Northrop Grumman’s Mission Systems sector is looking for a Program Manager 1 to support the Mission Survivability Systems business unit onsite in Rolling Meadows, IL. ** This position is contingent upon a program award and the announcement is expected this summer** A successful candidate works well in a fast-paced environment and enjoys the opportunity to define possible.
The primary responsibility will be the delivery of all contractual requirements on cost and on schedule, while achieving all technical requirements and creating customer intimacy to support value creation strategies and actions. The individual will lead a cross-functional organization aligned to common program performance goals.
What You’ll Get To Do;
Program Managers are responsible for managing all phases of the program life cycle from inception (proposal development) through startup, execution, and completion (contract closeout). Primary responsibilities are the management of cost, schedule, and technical performance of company programs or subsystems and include, but are not limited to:
- Cultivating customer relationships and intimacy to develop further opportunities within the customer community
- Developing new business opportunities through long term strategic planning, capture planning, and development of proposals and business plans
- Establishing a program organization that effectively addresses customer requirements and incorporates the necessary internal and external sub-organizations
- Leading and directing cross-functional Integrated Program Teams (IPT) to meet program cost, schedule and technical performance objectives
- Measuring and reporting program performance
- Delivering presentations to customers, executive management and other program stakeholders
- Participating in the negotiation of contracts, contract changes, specifications, operating budgets, schedule milestones, and key terms and conditions
- Establishing design concepts, criteria, and engineering efforts for product research, development, integration and test
- Creation, review and finalization of the program Statement of Work
- Identification, distribution, tracking, and completion of program requirements
- Establishment and management of the program and subordinate baselines
- Development and adherence to budget baselines utilizing Earned Value Management (EVM) or similar cost & schedule control methodologies and tools
- Identifying, allocating and managing program resources, including workforce planning
- Managing Government/customer supplied property or information (GFE, CFE, etc.)
- Managing suppliers to meet program objectives
- Adherence to all internal processes, policies, and applicable industry standards
- Ensuring program team understands and adheres to contract scope, and manages change through control board activities
- Development and adherence to master plans and schedules
- Conducting thorough risk & opportunity management practices including identification, mitigation and realization
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree and 5 years of experience OR a Master’s degree and 3 years of experience supporting U.S. Government contracts and customers and/or project management in other industries; will also consider 4 additional years of related experience in lieu of Degree.
- Experience leading the technical performance of tasks on schedule, at cost and achieving all requirements as either project lead, integrated program team or cost account manager
- Demonstrated success leading teams/and or organizations to achieve a common goal
- Secret security clearance level
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s or advanced degree in engineering or similar field.
- Active/current DoD Top Secret clearance
- Demonstrated ability to obtain additional clearances such as SAP or SCI.
- Experience in leading new product development (hardware and software).
- Experience in Electro-Optical/Infra-Red product development.
- Experience managing various contract types to include CPFF, CPIF, FFP.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree and 5 years of experience OR Master's degree and 3 years of experience (or 4 additional years in lieu of degree).
- Experience supporting U.S. Government contracts and customers and/or project management.
- Experience leading technical performance on schedule, at cost, and achieving requirements as project lead, IPT lead, or cost account manager.
- Demonstrated success leading teams and organizations to achieve common goals.
- Secret security clearance level (U.S. Citizenship required for clearance positions).
- Experience with Earned Value Management (EVM) or similar cost and schedule control methodologies and tools.
- Ability to travel ~10% of the time.
- Experience managing government/customer supplied property or information (GFE/CFE).
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.







