Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking an Advanced Design and Producibility Manager 2 to support Research & Advanced Design survivability programs by bringing manufacturing strategy, producibility, affordability, and business-case realism into early survivability technology development and system design.
This position will be located in our Redondo Beach, CA office and cannot be performed remotely.
The selected candidate will influence early design decisions, define manufacturing strategies, evaluate producibility and affordability trades, support proposal development, and ensure proposed designs are aligned with credible build, integration, test, cost, schedule, and production-transition approaches. This role requires a leader who can operate at the intersection of engineering execution and business strategy, with the ability to understand advanced technical concepts, challenge design assumptions, assess manufacturing feasibility, evaluate cost and rate drivers, and help shape proposals that are technically credible, producible, affordable, and executable. The position is intended to ensure manufacturing is considered as a design variable rather than a downstream implementation activity, leveraging prior experience across aerospace system development, aircraft hardware design and analysis, survivability design integration, manufacturing strategy, production readiness, proposal support, business-case development, and cross-functional technical leadership. Serving as a technical bridge between concept development and program execution, the selected candidate will ensure that manufacturing capability, production strategy, affordability, and execution risk are considered alongside performance throughout the design process.
Key Responsibilities:
- Manages a diverse set of Survivability CRAD and IRAD development programs
- Will be responsible for the cost, schedule and technical performance of research programs, and management of engineering staff
- Will be the key interface to Engineering Organizations for staffing, employee growth and performance appraisals
- Responsible for all phases of Survivability Portfolio programs from inception through completion
- Defines, develops, integrates Survivability designs and systems for future and emerging vehicle systems. Establishes design concepts, criteria and engineering efforts for product research, development, integration and test
- Interfaces with NGAS Divisions to capture requirements and coordinate technology investments
- Develops and executes Research & Technology roadmaps, supporting internal NG customers and external customer objectives, for both internal and external investment
- Coordinates the preparation of proposals, business plans, proposal work statements and specifications, operating budgets and financial terms/conditions of contract
- Participates in the negotiation of contracts and contract changes
- Defines strategies for technology research, Customer and University/Lab engagement, identifying key areas of technology growth and projection into NG products
- Develop new business in this Survivability Field
- Will be the key interface with external Customers and National Experts in the field
- Develop new business or expand the product line with the customer, both external and internal
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline and 9 years of relevant experience; or a Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline and 7 years of relevant experience; or PhD with 4 years of relevant experience
- Active U.S. government Secret clearance
- Experience leading technical teams, IPTs, cross-functional teams, or matrixed engineering/manufacturing organizations
- Experience supporting air vehicle or missile with survivability requirements through design, integration, manufacturing planning, production readiness, proposal development, or transition to execution
- Demonstrated experience influencing system, subsystem, or assembly design decisions to improve producibility, affordability, manufacturability, assembly efficiency, testability, production scalability, or execution risk
- Experience working across engineering, manufacturing engineering, supply chain, quality, test, operations, program management, and/or capture organizations
- Experience developing or evaluating manufacturing strategies, build plans, assembly approaches, tooling concepts, make/buy strategies, cost drivers, schedule assumptions, business cases, or production-readiness plans
- Experience supporting proposal development, capture strategy, basis-of-estimate development, price-to-win analysis, affordability analysis, production planning, investment planning, or early technical baseline definition
- Demonstrated ability to brief technical strategy, producibility risks, manufacturing trade studies, proposal assumptions, business cases, affordability trades, and execution recommendations to senior engineering, program, and capture leadership
- Experience working on a SAP
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Systems Engineering, Materials Engineering, Industrial Engineering
- Master’s degree in engineering, materials engineering, systems engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, or business administration
- MBA or graduate-level business education with experience applying strategy, finance, marketing, business-case development, affordability analysis, ROI analysis, or competitive positioning to engineering and manufacturing decisions
- Experience with design-for-manufacturing, design-for-assembly, model-based definition, determinate assembly, advanced manufacturing, additive manufacturing, automation, tooling strategy, or high-rate production systems
- Experience with build-up test planning, ground test, flight test, system integration, hardware/software integration, production test planning, or manufacturing-readiness reviews
- Experience leading geographically distributed or matrixed teams across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, operations, facilities, test, quality, program management, and capture
- Active U.S. government Top-Secret clearance or higher
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science in a STEM discipline and 9 years of relevant experience; or Master of Science in a STEM discipline and 7 years; or PhD with 4 years of relevant experience
- Active U.S. government Secret clearance
- U.S. Citizenship required for positions with government clearance
- Experience leading technical teams, IPTs, cross-functional teams, or matrixed engineering/manufacturing organizations
- Experience supporting air vehicle or missile survivability through design, integration, manufacturing planning, production readiness, proposal development, or transition to execution
- Demonstrated experience influencing system, subsystem, or assembly design decisions to improve producibility, affordability, manufacturability, assembly efficiency, testability, production scalability, or execution risk
- Experience working across engineering, manufacturing engineering, supply chain, quality, test, operations, program management, and/or capture organizations
- Experience developing or evaluating manufacturing strategies, build plans, assembly approaches, tooling concepts, make/buy strategies, cost drivers, schedule assumptions, business cases, or production-readiness plans
- Experience supporting proposal development, capture strategy, basis-of-estimate development, price-to-win analysis, affordability analysis, production planning, investment planning, or early technical baseline definition
- Demonstrated ability to brief technical strategy, producibility risks, manufacturing trade studies, proposal assumptions, business cases, affordability trades, and execution recommendations to senior leadership
- Experience working on a SAP
- Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical, Aerospace, Manufacturing, Systems, Materials, or Industrial Engineering (preferred)
- Master's degree in engineering, materials, systems, aerospace, mechanical, industrial engineering, or business administration (preferred)
- MBA or graduate-level business education with experience applying strategy, finance, business-case development, affordability analysis, or ROI analysis (preferred)
- Experience with design-for-manufacturing, design-for-assembly, model-based definition, determinate assembly, additive manufacturing, automation, tooling strategy, or high-rate production systems (preferred)
- Experience with build-up test planning, ground test, flight test, system integration, production test planning, or manufacturing-readiness reviews (preferred)
- Experience leading geographically distributed or matrixed teams (preferred)
- Active U.S. government Top-Secret clearance or higher (preferred)
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.








