Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations. Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams. As a Quality Engineer/ Principal Quality Engineer – Level 2 or Level 3 located in Gilbert, AZ, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.
This position entails the fabrication and assembly of complex Space flight cable and harness assemblies from drawings, schematics, wire lists, or engineering sketches in conformance with government specifications and workmanship standards. Assembly is performed in a professional atmosphere in an ESD and FOD awareness area. Daily work attire includes a lab coat and latex gloves at all times when handling flight materials.
This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.
In this job, you will:
- Capable and experienced in working in a broad-based manufacturing environment.
- Clear understanding and ability to ensure engineering requirements are being met within the product build instructions
- Ability to clearly annotate defects and identify the associated engineering requirement and/or IPC standard requirement.
- Quality Engineer will work with a team including Manufacturing Engineers, Technicians, Technical Writers, Quality Assurance Inspectors, and Production Planners.
- Must work well alone and within a team environment
- Must possess good problem-solving skills, organizational skills, communication skills, and work with limited supervision
- Must be a self-starter, must be self-motivated, and a team player
- Must have the ability to focus and have a strong attention to detail
- No heavy lifting required, equal standing and sitting with some reaching.
- Other duties as assigned
Why you? You’re the candidate we’re searching for if you are ready to achieve the impossible alongside like-minded innovators.
This position can be filled at either a Level 2 or Level 3.
Basic Qualifications for Level 2:
- Bachelor’s degree with 2 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 0 years of professional experience
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret security clearance
- Experience with quality management systems to support program processes, audits, and/or improvements.
- Experience with Mission Assurance/Quality Engineering practices.
- Knowledge of Root Cause and Corrective Action methods
- Knowledge of Inspection Plans and First Article Inspections
- Knowledge of Quality Management Systems (AS9100, ISO 9001, or Military Quality Assurance)
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines with attention to detail.
- Experience with M.S. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Experience with fast-paced program environments where schedule volatility is common.
- Dynamic workhour flexibility – Proven ability to adjust schedule on short notice, including rotating shifts, evening/weekend coverage, and overtime, to meet critical program milestones and production demands.
Basic Qualifications for Level 3:
- Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 3 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 1 years of professional experience.
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret security clearance
- Experience with quality management systems to support program processes, audits, and/or improvements.
- Experience with Mission Assurance/Quality Engineering practices.
- Knowledge of Root Cause and Corrective Action methods
- Knowledge of Inspection Plans and First Article Inspections
- Knowledge of Quality Management Systems (AS9100, ISO 9001, or Military Quality Assurance)
- Demonstrated ability to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines with attention to detail.
- Experience with M.S. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Experience with fast-paced program environments where schedule volatility is common.
- Dynamic workhour flexibility – Proven ability to adjust schedule on short notice, including rotating shifts, evening/weekend coverage, and overtime, to meet critical program milestones and production demands.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Aerospace Industry manufacturing engineering and/or Quality experience.
- Experience with TipQA, Costpoint, Windchill, MES, Creo
- A strong understanding of wiring processes, crimping, splicing, wire routing, and assembly techniques as it applies to IPC standard harness assembly operations
- Familiarization with ESD, FOD, 5S, and Tool Control required
- Preference to candidates with NASA J-STD and/or IPC 620 certifications w/ Space Addendums
Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below:
https://www.northropgrumman.com/space
Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.
Northrop Grumman Total Rewards
Primary Level Salary Range: $72,100.00 - $108,100.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $89,400.00 - $134,200.00The 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 with 2 years of professional experience, or master’s degree with 0 years, for Level 2
- Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of professional experience, master’s degree with 3 years, or PhD with 1 year, for Level 3
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance
- Experience with quality management systems supporting program processes, audits, or improvements
- Experience with Mission Assurance or Quality Engineering practices
- Knowledge of root cause and corrective action methods
- Knowledge of inspection plans and First Article Inspections
- Knowledge of AS9100, ISO 9001, or military quality assurance systems
- Ability to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and maintain attention to detail
- Experience with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Experience in fast-paced program environments with schedule volatility
- Ability to adjust work schedules on short notice, including rotating shifts, evenings, weekends, and overtime
- Aerospace manufacturing engineering or quality experience
- Experience with TipQA, Costpoint, Windchill, MES, or Creo
- Understanding of wiring processes, crimping, splicing, wire routing, and harness assembly techniques
- Familiarity with ESD, FOD, 5S, and tool control
- NASA J-STD or IPC-620 certification with space addendums
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.








