MBSE Systems Engineer Architect (3/4)
Northrop Grumman · United States-California-San Diego, United States
- Contract
- Full time
- Base
- United States-California-San Diego, United States
- Field
- Engineering
- Posted
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 Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a MBSE Systems Architect Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Research and Advanced Development (RAD) to support a next-generation campaign effort. This role is located in Rancho Bernardo, CA or El Segundo, CA.
In this role, you will see success operating as a highly capable engineer who thrives on hard technical problems, works effectively in ambiguity, and brings the initiative, rigor, and persistence needed to move advanced concepts into structured, model-based solutions.
You will apply Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) to define architecture, mission concepts, system behaviors, interfaces, and traceable technical baselines for advanced aerospace and defense applications. Success in this role comes from a strong self-starter with hands-on experience in SysML v2 and UAF, excellent systems thinking, and a reputation for producing high-value technical work with minimal oversight.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain MBSE architecture products for advanced concept and campaign efforts.
- Apply SysML v2 and UAF to capture system structure, behavior, interfaces, and traceability.
- Translate mission needs and technical objectives into clear, model-based architecture artifacts.
- Support concept exploration, trade studies, and technical decision-making for next-generation capabilities.
- Decompose complex problems into actionable engineering products and modeling tasks.
- Partner with systems, software, hardware, and mission teams to align models to evolving technical direction.
- Contribute to modeling methods, architecture standards, and digital engineering practices.
- Clearly communicate technical insights, assumptions, risks, and recommendations to engineering teams and leadership.
This role can be filled at either the Principal or Senior Principal Level based on the qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications
At a Principal Level (3):
- Must have a Bachelors of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a Master's Degree in a STEM field and at least 3 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a PhD and at least 1 year of relevant military / professional / academic experience
At a Senior Principal Level (4)
- Must have a Bachelors of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 8 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a Master's Degree in a STEM field and at least 6 years of relevant military / professional experience, OR a PhD and at least 4 years of relevant military / professional experience
And at Both Levels:
- Must have experience applying MBSE on complex aerospace, defense, or advanced technology efforts.
- Must have experience with SysML v2 and UAF.
- Must have experience in system architecture, requirements development, interface analysis, and technical decomposition.
- Must have an active US Government Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced degree in Systems Engineering or related technical field.
- Experience in research, advanced development, campaign, or early-stage concept work.
- Demonstrated ability to solve difficult technical problems with creativity, discipline, and urgency.
- Experience contributing across cross-functional teams without direct authority.
- Familiarity with digital engineering environments and model-based architecture methods.
Valuable Skills:
- High-accountability engineers who take ownership and follow through
- Strong individual contributors who can create clarity where little exists
- Technically sharp, hardworking team members who embrace challenge
- Fast learners with sound engineering judgment
- Low-ego partners who raise the quality and pace of the team
- Mission-focused contributors who consistently deliver strong results
