Staff Engineer Systems – Virtualization Architect (26-462)

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance 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. Northrop Grumman Space Systems—Missile Defense Integration offers an excellent opportunity for a Staff Engineer Systems – Virtualization Architect (26-462) to join our team of skilled and diverse professionals. Based in Colorado Springs, CO, this role is essential to supporting the U.S. President, the Secretary of Defense, and combatant commanders at the strategic, regional, and operational levels.   This position does not provide relocation assistance and requires on-site work with no remote options.   Position Overview:   The Command and Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) program is a key component of the Missile Defense System. It is a vital operational system that enables the U.S. president, the Secretary of Defense, and combatant commanders at strategic, regional, and operational levels to plan ballistic missile defense operations systematically, collectively monitor the battle, and dynamically control networked sensors and weapon systems to achieve global and regional mission goals. C2BMC supports layered missile defense capabilities that enable an optimized response to threats across all ranges and flight phases. It serves as a force multiplier by networking, integrating, and synchronizing autonomous sensor and weapon systems and operations, both globally and regionally, to improve performance. C2BMC is essential for all ground and flight tests that verify and demonstrate the current and future capabilities of missile defense systems.   In this role, the Staff Virtualization Architect will support the design, implementation, and operation of modern virtualized and software-defined networking environments for the C2BMC program. This role focuses on deploying and managing VMware vSphere and VMware NSX infrastructure to ensure secure, scalable, and highly available compute and network services. The ideal candidate will collaborate with infrastructure, storage, and security teams to troubleshoot issues, optimize system performance, enforce micro-segmentation, and maintain reliable connectivity across virtual and physical environments. The candidate will work within an agile Scrum team and plan work based on customer requirements and program contractual agreements.   Essential Functions:   • Deploy, configure, and maintain VMware NSX environments, including transport zones, segments, edge nodes, and logical networking components ( Tier‑0/Tier‑1 gateways, NAT, and routing protocols such as BGP ) • Design and enforce network security rules and policies using NSX distributed firewall ( DFW ), gateway firewall, and micro-segmentation techniques to support secure C2BMC operations • Design, deploy, and manage VMware vSphere virtual infrastructure , including ESXi hosts, clusters, and vCenter , ensuring appropriate configuration of high availability ( HA ), Distributed Resource