Northrop Grumman Advanced Weapons Business Unit is seeking a Operations Research Engineer Level 3 or 4 for our Operations Research team in Northridge, CA. The Operations Research Engineer will be responsible for developing models, performing data analysis, communicating findings to internal and external stakeholders, and training and mentoring junior analysts in the same skill sets.
This position is required to be full-time, on-site in the Northridge, CA location. No remote/telework arrangement is available for this position. Applicants must have an active US Government DoD Secret security clearance with ability to get cleared for SAP.
Our work influences the investment decisions of our senior leadership and customer program offices. The Operations Research discipline is a blend of many other fields (e.g. Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Software Engineering, Mathematics, etc.) and frequently collaborates across functional disciplines. The Operations Research team is responsible for evaluating the merit of new technologies and military operations in future conflicts. In this role, you will be a member of a team that performs the following tasks: simulation tool and infrastructure development, model development, scenario creation, designing focused vignette threads, and performing analysis. The analysis includes a wide variety of system types and spans multiple domains (e.g. friendly and adversary; ground, maritime, air and space). You will work with technical teams and leadership to develop standalone and/or distributed simulation tools/infrastructure and to perform analysis at the engagement, mission, and/or campaign levels.
Duties and Responsibilities may include:
- Develop and apply advanced software and systems methods that support the investigation, analysis and solution of complex and advanced technical problems
- Develop and use tools that support the visualization of the battlespace at a mission or engagement level
- Use, develop, and modify tools to support data analysis of simulation or flight test results
- Model operational environments, performs trade studies via computer simulation, and recommends alternative architectures
- Develop software to model behavior of systems in real-time and constructive simulations
- Develop, integrate, and use advanced graphical user interfaces and visualization tools
- Perform mission simulation using government or industry standard tools to determine mission effectiveness
- Perform engagement simulation using standard tools, MATLAB, Simulink and others
- Perform modeling and simulation studies that optimize mission performance for weapon systems across the air, land, sea, space and cyber domains
- Perform modeling, simulation, and analysis tasks assessing system survivability, system effectiveness, and overall system performance in engagement / mission-level scenarios
- Develop performance models and algorithms, threat models and command and control models for new and/or existing system simulation frameworks
- Elicit input from various stakeholders, synthesize data, and communicate results to various levels of leadership within the organization
- Participate in Agile engineering project frameworks
This position may be filled as a level 3 or a level 4. Basic qualifications for each level are listed below.
Basic Qualifications for an Operations Research Engineer 3:
- BS in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, or Physics and 5+ years modeling, simulation, and analysis of Aerospace Systems, Systems Analysis, and Design, or MS and 3+ years of experience as mentioned, or PhD. and 1+ years of experience as mentioned
- Experience creating compelling Operational Viewpoints (OV-1s), data visualization, and other briefing materials to explain simulation techniques, assumptions, and insights to a variety of audiences
- Experience executing technology development and Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contracts with DoD customers
- Experience leading Operations Research studies, including identifying Technical Performance Metrics (TPMs) and developing study plans from Statements of Work (SOWs) and Statements of Objectives (SOOs)
- Active US Government DoD Secret security clearance with ability to get cleared for SAP
Basic Qualifications for an Operations Research Engineer 4:
- BS in Computer Science, Engineering, Math, or Physics with 8+ years of experience in modeling, simulation, and analysis of Aerospace Systems, Systems Analysis and Design; or a MS with 6+ years of the prior mentioned experience or PhD. with 4+ years of the prior mentioned experience
- Experience creating compelling OV-1s, data visualization, and other briefing materials to explain simulation techniques, assumptions, and insights to a variety of audiences
- Experience executing technology development and EMD contracts with DoD customers
- Experience leading Operations Research studies, including identifying Technical Performance Metrics (TPMs) and developing study plans from Statements of Work (SOWs) and Statements of Objectives (SOOs)
- Active US Government DoD Secret security clearance with ability to get cleared for SAP
Preferred Qualifications - Both Levels:
- Experience as an AFSIM developer/analyst, including making and validating movers, creating observers and post-processors, and performing large Design of Experiments (DoE) studies
- Comfortable with high level programming languages such as C/C++
- Strong software development principles with the ability to manage computer resources for data throughput and distributed systems
- Experience developing and using analysis tools such as MATLAB, Python, VBA, or similar tools
- Strong debugging skills, ability to use common debuggers, compilers and command line execution.
- Ability to develop shell scripts for program execution
- Knowledge of and experience with software engineering development lifecycle processes
- Experience with version control tools (Bitbucket, GitHub, or Gitlab, etc.)
- Experience performing modeling, simulation, and analysis tasks assessing system survivability, system effectiveness, and overall system performance in engagement / mission-level scenarios
- Knowledge of any of the following simulation frameworks: AFSIM, Suppressor, Brawler, JWS, AJEM, ESAMS, NGTS, EADSIM, TACZAAM, ITASE
#NorthridgeOct26
Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics with 5+ years of relevant modeling, simulation, and aerospace systems analysis experience for Level 3; or master's degree with 3+ years; or PhD with 1+ years.
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or Physics with 8+ years of relevant modeling, simulation, and aerospace systems analysis experience for Level 4; or master's degree with 6+ years; or PhD with 4+ years.
- Experience creating operational viewpoints, data visualizations, and briefing materials explaining simulation techniques, assumptions, and insights.
- Experience executing technology development and Engineering and Manufacturing Development contracts with Department of Defense customers.
- Experience leading Operations Research studies, identifying Technical Performance Metrics, and developing study plans from Statements of Work and Statements of Objectives.
- Active U.S. Government Department of Defense Secret security clearance with ability to obtain SAP clearance.
- Experience as an AFSIM developer or analyst, including creating and validating movers, observers, post-processors, and large Design of Experiments studies.
- Proficiency with high-level programming languages such as C or C++.
- Strong software development principles and ability to manage computer resources for data throughput and distributed systems.
- Experience developing and using analysis tools such as MATLAB, Python, or VBA.
- Strong debugging skills and experience with debuggers, compilers, and command-line execution.
- Ability to develop shell scripts for program execution.
- Knowledge of software engineering development lifecycle processes.
- Experience with version control tools such as Bitbucket, GitHub, or GitLab.
- Experience performing modeling, simulation, and analysis of system survivability, effectiveness, and performance in engagement- or mission-level scenarios.
- Knowledge of simulation frameworks including AFSIM, Suppressor, Brawler, JWS, AJEM, ESAMS, NGTS, EADSIM, TACZAAM, or ITASE.
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.
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