Quality Engineer (Level 3 or 4)

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 50% of the TimeDescription

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, they're making history.

At Northrop Grumman Defense Systems we are seeking an experienced Quality Engineer to support our Ammunition Operating Unit located in Plymouth, MN.

This site develops and produces medium- and large-caliber ammunition as well as precision capabilities for direct and indirect fire systems. Leading the industry, this team successfully completes lifecycle support for medium-caliber cannons, develops miniature, precision strike weapons for airborne platforms, creates survivability solutions for soldiers and the next generation tactical ammunition for a variety of combat platforms

Job Responsibilities:

This position will provide Quality Engineering and Mission Assurance support to programs within the Co-Production Portfolio of the Ammunition Operating Unit.  This may include production line support at multiple locations, supplier inspection and monitoring, identifying contractual Quality requirements, preparing quality program plans, inspection procedures and quality requirements flow-down, supplier process monitoring, application of lean/six-sigma tools, drawing reviews, customer interface/reports/submittals, and reviewing product acceptance data

Travel: Position may require travel (potentially international) up to 50% time.

Job Duties

• Ensure compliance to contract quality requirements and AS9100 / ISO9001 Quality System processes on development and production programs. 
• Provide expertise and guidance to program teams and suppliers on quality assurance, quality systems, tools, training, problem solving, statistical analysis and continuous improvement.  Apply Lean and Six Sigma tools.
• Support and lead investigations between internal functions, suppliers and customers. Provide assistance with technical diagnosis of root cause analysis and implementation of corrective actions with resolution of customer complaints or field failures. Develop solutions as appropriate to eliminate the recurrence of the issue.
• Work with Operations to initiate effective containment, investigation, and countermeasure activities to prevent defect outflow both in-house and to Customers.
• Plan and implement quality activities including writing product inspection plans, initiating material review board actions, resolving nonconforming material issues, and facilitating corrective actions.
• Perform on-site monitoring of manufacturing lines and supplier production processes.  Assess suppliers’ capabilities and conformance to their Quality System
• Review drawings for inspection capability and conformance Geometric Dimensions and Tolerances standards.
• Prepare documentation including quality code requisitions for procuring material, incoming inspection procedures, and Contract Data Requirement List (CDRL) data requirements.  
• Evaluate manufacturing methods and inspection capabilities.  Provide quality input to manufacturing processes including inspection and determining key characteristics. 
• Perform statistical analysis on product yield/SPC/key characteristics data.
• Report status on tasks to program management, quality management and customers.
• Review inspection and acceptance data to assess process capability and product compliance.

Required Qualifications:

This position may be filled as a Quality Engineer level 3 or 4, depending on the candidate’s education and/or years of experience.

Qualifications for Principal Quality Engineer (Level 3)

• Bachelor of Science degree in STEM discipline
• 5 years of experience as quality engineer; or master’s degree plus 3 yrs of quality engineer experience
• Strong background in inspection equipment, techniques and general knowledge of Metrology and Calibration
• Solid understanding of Drawings and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
• Solid Quality Tools skills (Statistics, DOE, FMEA, MSA)
• Experience in a highly-regulated environment
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as required (possibly on short notice) and potentially for extended durations

Qualifications for Sr Principal Quality Engineer (Level 4)

• Bachelor’s degree in STEM discipline
• 8 years of experience as quality engineer; Master’s degree plus 6 years of experience; or PhD plus 4 years of experience
• Strong background in inspection equipment, techniques and general knowledge of Metrology and Calibration
• Solid understanding of Drawings and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
• Solid Quality Tools skills (Statistics, DOE, FMEA, MSA)
• Experience in a highly-regulated environment
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as required (possibly on short notice) and potentially for extended durations

Desired Qualifications:

• Manufacturing background desired, familiarity with metals and electronics production.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills with internal / external customers
• Efficient in computer skills
• Strong technical knowledge (mechanical manufacturing, tools, gages, calibration)
• Meticulous and thorough individual possessing high attention to detail
• Driven self-starter with high initiative and motivated self-learner
• Experienced with Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) / Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA)
• ASQ CQA, CQE or CQM a plus.

Primary Level Salary Range: $98,900.00 - $148,300.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $123,400.00 - $185,000.00

The 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.