Principal Engineer Jobs in San Antonio, TX
Principal Engineer jobs in San Antonio are in strong demand, concentrated in the South Texas Medical Center, the Pearl District tech corridor, and the northern suburbs around Stone Oak and Loop 1604, across defense, cybersecurity, healthcare IT, and enterprise software. Employers hiring right now include Northrop Grumman, XPEL, and Arcadis. Scan the live roles below and apply to whichever ones fit.
Find Principal Engineer JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 247+ Principal Engineer jobs











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 Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered by providing the skills and innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission!
Northrop Grumman Mission Systems has an opening for a systems engineer in the Cyber specialty discipline. We are seeking a highly skilled and motivated Principal Cyber Systems Engineer or Senior Principal Cyber Systems Engineer to join our dynamic engineering team. This role involves serving as a Model-Based Systems Engineer (MBSE) on a team dedicated to the development of a new solution operating in a multi-level security environment. The position requires expertise in Systems Engineering with an emphasis in Cybersecurity.
The qualified applicant will become part of Northrop Grumman’s Mission Systems support team in San Antonio, TX.
Please be aware that this position will be contingent upon customer approval and holding final clearances prior to start date.*
Essential Duties:
- Work within the Systems Engineering Group to provide technical decisions and guidance to enable timely, high quality product deliveries and flight test events that meet mission Cyber requirements
- Partner and collaborate with other program systems engineers across Integrated Product Teams to accomplish program cyber requirements and meet mission objectives
- As a member of a team of specialized NGMS cyber systems engineers, support the development and enhancement of Launch and Missile Defense systems
- Participate as part of an extended team of US government, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, Northrop Grumman Defense Systems, and suppliers of cybersecurity practitioners across multiple program locations
- Ensure weapon system compliance with all contractually obligated cybersecurity standards and guidance, including but not limited to CNSSI 1253, DoD 8570, DoD 8510, and AFI 17-101
- Propose and design cyber systems architecture changes with traceability to requirements
- Provide cyber implementation guidance and oversight across technical teams
- Develop and document technical standard engineering processes and procedures as needed
- Participate in engineering reviews of technical requirements, design and implementation plans prior to development of computer systems, digital communications systems, networking devices, computer architectures
- Perform cyber-attack surface analysis of system designs with recommendations to mitigate and reduce risk
- Participate in cybersecurity assessment activities and review cybersecurity assessment methods, plans, procedures, reports and security penetration test planning and execution.
- Provide input to program milestones and metrics, adhering to cybersecurity-relevant plans and schedules
- Identify problems and research technical solutions to resolve these problems
- Apply analytical and evaluative methods and techniques to issues or studies concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of Cyber Security implementation
- Solve complex problems across disciplines in an Agile, DevSecOps environment
- Support program engineering review boards
Note: This position can be filled at the Principal or Sr. Principal level.
Basic Qualifications for a Principal Cyber Systems Engineer
- Bachelor’s degree with 5 years, Master’s degree with 3 years, or a PhD with 1 year of experience in: Systems Engineering, Cybersecurity Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or 9 years’ experience in a cyber systems engineering related fields in lieu of a degree.
- U.S. Citizenship is required.
- A current active Secret clearance is required to be considered
- The ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance.
- Able to obtain, within six months of hire, an IASAE II certification (CISSP preferred) in accordance with DoDI 8570/8140
- Comprehension of systems engineering principles, theories and concepts.
- Experience applying Model Based Systems Engineering to develop and model requirements
- Experience managing requirements or systems engineering artifacts using tools such as DOORS, Cameo, or JIRA.
- Direct experience in one or more of the following Systems Engineering activities: system requirements decomposition/derivation/flow down/traceability, architecture, high-level/detail design, implementation, integration and test, and/or verification & validation.
Basic Qualifications for a Sr. Principal Cyber Systems Engineer
- Bachelor’s degree with 8 years, Master’s degree with 6 years, or a PhD with 4 years of experience in: Systems Engineering, Cybersecurity Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or 14 years’ experience in a cyber systems engineering related fields in lieu of a degree.
- U.S. Citizenship is required.
- A current active Secret clearance is required to be considered
- The ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance.
- Able to obtain, within six months of hire, an IASAE II certification (CISSP preferred) in accordance with DoDI 8570/8140
- Comprehension of systems engineering principles, theories and concepts.
- Experience applying Model Based Systems Engineering to develop and model requirements
- Experience managing requirements or systems engineering artifacts using tools such as DOORS, Cameo, or JIRA.
- Direct experience in one or more of the following Systems Engineering activities: system requirements decomposition/derivation/flow down/traceability, architecture, high-level/detail design, implementation, integration and test, and/or verification & validation.
Preferred Qualifications for both levels:
- Demonstrated experience developing system architectures for complex aerospace vehicles or subsystems using MBSE (SysML)
- OMG SysML Model User Certification
- IASAE level III certified (ISSEP, ISSAP) in accordance with DoDI 8570/8140
- Top Secret/SCI Security Clearance with additional preference for SAP briefing on the Sentinel program.
- Direct experience supporting the development of RMF assessment authorization artifacts development to satisfy NIST SP 800-37 requirements.
- Knowledge of Cyber Security systems engineering practices, network technologies, DoD system development life cycles and methodologies, and insight into information technology infrastructure management/monitoring and applications
- Experience innovating in Cybersecurity Accreditation processes and procedures in a multi-certification (Cyber, Nuclear Surety, etc.) context as part of a Digital Engineering Environment
- Experience in a Systems Engineering role with responsibilities in the planning, designing, implementation, testing, and delivery of a system with Cyber/Information Assurance requirements
- Experience managing and directing efforts following an Agile and DevSecOps process model
- Ability to calmly negotiate challenging program requirements, strategies, and conflicting constraints among a large and diverse group of program stakeholders.
See All 247+ Principal Engineer Jobs in San Antonio
Find roles in San Antonio that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Principal Engineer JobsPrincipal Engineer Job Market in San Antonio
Who's Hiring
- Northrop Grumman90

