Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Sector is seeking an experienced Principal Data Scientist to join our team of qualified individuals within our Program Management Office. This position will be located at Palmdale, CA.
Please note this is an individual contributor role and is not a management/leadership opportunity.
The successful candidate is expected to be a highly motivated, resourceful, self-starter able to work collaboratively with internal and external teams in high-tempo environments. This position will be expected to assist with reviewing status of projects and budgets, resource planning, preparing for and facilitating meetings, and supporting various administrative functions.
Day to Day Duties
- Database & Query Optimization: Manage, maintain, and secure SQL databases. Write, troubleshoot, and optimize complex SQL queries to ensure high performance and data availability.
- ETL Pipeline Development: Design, develop, and manage automated ETL processes to ingest and transform complex engineering and business datasets.
- Metrics & BI Visualization: Define, track, and build interactive dashboards in Tableau and/or PowerBI to clearly communicate technical metrics to technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Python Automation: Write and deploy advanced Python scripts using Airflow for data manipulation, analysis, and process automation.
- Collaborative Development & Agile: Utilize Gitlab for version control, code reviews, and collaborative development within an agile/scrum framework.
- Creates data mining architectures/models/protocols, statistical reporting, and data analysis methodologies to identify trends in large data sets. Analysis may have many applications such as to address a business issue or provide a competitive advantage for the organization. Requires strong statistical and data visualization skills.
Basic Qualifications
- 5 Years experience with bachelor’s degree in science; or 3 years with masters; 1 years with a PhD
- Experience in writing, optimizing, and troubleshooting complex SQL queries
- Experience managing and maintaining SQL databases
- Experience to define, track, and visualize business and engineering metrics using advanced BI tools like Tableau and PowerBI
- Expertise in developing and managing ETL processes
- Experience in Python programming for data analysis, manipulation, and automation
- Experience using version control systems such as Gitlab for collaborative development
- Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies for project management
- Active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with an ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) approval within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company to meet its business need
Preferred Qualifications
- 5 years of relevant experience with a bachelor’s degree, 3 years relevant experience with a master’s degree, or a PHD in either Data Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, or Engineering
- Expertise in developing and orchestrating robust ETL processes using Apache Airflow
- Strong experience in publishing, maintaining, and managing Tableau reports on Tableau Server
- Capability to bridge the gap between business requirements and technical specifications
- Proficiency in applying advanced statistical methods and machine learning techniques
- Experience in performing predictive and prescriptive analytics
- Strong communication skills to present findings and insights to both technical and non-technical stakeholders effectively
Skills Required
- 5 years experience with bachelor's degree in science; or 3 years with master's; 1 year with a PhD
- Experience in writing, optimizing, and troubleshooting complex SQL queries
- Experience managing and maintaining SQL databases
- Experience to define, track, and visualize business and engineering metrics using advanced BI tools like Tableau and PowerBI
- Expertise in developing and managing ETL processes
- Experience in Python programming for data analysis, manipulation, and automation
- Experience using version control systems such as GitLab for collaborative development
- Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies for project management
- Active U.S. Government DoD Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, with ability to obtain and maintain SAP approval
- Relevant experience or advanced degree in Data Science, Mathematics, Computer Science, or Engineering
- Expertise in developing and orchestrating robust ETL processes using Apache Airflow
- Experience publishing, maintaining, and managing Tableau reports on Tableau Server
- Proficiency in advanced statistical methods and machine learning techniques
- Experience performing predictive and prescriptive analytics
- Strong communication skills to present findings to technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Capability to bridge business requirements and technical specifications
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.









