Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal Aeronautical Engineer/Senior Principal Aeronautical Engineer (Liaison Engineer/Material Review Board) - 4/10, 1st Shift to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Vehicle Engineering organization. This role is located in Palmdale, CA.
In this role, you will be assessing and dispositioning non-conformances as they occur in our test environment. The selected candidate will author detailed engineering direction as well as collaborate readily with support engineering roles in order to ensure the integrity of the final product.
Key Responsibilities:
Establish and maintain Material Review Board authority in order to autonomously address the rigors of the role.
Assess, disposition, and buy off non-conformance (MRB) tags and Engineering Change Requests (ECRs) as they arise in the flight test environment.
Coordinate dispositioned repairs, as appropriate, with support roles in the organization.
We offer flexible work arrangements, phenomenal learning opportunities, exposure to a wide variety of projects and customers, and a very friendly team environment. Candidate must be willing to work extended shifts, weekends and holidays as required to meet program schedule and objectives. We are looking for self-motivated, proactive, and goal-oriented people to help us grow our services and become even better at what we do.
This requisition may be filled as either a Principal Engineer (level 3) or Senior Principal Engineer (level 4) based on the qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications:
Basic qualifications for a Principal Engineer include a Bachelor's in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and at least 5 years of experience, a Master's Degree in STEM with 3 years of experience, or a PhD Degree with no experience.
Basic qualifications for a Sr. Principal Engineer include a Bachelor's in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and at least 8 years of experience, a Master's Degree in STEM with 6 years of experience, or a PhD Degree with 3 years of experience.
Knowledge of the MRB process / experience with the MRB process
Experience with CATIA V5, NX, Visualization Pro, TeamCenter, MES, or other CAD programs
Must be able to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government security clearance (U.S. citizenship is a pre-requisite) as well as Program Special access within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company to meet its business needs. Clearance and Program Access Required for Start as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
Preferred Qualifications:
Bachelors or advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace Engineering
Experience with the manufacture and repair of composite and metallic structures
Experience with the conceptual operation, and troubleshooting of, typical aircraft subsystems
Experience working with sub-tier suppliers.
Experience in a developmental/operational test maintenance environment
Experience working in an aircraft manufacturing facility
Experience interfacing with a military customer
Experience working hands-on in a production assembly line environment
Experience with aircraft structures design
Experience with aircraft subsystem design
Previous MRB/LE Authority for Engineering
Skills Required
- Bachelor's in STEM with 5+ years experience, or Master's in STEM with 3+ years, or PhD (Principal level) / Bachelor's with 8+ years, Master's with 6+ years, or PhD with 3+ years (Sr. Principal level)
- Knowledge of the Material Review Board (MRB) process
- Experience with CATIA V5, NX, Visualization Pro, TeamCenter, MES, or other CAD programs
- U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Government security clearance (Secret) and required program special access
- Ability to assess, disposition, and buy off MRB tags and Engineering Change Requests (ECRs) in flight test environments
- Willingness to work extended shifts, weekends, and holidays as required
- Willingness/ability to travel up to approximately 10%
- Coordinate dispositioned repairs with support roles and ensure integrity of final product
- Bachelor's or advanced degree in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
- Experience with manufacture and repair of composite and metallic structures
- Experience with aircraft subsystems operation, troubleshooting, and subsystem design
- Experience working with sub-tier suppliers and interfacing with military customers
- Experience in developmental/operational test maintenance and hands-on production assembly line environments
- Previous MRB/LE Authority for Engineering
- Experience working in an aircraft manufacturing facility and aircraft structures design 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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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.





