At the heart of who we are, Northrop Grumman is a leading American manufacturing company delivering advanced technologies in support of national security. Our teams work collaboratively to ensure manufacturing excellence, production readiness, and continuous improvement across programs.
We are looking for you to join our team as a Principal or Senior Principal Manufacturing Engineer to support production and manufacturing operations based in Charlottesville, VA.
What You'll Get To Do:
The Manufacturing Engineer will report directly to the Manufacturing Engineering Manager and will support manufacturing programs at the site.
Primary Responsibilities:
Designs manufacturing processes, procedures and production layouts for assemblies, equipment installation, processing, and material handling for wire harnesses.
Designs sequence of operations and specifies procedures for the fabrication of parts, tools, equipment and other functions affecting product performance.
Adapts machine or equipment design to factory and production conditions. Incorporates inspection and test requirements into the production plan.
Inspects performance of machinery, equipment, and tools to verify their efficiency. Investigates, initiates and executes solutions to ensure product quality.
Develops manufacturing processes applicable to statistical process control. Provides guidance to engineering regarding design concepts and specification requirements to best utilize equipment and manufacturing techniques. Ensures processes and procedures are compliant with regulations.
Interfaces directly with assemblers, cell supervisors and others in Operations. Must be knowledgeable in and capable of assessing manufacturing engineering processes and procedures.
Drives affordability through monitoring of budget (time) and spend.
Travels to suppliers as required, to achieve positive outcomes.
Fosters a collaborative culture sustaining momentum around engagement, problem solving, and continuous improvement.
Serves as a strong voice for Manufacturing Engineering and a role model for NG Values.
This position may be filled at a level 3 (Principal) or level 4 (Senior Principal) based on the qualifications below.
#MPR
Basic Qualifications for the Principal Manufacturing Engineer:
Bachelor's Degree or higher in a STEM discipline with a minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience in manufacturing engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or production. OR a Master’s Degree with a minimum of 3 years of relevant work experience in manufacturing engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or production.
Experience with wire harnesses, connectors, assembling, solder irons, crimping tools, hand tools, solder pots and troubleshooting.
Experience with lab tools like multimeters and low-bandwidth oscilloscopes to troubleshoot and aid in modification and repair of PCBs (printed circuit boards).
Experience reading and interpreting wiring schematics.
CAD experience.
Experience supporting, teaching and assisting shop floor assemblers and operators.
Experience reading and interpreting technical drawings and GD&T, blueprints and specifications.
Experience estimating all aspects of build, set up and run times to accurately plan for cost and production times.
Experience with LEAN manufacturing principles.
Experience with Corrective Action Requests (CAR) and ability to address and resolve CARs.
Onsite work only with start time of 6:00 AM, to align with operator schedules.
Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET clearance.
US Citizenship is required.
Basic Qualifications for the Senior Principal Manufacturing Engineer:
Bachelor's Degree or higher in a STEM discipline with a minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience in manufacturing engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or production. OR a Master’s Degree with a minimum of 6 years of relevant work experience in manufacturing engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering or production.
Experience with wire harnesses, connectors, assembling, solder irons, crimping tools, hand tools, solder pots and troubleshooting.
Experience with lab tools like multimeters and low-bandwidth oscilloscopes to troubleshoot and aid in modification and repair of PCBs (printed circuit boards).
Experience reading and interpreting wiring schematics..
CAD experience.
Experience supporting, teaching and assisting shop floor assemblers and operators.
Experience reading and interpreting technical drawings and GD&T specifications, blueprints and specifications.
Experience estimating all aspects of build, set up and run times to accurately plan for cost and production times.
Experience with LEAN manufacturing principles.
Experience with Corrective Action Requests (CAR) and ability to address and resolve CARs.
Onsite work only with start time of 6:00 AM, to align with operator schedules.
Ability to obtain and maintain a SECRET clearance.
US Citizenship Required.
Preferred Qualifications:
Experience with ISO 9001/AS9100 Quality Management System certification process.
Experience supporting and consulting on PCB design reviews and builds for efficiency and defect-free production.
Bachelor’s Degree in mechanical or electrical engineering; or Master’s Degree in an engineering field.
Experience with subassembly and final assembly build structure.
IPC 610/620 certification.
Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or Master Black Belt.
Experience facilitating Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA) and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) activities.
Experience auditing and improving manufacturing processes.
Defense industry experience.
Experience with Model Based Engineering.
SAP Business System experience.
Software: MPLM, NX and AutoCAD experience.
What We Can Offer You:
Northrop Grumman provides a comprehensive benefits package and a work environment which encourages your growth and supports the mutual success of our people and our company. Northrop Grumman benefits give you the flexibility and control to choose the benefits that make the most sense for you and your family.
Your benefits will include the following: Health Plan, Savings Plan, Paid Time Off and Additional Benefits including Education Assistance, Training and Development, 9/80 Work Schedule (where available), and much more!
Primary Level Salary Range: $89,400.00 - $134,200.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $111,700.00 - $167,500.00The 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.Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree or higher in a STEM discipline with at least 5 years of relevant manufacturing, electrical, mechanical engineering, or production experience; or master's degree with at least 3 years of relevant experience for the Principal level.
- Bachelor's degree or higher in a STEM discipline with at least 8 years of relevant manufacturing, electrical, mechanical engineering, or production experience; or master's degree with at least 6 years of relevant experience for the Senior Principal level.
- Experience with wire harnesses, connectors, assembly, soldering irons, crimping tools, hand tools, solder pots, and troubleshooting.
- Experience using multimeters and low-bandwidth oscilloscopes to troubleshoot and modify PCBs.
- Experience reading and interpreting wiring schematics, technical drawings, GD&T, blueprints, and specifications.
- CAD experience.
- Experience supporting, teaching, and assisting shop-floor assemblers and operators.
- Experience estimating build, setup, and run times for production cost and schedule planning.
- Experience with Lean manufacturing principles.
- Experience addressing and resolving Corrective Action Requests (CARs).
- Ability to work onsite with a 6:00 AM start time.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance.
- U.S. citizenship.
- Experience with ISO 9001 or AS9100 quality management system certification processes.
- Experience supporting PCB design reviews and builds for efficient, defect-free production.
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical or electrical engineering, or master's degree in engineering.
- Experience with subassembly and final assembly build structures.
- IPC-610/620 certification.
- Certified Six Sigma Green Belt, Black Belt, or Master Black Belt.
- Experience facilitating Root Cause Corrective Action and FMEA activities.
- Experience auditing and improving manufacturing processes.
- Defense industry experience.
- Experience with Model Based Engineering.
- SAP Business System experience.
- Experience with MPLM, NX, and AutoCAD.
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.
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