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# Staff Software Sustainment Lead

- **Company:** Northrop Grumman
- **Location:** Colorado Springs, CO, United States
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** $161,000.0 - $241,400.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Systems Engineering, Software Engineering, Information Technology
- **Published:** October 14, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.careerjet.com/job/us01a84d96a97ed5c04d476f54de678c27/eaa

## About the Role

* Bachelor's degree (ideally Computer Science or Systems Engineering) and 12 years of experience; OR a master's degree and 10 years: OR a PhD and 8 years. Experience can be considered in lieu of degree (4 years of additional experience)
 * Experience with satellite operations
 * Demonstrated people leadership experience for teams of 6+ engineers
 * Ability to work on site daily
 * Ability to translate technical requirements / status to non-technical audience
 * Ability to communicate operational needs into technical requirements for software developers
 * Experience with customer interaction & expectations management
 * U.S. Citizenship
 * Must have a current and active Top-Secret clearance at the time of application, * Proven track record of navigating unfamiliar or rapidly-changing environments
 * Space Mission Planning Experience
 * Cost Account Manager (CAM) experience
 * Software development experience
 * Understanding of greater program goals with motivation to succeed
 * Ability to mentor junior engineers

## Description

We are recruiting for a senior engineers with a background in Software Development, Systems Engineering, Team Leadership, and Program Management.
In this role, the focus will be on development and sustainment of satellite ground software. This positions is located onsite on our Colorado Springs, CO campus with part time on-site at our local customer site, and requires a Top Secret / SCI clearance at the time of application.
What you'll get to do:

 * Lead Software Sustainment Team - Lead a small (10-15 FTE) team of software developers on fixing top priority software defects. This includes regularly organizing the work, buying off on schedule for completion, providing status to program leadership, and ensuring the team makes and communicates timely fixes.
 * Chair the Government Defect Review Board (GDRB) - Weekly meeting with govt and operator stakeholders to status open defects, report status, and field prioritization requests to communicate back to the Sustainment team and broader Software Development team(s).
 * Own the bug-fix flow - Triage defects, facilitate priority setting, and improve cycle-time and predictability.
 * Use data to drive decisions - Track team efficiency, defect metrics, and act on the insights.
 * Be a technical bridge - Connect development teams with program leadership and customers
 * Cost Account Manager - be the CAM for the Sustainment team, ensuring all program execution takes place according to EVMS cost and schedule targets