2026 Associate Cost Engineer / Cost Engineer - El Segundo CA

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescription

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 is seeking an Associate Cost Engineer/Cost Engineer. This position will be located at our Aeronautics Systems sector in El Segundo, CA.

The Cost Engineering position applies engineering economic analysis to support technical decision-making across the entire system lifecycle, from early concept development through design, production, operations, and sustainment. Cost Engineering represents a unique sub-discipline of Systems Engineering that integrates cost considerations into system architecture, design trades, and lifecycle planning of a program.

This role collaborates with engineering and program teams to develop cost- and value-informed insights that influence system design and execution. This position requires a balance of technical understanding, analytical rigor, and business acumen to ensure engineering decisions are informed by both system performance and lifecycle affordability considerations.  Candidate will grow a foundational understanding of Systems Engineering and acquire knowledge of the following analyses: Cost-Effectiveness, Life Cycle Cost (LCC), Cost as an Independent Variable (CAIV), Design to Cost (DTC), and Cost Reduction Initiatives (CRI).

Key Responsibilities

Engineering economic analysis & decision support

• Support engineering economic analyses, affordability studies, and cost/performance trade studies to support architecture and design decisions (e.g., alternatives evaluation, design-to-cost, life cycle cost drivers)

• Translate system requirements, architectures, interfaces, and design concepts into cost drivers and analytical models that support informed engineering and program decisions

• Apply business acumen and programmatic context to engineering analyses to assess affordability, sustainability, and lifecycle implications of technical decisions

Cost estimating & modeling (development → production → sustainment)

• Support the development of cost estimates using appropriate methods (analogous, parametric/CER-based, bottom-up), including data normalization and documentation of assumptions, ground rules, and basis-of-estimate

• Build, maintain, and improve cost models and estimating relationships; incorporate historical actuals, learning/improvement curves, and technical/production data

• Collect and synthesize cost inputs from engineering, manufacturing, subcontractors, and vendors; maintain historical cost data for reuse

Cross-functional leadership & communication

• Brief results to program leadership, engineering leadership, proposal teams, and external stakeholders; tailor communication to technical and executive audiences

• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure analyses are technically sound, traceable, and decision-focused

This requisition may be filled at either an Associate Cost Engineer (level 1) or Cost Engineer (level 2)

Basic Qualifications for an Associate Engineer Systems (T01)

A candidate, regardless of age and hiring source, must meet ALL of the below

criteria. The candidate must:

•  Be completing or has completed their Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution by August 2026

• Be majoring in or having majored in Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mathematics or a similar a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) degree.

• Be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance (U.S. citizenship is a pre-requisite) as well as Program Special access within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company to meet its business needs (U.S. citizenship is a pre-requisite). Final approved U.S. Government security clearance (U.S. citizenship is a pre-requisite) as well as Program Special Access may be required to start.

Basic Qualifications for an Engineer Systems (T02)

A candidate, regardless of age and hiring source, must meet ALL of the below criteria. The candidate must:

• Be completing or has completed their Master’s degree from an accredited institution by August 2026.

• Be majoring in or having majored in Industrial Engineering, Systems Engineering, Mathematics or a similar a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) degree.

• Be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance (U.S. citizenship is a pre-requisite) as well as Program Special access within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company to meet its business needs (U.S. citizenship is a pre-requisite).  Final approved U.S. Government security clearance (U.S. citizenship is a pre-requisite) as well as Program Special Access may be required to start.

Preferred Qualifications

• Have an overall cumulative GPA of 3.25/4.0 or higher.

• Ability to clearly present and communicate ideas, concepts, and plans

• Experience with Microsoft Office, commercial CAD software, Python/Matlab/ R or other similar

• Experience performing or supporting cost-effectiveness, LCC, CAIV, DTC, CRI analyses and/or cost risk assessments across multiple lifecycle phases

• Experience with DoD Acquisition principles and guides, e.g. MIL-STD 881F, O&S CAPE Guide, DAU Guide on Systems Engineering, etc.

• Ability to model complex systems

• Experience with the integration of aircraft systems in either development or production environments and track integration activity metrics

• Working knowledge of systems engineering artifacts (requirements, WBS, architecture trades, interfaces) and ability to connect technical decisions to cost drivers

• Understanding of aircraft development or other major platforms (ex: Spacecraft, Radar)

• Experience engaging technical SMEs to collect/interpret technical data and quantify cost impacts of new technologies

• Experience building dashboards/visualizations (Power BI/Tableau) and/or using SQL for data extraction

• Familiarity with improvement/learning curves and production touch labor modeling

Pay Range

• Associate Cost Engineer: $69,400.00 - $104,000.00

• Cost Engineer: $83,400.00 - $125,200.00

Campusjobs

Primary Level Salary Range: $69,400.00 - $104,000.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $83,400.00 - $125,200.00

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.