At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, but they’re also making history.
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems has an opening for a Principal Flight test Instrumentation Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This position will be located in Melbourne, FL.
As a member of the Flight Test Instrumentation team, you will be responsible for developing instrumentation drawings that will be implemented flight test aircraft.
Essential Functions
- Define Instrumentation system configurations and signal conditioning requirements and architectures common to Airborne Data Acquisition Hardware including gathering, tracking and communicating requirements effectively to multidisciplinary teams.
- Monitor and understand the configuration of the instrumentation system to recommend/authorize configuration changes and perform a variety of duties, including engineering design tasks as assigned, supporting design reviews, procedure writing, test integration and participating in trade study analyses.
- Develop architectural implementations for TTC Airborne Data Acquisition Systems,
- The selected candidate will work in a dynamic people-focused environment while interacting with customers and other design engineers. The position will be based out of Melbourne, FL.
Basic Qualifications for Principal Flight Test Instrumentation Engineer:
- Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 5 years of related professional/military experience, OR a Master's degree AND 2 years of related professional/military 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 a Top Secret clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
- Experience working in Flight Test environments
- Solid understanding of application and implementations of data systems, telemetry and RF, onboard recording systems and ground stations, sub-systems and specialized Instrumentation test equipment.
- Strong knowledge of capabilities, uses, and limitations of Strain Gages, Accelerometers, Pressure Transducers and other commonly used instrumentation sensors.
- Basic knowledge of data bus architecture MIL-STD-1553, IEE-1394, ARINC-429, RS-232 and RS-422.
- Knowledge or experience navigating MIL-STD documents and specifications
Preferred qualifications
- Experience with gathering system requirements.
- Able to create detailed design specifications, product manuals, ICDs, and/or design handbooks.
- Design and operational experience with TTC data systems.
- Familiarity with fundamental principles of Symvionics IADS software or working in a Mission Control Room
- Knowledge or experience with IRIG 106; CH10, CH7, and TM Downlink.
- Demonstrated ability to support post-test data processing and analysis to provide recommendations / authorize configuration changes of the test instrumentation system for flight to Engineering and Leadership.
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline and 5 years of related professional or military experience, or a master's degree and 2 years of related professional or military experience
- Active U.S. Government Secret clearance with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrollment in Continuous Evaluation
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance
- Experience working in flight-test environments
- Understanding of data systems, telemetry, RF, onboard recording systems, ground stations, subsystems, and specialized instrumentation test equipment
- Knowledge of strain gauges, accelerometers, pressure transducers, and other instrumentation sensors
- Basic knowledge of MIL-STD-1553, IEEE-1394, ARINC-429, RS-232, and RS-422 data-bus architectures
- Knowledge or experience navigating MIL-STD documents and specifications
- Experience gathering system requirements
- Ability to create detailed design specifications, product manuals, interface control documents, or design handbooks
- Design and operational experience with TTC data systems
- Familiarity with Symvionics IADS software or experience working in a Mission Control Room
- Knowledge or experience with IRIG 106, CH10, CH7, and TM Downlink
- Ability to support post-test data processing and analysis and recommend or authorize instrumentation configuration changes
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.
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.







