Test Engineer - Level 2

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescription

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, Multi-Domain Operations, and Missile Defense Integration Business Unit (BU) has an exciting career opportunity for a Test Engineer - 2 to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This position will be located on-site at Schriever Space Force Base (SSFB), in Colorado Springs, CO.

Position Overview:

The selected Test Engineer – Level 2 will join the Threat Systems Engineering (TSE) which is responsible for the development and delivery of high-fidelity threat modeling products in support of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and MDA’s Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). TSE is also responsible for the development of Modeling and Simulation (M&S) used to simulate element models of MDA’s BMDS, including kinematic missile modeling, IR signature modeling, data production/analysis activities, and maintenance/sustainment activities for the entire TSE software baseline. TSE is a cornerstone element to the Threat and Advanced Simulations Development (TASD) contract.

The Test Engineer – Level 2 will be responsible for testing modeling and simulation threat software. This includes designing, testing, analyzing, benchmarking, validating and verifying, documenting, and integrating simulation products for the organization. The selected individual must be able to work with little or no direct supervision, work as an integral member of a product delivery team and meet time-critical delivery schedules.

This role requires employees to be on-site daily with no option for remote/hybrid work.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Test new capabilities, document new features, and analyze simulation performance.
• Develop, document, and execute test cases, test scripts, and test plans to validate software functionality, performance, and compliance with requirements and acceptance criteria.
• Support the agile software team within the context of a larger team.
• Support the development of simulation and software architecture.
• Research technical details related to various missile defense systems to better support software development and testing.
• Execute and support system integration testing, regression testing, performance testing, and end-to-end testing for software solutions.
• Contribute to sprint planning by estimating testing tasks and working collaboratively with the team to ensure on-time delivery of quality deliverables.
• Work closely with systems engineers, software developers, and product owners to align on test objectives and outcomes.
• Provide hands-on training sessions for end-users to ensure proper understanding and utilization of the software.
• Identify opportunities to enhance test strategies, tools, and processes to improve team performance and software quality.
• Act as an advocate for quality within the development process, promoting best practices for testing and validation.

The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, and collaborative/team settings across all levels.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline preferred from an accredited university and 2 years of related work experience, or a Master's Degree in a STEM discipline and 0–2 years of related work experience
• Ability and willingness to travel 10% of the time to support business needs
• Applicants must have a current, active, in-scope U.S. Government issued Secret Security clearance at the time of application, which is required to start
• Ability to adapt to ambiguity, take initiative, and effectively work both independently and collaboratively within a team-oriented environment
• Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills to collaborate effectively with technical teams and customer personnel
• Familiarity with Agile software development practices
• Understanding of software development and Linux platform
• Proficiency in at least one programming/scripting language (e.g., Python, Java, or JavaScript)
• Experience in developing/executing test plans, test cases, test reports, performance metrics, and all the other basic Test Engineering functions
• Demonstrated experience verifying and validating system and software requirements, ensuring traceability, and creating detailed test artifacts (e.g., test plans, test cases, and test reports)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with Systems Engineering V-lifecycle processes, including requirements decomposition, verification, and validation to ensure compliance at both system and software levels
• Proficiency in developing and maintaining requirements traceability matrices and aligning test plans, cases, and reports with system-level verification objectives
• Experience or knowledge of Bash, Git, Docker/Podman, and testing REST APIs
• Experience interacting with SQL databases
• Experience in agile software development methodologies, including Scrum, Kanban, and Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
• Experience with large code base M&S systems using an optimistic and/or conservative discrete event simulation platform
• Knowledge or experience in several of the following: missile defense domain knowledge, command and control, and modeling and simulation development
• Experience with Atlassian tools, such as JIRA and Confluence
• Familiarity with cybersecurity concepts
• Familiarity with DevOps principles/software
• Experience in Jenkins, Github, Bitbucket, SonarQube, CAMEO, C# / ASP.NET, Curl commands, automated API testing
• Microservices architecture understanding
• Experience working with CI/CD pipelines and integrating tests into the delivery process
• Familiarity with API protocols and tools (e.g., JSON, REST, gRPC, Postman, Swagger/OpenAPI)
• Understanding of HTTP/HTTPS protocols, authentication mechanisms (OAuth, JWT)

Primary Level Salary Range: $75,800.00 - $113,800.00

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.