- XPEL45

- Arcadis22

- Vantage Data Centers22

- Atlas Technical Consultants22

Top Industries Hiring
- Technology & Software
Principal Engineer Jobs in San Antonio: Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a principal engineer job in San Antonio?
San Antonio's strongest hiring pockets for principal engineers are defense and federal contracting around JBSA and Port San Antonio, cybersecurity firms concentrated in the Alamo City's growing tech corridor, and health systems clustered in the South Texas Medical Center. Candidates who combine deep technical depth with systems-level architecture experience and any prior federal or DoD project exposure stand out in this market.
Which companies hire principal engineers in San Antonio?
Employers hiring principal engineers in San Antonio right now include Northrop Grumman, XPEL, and Arcadis, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. San Antonio's employer base skews toward defense primes, federal IT contractors, regional health networks, and a growing cohort of cybersecurity-focused tech firms.
Are there remote principal engineer jobs in San Antonio?
Yes, though availability depends heavily on the role type. About 50% of principal engineer openings tied to San Antonio are remote or hybrid as of August 2026, with remote options most common in software architecture and cloud infrastructure roles. Defense and hardware-adjacent positions almost always require on-site presence at facilities around JBSA or Port San Antonio.
How can I get a principal engineer job in San Antonio with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path in San Antonio is through mid-level engineer roles at defense contractors or health IT vendors, where project scale creates clear promotion ladders to principal-level. Targeting firms that hold large federal contracts at Port San Antonio or near JBSA gives early-career engineers exposure to the complex, multi-system environments that build the technical depth hiring managers look for at the principal level.
Which industries hire the most principal engineers in San Antonio?
The sectors hiring the most principal engineers in San Antonio are Technology & Software, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. San Antonio's concentration of military installations, a large regional hospital network, and a rapidly expanding cybersecurity industry all drive consistent demand for senior technical leadership at the principal engineer level.
Related Jobs in Texas
See All 247+ Principal Engineer Jobs in San Antonio
Find roles in San Antonio that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Principal Engineer Jobs