Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems (NGAS) has an opening for a Mechanical Engineer or Principal Mechanical Engineer (Level 2 or Level 3) to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This position will be officially located at Edwards AFB, California, and will require routine coverage at the Palmdale location.
Duties:
The candidate will be assigned to the Product Support organization as the on-site support equipment integration and test lead where they will plan, coordinate, and conduct test operations for the respective equipment. The candidate will align support equipment test targets with the flight test organization, NGAS test team, support equipment responsible engineer (RE), and on site customer representatives. The position will require a flexible work schedule to complete testing when opportunities are identified to include 4x10 (Mon-Thurs) 1st shift, 4x10 (Mon-Thurs) 2nd shift, 3x10 (Fri, Sa, Su) 1st shift, and 3x10 (Fri, Sa, Su) 2nd shift. The candidate will provide engineering assessment and test results to support equipment management and will support the customer briefing for final approval.
Basic Qualifications Mechanical Engineer:
- Must have a Bachelor's in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university AND 2 years of engineering experience OR a Master’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university AND 0 years of engineering experience.
- Must have an active US Government Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
Basic Qualifications Principal Mechanical Engineer:
- Must have a Bachelor's in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university AND 5 years of engineering experience OR a Master’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university AND 3 years of engineering experience.
- Must have an active US Government Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
Preferred Qualifications Both Levels:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Electrical, Computer Science, Mechanical, Aerospace, Physics, Mathematics or related technical discipline preferred.
- Experience working on an active flightline
- Current Special Access Program (SAP) clearance
- Experience testing and/or using ground support equipment or tooling on military aircraft.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in STEM and 2 years engineering experience OR Master's in STEM and 0 years (Mechanical Engineer level)
- Bachelor's degree in STEM and 5 years engineering experience OR Master's in STEM and 3 years (Principal Mechanical Engineer level)
- Active US Government Secret clearance with background investigation within past 6 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance
- Bachelor's or Master's in Electrical, Computer Science, Mechanical, Aerospace, Physics, Mathematics or related technical discipline
- Experience working on an active flightline
- Current Special Access Program (SAP) clearance
- Experience testing and/or using ground support equipment or tooling on military aircraft
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.







