions. In rapidly changing global security environments, Northrop Grumman brings informed insights and software-secure technology to enable strategic planning. We’re looking for innovators who can help us keep building on our wide portfolio of secure, affordable, integrated, and multi-domain systems and technologies that fuel those missions. By joining in our shared mission, we’ll support yours of expanding your personal network and developing skills, whether you are new to the field, or an industry thought leader. At Northrop Grumman, you’ll have the resources, support, and team to do some of the best work of your career.

We are seeking a Senior Staff AI Systems Engineer to lead the architecture, development, and deployment of AI-enabled target recognition systems across multi-function RF sensors. In this role you will be a key contributor on a high performing team to implement end-to-end technical strategy, from data and model design through real-time deployment, with emphasis on performance, robustness, and mission reliability in contested environments. Come join us for this 100% on-site position from Linthicum, MD!

What You’ll Get To Do:

• Senior consultant for AI/ML target identification and classification for onboard real-time environments.
• Design and implement algorithms using machine learning and sensor fusion for multi-modal target recognition.
• Define data strategies including collection, labeling, simulation, synthetic data generation, domain adaptation, and data quality governance.
• Develop training and evaluation pipelines with rigorous performance metrics.
• Architect resilient real-time embedded solutions to execute within existing software architecture.
• Author technical specifications, interface control documents, and support HIL/SIL/flight/field test planning.
• Mentor engineers, lead design reviews, and guide technology maturation.
• Engage with customers and stakeholders to translate mission needs into technical roadmaps and executable milestones.

This position is contingent upon the successful transfer of an active U.S. Government Secret Clearance and the ability to obtain Special Program Access.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree with 14 years of experience, a master’s degree with 12 years of experience, or a PhD with 10 years of experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics or related technical fields; an additional 4 years may be considered in lieu of a degree.
• U.S Citizenship is required.
• A current/active U.S. Government Secret Clearance
• Ability to obtain Special Program Access (SAP)
• Experience in machine learning algorithms for automatic target recognition
• Experience deploying models to embedded multifunction radar platforms.

• Experience generating and incorporating synthetic data samples and using them to augment measured samples in a supervised and/or unsupervised training pipeline

• undefined

• Experience bridging the synthetic-to-real gap through data augmentation, transfer learning, adversarial training techniques, etc.
• Experience in software engineering skills in MATLAB, Python, C++11+, and/or Linux
• Experience with delivering real-time/mission-critical AI systems with clear performance ownership.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with SAR processing, GMTI/SMTI, STAP, ATR/AMTI, or RF signal classification.
• Knowledge of robustness and assurance methods including uncertainty estimation, calibration, out-of-distribution detection, and adversarial testing.
• Background in verification and validation for high-reliability systems and telemetry-driven monitoring.
• Understanding of autonomy stack integration, including navigation, planning, and tracking in contested environments.
• Active TS/SCI clearance

Northrop Grumman provides a comprehensive benefits package and a work environment which encourages your growth and supports the mutual success of our people and our company. Northrop Grumman benefits give you the flexibility and control to choose the benefits that make the most sense for you and your family.

Your benefits will include the following: Health Plan, Savings Plan, Paid Time Off and Additional Benefits including Education Assistance, Training and Development, 9/80 Work Schedule (where available), and much more!

Northrop Grumman has approximately 90,000 employees in all 50 states and in more than 27 countries. We strive to attract and retain the best employees by providing an inclusive work environment wherein employees are receptive to diverse ideas, perspectives, and talents to help solve our toughest customer challenges: to develop and maintain some of the most technically sophisticated products, programs, and services in the world.

Our Values. The women and men of Northrop Grumman Corporation are guided by Our Values. They describe our company as we want it to be. We want our decisions and actions to demonstrate these Values. We believe that putting Our Values into practice creates long-term benefits for shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, and the communities we serve.

Our Responsibility. At Northrop Grumman, we are committed to maintaining the highest of ethical standards, embracing diversity and inclusion, protecting the environment, and striving to be an ideal corporate citizen in the community and in the world.

Primary Level Salary Range: $222,700.00 - $334,100.00

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.