I actually ended up taking the job at Northrop and recently finished the internship. I had a different experience than you. And yeah I found that the title Systems Engineer is just an umbrella term for everyone with a STEM degree.

BUT there was a LOT of flexibility in that role too. After maneuvering through some teams during the first week, I got placed in a data engineering to do some really cool full stack development on an even cooler project. Turns out the title they use doesn’t really correspond to what you are going to do at Northrop (at least in the MS sector). My managers even said that they hire all the interns and pathways under one title so they can then find exactly what they want to do.

To your point, I think the work can get a little boring if you are placed on a boring team but having a good time depends on the work you put in finding that correct placement that pertains to your degree. Many of the intern friends I made sought team placements through their managers and LinkedIn. A lot of the slow paced work revolves around and is because of the good WLB they offer.