Director, Software Engineering Center

Salary: $166,800 - 305,900 per year Requirements:

• We require a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field plus 9 years of related professional or military experience in the Aerospace and Defense industry, including leadership experience, or a Master of Science degree in a STEM field plus 7 years of related professional or military experience in the Aerospace and Defense industry, including leadership experience.
• We need at least 6 years of software leadership or management experience in an integrated product team environment leading agile development teams.
• We require experience working across the full software program lifecycle.
• We need demonstrated expertise in establishing engineering standards, tools, and processes at scale.
• We require experience with or exposure to digital design initiatives and solutions.
• We need experience with commercial software licensing models and managing commercial software tool portfolios.
• We require knowledge of modern industry practices for developing software-defined systems.
• We need experience with avionics, vehicle, systems engineering, global supply chain, and test processes and tools where they overlap with or are adjacent to software processes and tools.
• We require the ability to obtain and maintain a government-issued Secret clearance, with the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI clearance as business needs dictate.
• We require the ability to attain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR) within a reasonable timeframe as determined by business needs.
• Preferred qualifications include experience leading an everything as code ecosystem across infrastructure, configuration, policies, pipelines, environments, and application or platform components.
• Preferred qualifications include experience leading teams that build reusable software frameworks, platforms, and developer tooling adopted across multiple projects, teams, or products.
• Preferred qualifications include experience defining software processes and tools in alignment with the DoD DevOps Reference Architecture.
• Preferred qualifications include experience transitioning teams into an AI-assisted environment using large language models and agentic services.
• Preferred qualifications include an active U.S. Government in-scope Secret security clearance.
• Preferred qualifications include current Special Program Access (PAR).
• Preferred qualifications include an MS or MBA degree.
• Preferred qualifications include program management experience.
• Preferred qualifications include a continuous improvement mindset with experience leading process optimization.
• Preferred qualifications include being a strategic, systems-level thinker who can build alignment across functional and program boundaries.

• We will provide leadership and set the strategic direction for technical priorities within the Software discipline, aligned to long-term sector strategy.
• We will develop, plan, execute, and deploy software frameworks that support flight-critical software, mission software, ground-station applications, and training platforms.
• We will establish technical standards within an everything-as-code ecosystem.
• We will work closely with EI&E discipline leads to identify program needs and close gaps in engineering tools, processes, digital solutions, and technical training.
• We will lead the development, rollout, and sustainment of sector-wide engineering tools, standardized processes, digital solutions, and technical training so they remain relevant, scalable, and interoperable.
• We will oversee and allocate the disciplines NCTA and indirect budgets to strengthen technical excellence, improve workforce capabilities, and drive measurable program impact.
• We will represent the discipline in sector-wide and enterprise-wide efforts tied to technical development, career pathing, training, and critical skills investment.
• We will participate in sector-level talent reviews and succession planning to maintain visibility into strengths, gaps, and growth opportunities.
• We will support NG Fellows within the discipline to advance emerging technologies and future workforce capabilities.
• We will contribute technical expertise and process leadership in major proposal reviews, program reviews, independent technical reviews, program stand-up reviews, NCTA and indirect activities, and other improvement initiatives.
• We will serve as a trusted advisor to help resolve technical performance shortfalls through root cause analysis, corrective action planning, and long-term verification of improvement.
• We will capture, share, and embed lessons learned and best practices across programs to continually improve technical performance.

• AI
• DevOps
• Support
• Security
• LLM

More:

We are Northrop Grummans Aeronautics Systems Sector, and we are seeking a Software Engineering (CoTE) Director to support software-related efforts. This leadership role reports to the Software Center of Technical Excellence Director and will be based at one of our core sites in Melbourne, FL; Oklahoma City, OK; Palmdale, CA; San Diego, CA; or El Segundo, CA. Relocation assistance may be available, and travel is expected up to 25% of the time. We offer a competitive salary range of $166,800.00 to $305,900.00, with potential overtime, shift differential, discretionary bonus, and, for Vice President or Director positions, possible long-term incentives. Our benefits include health insurance, life and disability insurance, a savings plan, company-paid holidays, and paid time off. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and value a culture rooted in intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity, collaboration, ethical leadership, shared success, and pioneering innovation.

last updated 36 week of 2026