Please note that this opportunity is contingent on program funding. Start dates are determined after funding confirmation.
Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal or Sr. Principal Electrical Engineer – Vehicle Subsystems & Integration to join our team in Palmdale, CA; Oklahoma City, OK; or Whiteman AFB in Missouri.
This position will be involved in multiple aspects of aircraft subsystem development including electrical design, analysis, requirements, and issue troubleshooting. Examples of aircraft subsystems include System Architecture, Cable Design, and Electrical Power Generation & Distribution.
Responsibilities Include:
- Develop electrical wiring designs of a functional system including the selection of aircraft-type conductors and electro-mechanical components such as connectors, relays, switches, circuit breakers, and terminal junction systems.
- Support design requirements for electrical power generation, conversion and distribution systems, and circuit protective requirements for aerospace vehicle systems including Electrical Loads Analysis, test procedures, power architectures, reports, analyses, and other vehicle power related deliverables.
- Responsible for all aspects of system/component design and development including trade studies, layouts, architecture definition, system test & verification, and troubleshooting.
- Participate on a subcontractor management team and act as the technical point of contact with suppliers for hardware development, qualification, and procurement.
- Perform system level test planning, execution support, verification, data processing, and troubleshooting.
- Perform system level evaluations to verify requirements and ensure airworthiness criteria are met.
This position requires 100% on-site work. There is no telework or hybrid work schedule allowed. The anticipated travel for this role is approximately 10%.
This position may be filled as either a Principal Electrical Engineer OR Senior Principal Electrical Engineer, depending upon the qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications for Principal Electrical Engineer:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a related Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) discipline and 5 years of experience in electrical engineering; OR a Master’s Degree in a related STEM discipline with 3 years of electrical engineering experience; OR a PhD in a related STEM discipline with 1 year of electrical engineering experience.
- Experience in electrical design of air vehicle systems
- Current, active US Government Secret clearance
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (SAP). This SAP must be obtained within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal Electrical Engineer:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a related Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) discipline and 8 years of experience in electrical engineering; OR a Master’s Degree in a related STEM discipline with 6 years of electrical engineering experience; OR a PhD in a related STEM discipline with 4 years of electrical engineering experience.
- Experience in electrical design of air vehicle systems
- Current, active US Government Secret clearance
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (SAP). This SAP must be obtained within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
Preferred Qualifications for both levels:
- Experience with military aircraft subsystem development, with requirements definition, specification development, component analysis, procurement, source selection, integration and test and verification for advance aircraft
- Experience interpreting component detail drawings, specifications, installation drawings, and test procedures
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a related STEM discipline and 5 years of electrical engineering experience, or Master's with 3 years, or PhD with 1 year
- Bachelor's degree in a related STEM discipline and 8 years of electrical engineering experience, or Master's with 6 years, or PhD with 4 years (for Senior Principal level)
- Experience in electrical design of air vehicle systems
- Current, active US Government Secret clearance
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (SAP)
- Experience with military aircraft subsystem development, requirements, procurement, integration and test
- Experience interpreting component detail drawings, specifications, installation drawings, and test procedures
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.






