Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems MQ-4 Triton Program seeks a Engineer Navigation or Principal Engineer Navigation to support the Vehicle Management System - Navigation team in Rancho Bernardo, CA.
The Vehicle Management System group is responsible for vehicle flight control and safety. The Navigation team is responsible for managing the navigation subsystem, including Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, inertial measurement units (IMU), and radio-frequency equipment. The selected candidate will work independently and collaborate across multiple teams to deliver quality solutions. General duties for the candidate include flight/lab testing, Production/Field Support, anomaly resolution, and supplier management.
The role is dynamic as members of the team handle a broad range of activities across multiple phases of the program to include development, production, and operational support. Some of those responsibilities are:
Integrate navigation hardware, accounting for hardware capabilities/limitations, defining interfaces, and incorporating required redundancy.
Conduct investigations, system testing, and flight testing in lab environments.
Provide remote and on-site troubleshooting for Production and Field issues.
Support proposal development, technical planning, verification & validation, cost & risk analysis, and trade studies.
Ensure the logical and systematic conversion of customer or product requirements into total system solutions that balance technical, schedule, and cost constraints.
This position can be filled at either the Engineer or Principal Engineer level.
Basic Qualifications:
Basic qualifications for an Engineer Guidance Navigation Control include a Bachelor's in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and at least 2 years of experience or a Master's Degree in STEM with no experience
Basic qualifications for a Principal Engineer Guidance Navigation Control include a Bachelor's in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and at least 5 years of experience, a Master's Degree in STEM with 3 years of experience, or a PhD Degree with no experience
General understanding of the GPS system, inertial sensors, and RF devices (amplifiers, splitters, etc.) and how these concepts are interconnected.
Experience with the following software Tools: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Project, Visio), MATLAB
Experience with test equipment such as oscilloscopes, signal generators, signal analyzers, or multi-meters.
Your ability to obtain and/or transfer and maintain the final U.S. adjudicated government Secret clearance (must be in-scope or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation) and any program access(es) required for the position within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Company.
Preferred Qualifications:
Active DoD Secret security clearance or higher
Comprehensive knowledge of navigation components, including receivers and inertial sensors.
Experience with system redundancy and associated safety analysis
Familiarity with databuses and related protocols, such as MIL-STD-1553, RS-422, ARINC-429
Experience performing system-level design/troubleshooting
Flight Test experience: Some experience
Supplier management: Some experience
Requirements verification testing: Some experience
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field and at least 2 years of experience, or a STEM master's degree with no experience, for the Engineer level
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of experience, a STEM master's degree with 3 years of experience, or a STEM PhD with no experience, for the Principal Engineer level
- General understanding of GPS systems, inertial sensors, and RF devices
- Experience with Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Project, and Visio, and MATLAB
- Experience using oscilloscopes, signal generators, signal analyzers, or multimeters
- Ability to obtain, transfer, and maintain a final U.S. adjudicated government Secret clearance, including being in-scope or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation
- Active DoD Secret security clearance or higher
- Comprehensive knowledge of navigation components, including receivers and inertial sensors
- Experience with system redundancy and safety analysis
- Familiarity with MIL-STD-1553, RS-422, or ARINC-429 databuses and protocols
- System-level design and troubleshooting experience
- Flight test experience
- Supplier management experience
- Requirements verification testing experience
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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Healthcare Strength — Health coverage offers multiple medical plan options by region alongside dental, vision, mental‑health resources, and wellness programs. Recent materials also highlight added family‑building support, including a dedicated fertility benefit.
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Retirement Support — The 401(k) savings plan is positioned as competitive with a company match, auto‑escalation features, and access to an employee stock fund/ESPP. Official filings and benefits guides emphasize retirement as a core element of the Total Rewards package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Many sites offer a 9/80 schedule, generous PTO, paid holidays, and flexible/telework options where program needs allow. Paid parental and caregiver leave are prominently featured, with recent enhancements for the delivering parent.
Northrop Grumman Insights
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