Principal/Sr Principal Engineer Digital

Company: Northrop Grumman
Location: San Diego
Posted on: April 1, 2026

Job Description:

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. We are looking for you to join our team as a Digital Engineer or Principal Digital Engineer based out of San Diego, CA. At the Northrop Grumman San Diego campus our Advanced Digital Design organization creates the next generation of communications and signal processing systems, and will take ideas from concept to working systems aboard the world’s most advanced platforms right here in always-sunny San Diego. We design in our campus of labs and on-site advanced manufacturing just minutes from the beach and everything for which southern California is famous. It’s work that matters and a career that can takes you places. We seek degreed electrical or computer engineering engineers with hands-on experience in FPGA Design and Verification with VHDL. You will be responsible for digital designs associated with multi-function software-defined radios. Systems include state-of-art radios and test equipment for military applications. This is a dual level requisition which can be filled as a Digital Engineer or Principal Digital Engineer. This position is contingent upon obtaining a DoD secret clearance Basic Qualifications: Principal Digital Engineer 5 years of relevant experience with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) or Computer Engineering (BSCE); 3 years of relevant experience with a Masters; 1 year of experience with PHD. VHDL design or verification Experience with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Tools: Xilinx ISE/ Vivado, Altera Quartus, ModelSim/QuestaSim. Experience with board or system level debug Experience with the setup and use of common test equipment Experience with collaborating with other engineers and cross-functional teams. Proven ability to perform prototype design, build and production test Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a DOD Secret Clearance. Basic Qualifications: Sr. Principal Digital Engineer 8 years of relevant experience with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) or Computer Engineering (BSCE); 6 years of relevant experience with a Masters; 4 years of relevant with a PHD VHDL design or verification Experience with Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Tools: Xilinx ISE/ Vivado, Altera Quartus, ModelSim/QuestaSim. Experience with board or system level debug Experience with the setup and use of common test equipment Experience with collaborating with other engineers and cross-functional teams. Proven ability to perform prototype design, build and production test Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a DOD Secret Clearance. Preferred Qualifications: Experience with very high speed interfaces and advanced manufacturing Experience with developing FPGA requirements and be able to show traceability to requirements and technical references. Familiar with multilayer board design, signal integrity, and RF communication systems Experience with scripting languages in support of development environment configuration and execution. Primary Level Salary Range: $125,300.00 - $187,900.00 Secondary Level Salary Range: $156,400.00 - $234,600.00 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, Fountain Valley , Principal/Sr Principal Engineer Digital, Engineering , San Diego, California