Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add an Principal Engineer Electronics – Hardware Communications. The position can be located in Palmdale, California or El Segundo, California.
The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct.
Roles and Responsibilities will include:
Perform engineering capture, build, integration, test and maintenance of communications hardware in laboratory and field settings.
Design of rack-based communication, test, support equipment, and cabling to meet system requirements, to include:
Understanding and ability to perform electrical signal and power analysis at the rack level
Developing engineering drawings in accordance with ASME and IEEE standards, including rack assembly drawings, interconnect wiring diagrams and custom cable assemblies
Developing Bill of Material to support build of systems
Specification of rack cabling (RF, optical, 1553, power) and cooling systems
Developing and Performing System Verification procedures
Installation of communication, test and support equipment in lab and field environments
Providing lab, site integration, test, and maintenance support
Participate in troubleshooting systems to resolve complex issues, interact and coordinate with responsible communications engineers responsible for sustaining communication sub-systems
Preparing presentations, briefing stakeholders, and providing project status updates
The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility. There is no remote / hybrid / telework available for this position. Travel up to 25%, and 45% during surge periods may be required.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 5 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 1 years of related engineering experience.
Ability to travel up to 25%, and 45% during surge periods
Must have high attention to detail and emphasis on first time quality
Must be physically able to move up to 50lbs
Must have color vision to identify cables and wires
Must have strong communication and interpersonal skills with an aptitude to learn new material quickly
Must have working knowledge of governing and industry standards to include MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760, MIL-STD-100G, and ASME Y14.100
Active U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs
Preferred Qualifications:
Active U.S. Government Top Secret Security Clearance with investigation date within the last 5 years and ability to obtain and maintain access to Special Programs (SAP)
Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
Working knowledge of various communication protocols including Ethernet, 1553 bus systems and FibreChannel
Experience with drawing and release tools – (CATIA V5, Visio, Teamcenter Enterprise PLM).
Working knowledge of communication engineering theory and RF systems
Experience with production of complex systems
Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Electrical Engineering.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline and 5 years related engineering experience; OR Master's degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years; OR PhD in a STEM discipline and 1 year.
- Ability to travel up to 25% (45% during surge periods).
- Work full-time on-site at company facility (no remote/hybrid).
- High attention to detail with emphasis on first time quality.
- Physically able to move up to 50 lbs.
- Must have color vision to identify cables and wires.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills and aptitude to learn quickly.
- Working knowledge of governing and industry standards: MIL-STD-1553, MIL-STD-1760, MIL-STD-100G, and ASME Y14.100.
- Active U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance (background investigation within past 5 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation).
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (SAP) clearance within a reasonable time.
- Active U.S. Government Top Secret Security Clearance (preferred).
- Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance (preferred).
- Working knowledge of Ethernet, 1553 bus systems and FibreChannel (preferred).
- Experience with drawing and release tools such as CATIA V5, Visio, Teamcenter Enterprise PLM (preferred).
- Working knowledge of communication engineering theory and RF systems (preferred).
- Experience with production of complex systems (preferred).
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Manufacturing, or Electrical Engineering (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.






