The Multi Domain Operations division within the Northrop Grumman Space Systems pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, 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.
Central Systems Engineering is looking for you to join us as Chief Engineer located in Aurora, CO.
This role will serve as the definitive technical authority for all aspects of engineering on all program elements (systems engineering/hardware/software/support/test) and leads a multi-disciplined engineering team managing the technical performance of the program meeting cost and schedule requirements including subcontracted elements.
- Responsible for the technical development and direction of all engineering aspects on the program, including design, development, implementation, testing, and delivery of products to the customer.
- Serves as an independent advisor to the program manager and the technical point of contact to the customer
- Maintains cognizance over technical activities within program Mission and Product Areas and ensures horizontal integration of the best engineering practices.
- Provides expert input on risks, issues, and opportunities that may affect system-level requirements, baselines, or engineering integration.
- Evaluates technical implications of identified risks, issues, and opportunities, and offers recommendations for mitigation strategies.
- Reviews and validates the impact of risks, issues, and opportunities on ongoing product and system development
- Provides technical leadership, direction and mentoring to other technical employees in the application of systems engineering principles, tools, and techniques to achieve practical end results.
- Regularly takes a leadership role in providing insight and knowledge transfer to others on internal and external technical solutions to solve complex problems.
- Develops and present technical solutions to senior leadership.
- Advocate and lead efforts in Digital Transformation initiatives.
- Provides oversight and customer engagement for the execution of Agile planning and execution.
- Serves as the interface for the program to NCTA activities.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) discipline and 12 years of experience; 10 years with master’s degree; 8 years with PhD
- Minimum of 5 years of experience formally leading engineering teams/and or organizations to achieve a common goal.
- Must have US Citizenship with an Active Top Secret/SCI clearance at time of application
- Be able and willing to travel up to 25% as a part of the role.
- Must have familiarity with supporting large technical proposals and the ability to lead the customer through reviews of technical performance.
- Strong collaboration skills with experience working across BUs, divisions, sectors within NG as well as with industry partners and customer community, as well as strong communication skills.
- Ability to motivate and guide teams and activities without having formal “ownership” of the staff supporting those activities.
- Must have RF and Hardware design, integration and deployment/demonstration experience
Preferred Qualifications:
- Demonstrated background of successfully applying NG Systems Engineering Principles and Operating Practices to guide program technical design, development, and deployment of systems architectures.
- Ten or more years of experience in remote sensing applications across multiple operating domains (air, land, sea, space, cyber)
- Five or more years of experience supporting development of mission-level campaign concepts of operations and Enterprise scale systems architectures.
- General knowledge of data exploitation, AI/ML techniques, and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR)
- Experience integrating multiple engineering specialties and stakeholders across multiple Teams and Suppliers
- Experience leading design, production, and integration of complex systems
- Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) experience
- Experience leading the performance of technical tasks on schedule, at cost and achieving all requirements as either a chief engineer or technical lead.
- Demonstrated effectiveness in achieving results through managing people and understanding and management of internal processes and customer/supplier relationships.
- Strong understanding and broad application of complex engineering systems (engineering standards, configuration management, material review board, process control, tooling, facilities, software, etc.)
- Ability to collaborate and achieve consensus when dealing with groups from diverse organizations and backgrounds.
- Demonstrated experience in making sound decisions in uncertain and difficult situations.
- Demonstrated experience with industrial or government construction projects.
- Breadth of technical background (all domain physical, security, phenomenology)
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science in a STEM discipline with 12 years of relevant experience (or Master's with 10 years or PhD with 8 years).
- Minimum 5 years formally leading engineering teams or organizations.
- US Citizenship and Active Top Secret/SCI clearance at time of application.
- Willing and able to travel up to 25% of the time.
- Experience with RF and hardware design, integration, deployment and demonstration.
- Familiarity supporting large technical proposals and leading customer technical reviews.
- Strong collaboration and communication skills working across business units, industry partners, and customers.
- Ability to provide technical leadership, mentor engineers, and integrate multiple engineering specialties and suppliers.
- Experience providing oversight and customer engagement for Agile planning and execution.
Northrop Grumman Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Northrop Grumman and has not been reviewed or approved by Northrop Grumman.
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Retirement Support — 401(k) matching is considered strong, with additional defined-benefit coverage for certain cohorts and options like catch-up contributions. Retirement programs are repeatedly highlighted as a core strength of the total rewards.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — PTO, company-paid holidays, and compressed work schedules (such as 9/80) provide meaningful time away and flexibility. These scheduling options are cited as a major quality-of-life benefit across many locations.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave alongside caregiver leave, adoption assistance, and back-up care supports a range of family needs. These programs have been expanded recently, signaling continued investment in family support.
Northrop Grumman Insights
What We Do
We are a close-knit community of big thinkers collaborating to keep the world safe. Our passion, creativity and expertise bring next-level technology solutions to life in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, space, and logistics and modernization for our customers around the globe. On the Northrop Grumman team, you’ll join our pursuit of excellence immersed in a dynamic culture of innovation and respect. Your unique perspective will help achieve our shared vision for the future of global security. Every step of the way, you'll be supported by world-class training, employee resource groups and a comprehensive benefits package that enables greater health and happiness for you and your family. Worldwide and across disciplines, we’re challenging what’s possible for technology to protect people and places from undersea to outer space and into cyberspace. And we see the impact of our performance every day. We are Northrop Grumman, and we work on what matters—now, you too can make a difference. Explore opportunities in engineering, IT, manufacturing, business management, cybersecurity and more with us. Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

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