July 28, 2026

Embedded Software Architect 5 (AHT)

SwiftCruit Salinas, California $177,000–$265,600 a year

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available. CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes. CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret. TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time.

Description
Northrop Grumman is currently looking for an Embedded Software Architect 5 to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within Advanced Weapons. As an integral part of our multi-discipline engineering team, you will be on the forefront of developing next generation solutions to protect technology for our nation’s warfighters. We seek bold ideas, courage, and a pioneering spirit to invent the future and to bring your whole self to work.

The Embedded Software Architect 5 will join our missile systems development team. The ideal candidate will define and architect a secure missile weapon system, collaborating closely with project teams, external partners, and customers. The candidate will have experience in an embedded systems environment and a background in designing, implementing, and supporting real-time, mission-critical software for advanced missile platforms.

This position is required to be full-time, on-site in the Northridge, CA location. No remote/telework arrangement is available for this position. Applicants must have an active US Government DoD Secret security clearance with the ability to be cleared for SAP.

Key Responsibilities:

Develop and implement software for embedded devices and systems based on requirements.
Design, develop, code, test, and debug system software, including low-level drivers and board bring-up.
Create and maintain hardware-abstraction layers (HAL) and operating-system abstraction layers (OSAL) for embedded systems.
Define and enforce architectural guidelines, coding standards, and design patterns across cross-functional teams.
Participate in all phases of the software development lifecycle in an Agile environment, including requirements verification and validation.
Lead integration of real-time operating systems (VxWorks) and ensure deterministic scheduling, priority management, and inter-process communication.
Mentor embedded software engineers, conduct code reviews, and provide technical guidance across Hardware, Software, and Systems Engineering disciplines

Basic Qualifications:

BS or MS degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field with 12+ years of embedded software experience; or a MS degree with 10+ years of likewise experience; an additional 4 years of experience may be considered in lieu of a degree
Previously an architect or lead role on defense or aerospace programs
Expertise with RTOS (VxWorks, ThreadX, FreeRTOS, Green Hills INTEGRITY)
Experience in developing and troubleshooting low-level embedded software knowledge of embedded systems design principles, including operating systems, threading, and inter-process communication
Experience with communication skills across technical and non-technical stakeholders and exercising technical influence across an organization of embedded software, systems, and hardware engineers
Strong proficiency in C/C++ programming and familiarity with Java, Python, or C#
Active US Government DoD Secret security clearance with the ability to be cleared for SAP

Preferred Qualifications:

In-depth understanding of weapons systems, real-time embedded constraints, safety-critical standards, and secure communications
Experience with version-control systems (Git) and CI/CD pipelines (Jenkins, CMake, Make, Yocto)
Experience with hardware abstraction layers, peripheral abstraction layers, and OS abstraction layers for portable embedded software across multiple platforms
Hands-on experience with pre-emptive, multitasking RTOS environments and OSAL integration
Expertise in embedded C++ optimization and integration with VxWorks
Familiarity with Atlassian Suite (JIRA, Confluence, Bitbucket, SonarQube)
Product-owner experience and ability to translate architectural concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

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Primary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00

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.

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