Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal / Senior Principal Flight Test Engineer-FTO Aircraft Ship-Side Support Team to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Test and Evaluation organization.
In this role, the selected candidate will be a member of a team of aircraft ship-side support engineers and test conductors. This team is responsible for coordination between the Flight Test maintenance organization and the Flight Test engineering organization. Tasking will include initial troubleshooting support, procedure development and re-test procedure development.
Successful candidate will coordinate support between maintenance leadership team and engineering leadership team. Additionally successful candidate will be responsible for general aircraft knowledge training for new engineering staff to include flight test and ground test engineers. Successful candidate will be responsible for the adjudication of desired maintenance procedures and delayed actions.
Candidate will be a self-starter that needs little to no direction from leadership to operate in a dynamic, fast paced environment.
This position is 100% located at Edwards AFB, CA for 4x10 second shift.
This requisition may be filled at a higher grade based on qualifications listed below.
Basic Qualifications
This requisition may be filled at either a Principal or Sr Principal level.
Basic Qualifications for Principal:
- Bachelor's Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university.
- 5 years with a Bachelors; 3 Years with Masters; 0 Years with PhD
- Must have an active DoD Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation)
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance prior to the commencement of employment
- Must be willing and able to work 4/10 2nd shift
Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal:
- Bachelor's Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university.
- 8 years engineering experience with Bachelors; 6 years engineering experience with a Masters; 4 years of engineering experience with a PhD and Previous Test and Evaluation knowledge and experience.
- Must have an active DoD Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation)
- • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance prior to the commencement of employment
- • Must be willing and able to work 4/10 2nd Shift
Preferred Qualifications:
• In depth knowledge of or test experience, to include control room monitoring.
• Top Secret clearance
Primary Level Salary Range: $103,600.00 - $155,400.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $129,300.00 - $193,900.00The 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 in a STEM discipline from an accredited university
- Principal level: 5 years engineering experience with Bachelor's; 3 years with Master's; 0 years with PhD
- Senior Principal level: 8 years engineering experience with Bachelor's; 6 years with Master's; 4 years with PhD and previous Test and Evaluation knowledge and experience
- Active DoD Secret or higher clearance with background investigation within last 6 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance prior to commencement of employment
- Willing and able to work 4x10 second shift
- Ability to travel approximately 10% of the time
- In-depth knowledge of or test experience including control room monitoring
- Top Secret clearance
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.


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