Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Principal Human Factors Engineer to join our team. The position is located on site in Rancho Bernardo, California. This position can also be supported from El Segundo, California or Palmdale, California. This position will be in our Systems Engineering organization.
In this role, your primary roles and responsibilities will include:
- Support the planning, coordination, and execution of activities to verify user experience (UX) requirements, including conducting evaluations, tests, and demonstrations to ensure requirements are met.
- Support the evaluation of requirements adhering to Human Factors best practices and specified sections of MIL-STD-1472.
- Contributions to Human Factors Analyses (including but not limited to: Task Analyses and Predictive Workload Analyses, Usability studies, Workload, and Situation Awareness surveys).
- Candidates must be able to plan, conduct, summarize and brief user centered design events including Design Thinking Workshops and Operator in the Loop evaluations of system impacts on mission performance.
- Author/support the program documentation of the HFE processes and products in a format consistent with US Military Data Item Descriptions (e.g. Human Engineering Program Plan, Human Engineering Design Approach Document – Operator, Human Engineering Design Approach Document – Maintainer, Human Engineering Test Plan, Human Engineering Test Report, et. al).
- Collaboration with Design Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) to ensure evolving design addresses program needs and adheres to Human Interface design requirements
- Analyze proposed workarounds for system discrepancies to determine whether the workaround is acceptable from an operator perspective
- Support Airworthiness analysis, artifact development, and compliance summaries.
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s of Science Degree and 5 years of experience in a Human Factors related field; OR a Master’s degree and 3 years of related experience; OR a PhD and 1 years of related engineering experience.
- Experience with MIL-STD-1472, Human Factor survey development, test procedure development/execution, and/or test report writing.
- Ability to work in a dynamic, fast paced environment, Action Oriented, Strong Attention to Detail, Communicates Effectively.
- Active USG Top Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Ability to obtain and maintain initial Special Access Program (SAP) access via a Program Access Request (PAR). This SAP/PAR must be obtained prior to commencement of employment and must be obtained within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
- Ability to obtain and maintain subsequent SAP PARs following commencement of employment to be able to completely support statement of work
Preferred Qualifications
- Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
- Active USG Top Secret SCI clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- 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.
- Military Flight Experience
Skills Required
- Bachelor of Science degree and 5 years of experience in a human factors-related field; or master's degree and 3 years of related experience; or PhD and 1 year of related engineering experience
- Experience with MIL-STD-1472
- Experience with human factors survey development
- Experience with test procedure development and execution
- Experience writing test reports
- Ability to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
- Action-oriented approach, strong attention to detail, and effective communication skills
- Active US Government Top Secret clearance with a background investigation within the past five years or enrollment in Continuous Evaluation
- Ability to obtain and maintain initial Special Access Program access through a Program Access Request before employment
- Ability to obtain and maintain subsequent Special Access Program access authorizations
- Current applicable Special Access Program clearance
- Active US Government Top Secret SCI clearance
- Bachelor's or master's degree in a STEM discipline, or PhD in a STEM discipline, with the specified related engineering experience
- Military flight experience
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.







