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 Research Scientist Manager – Level 2 located in Promontory, UT, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one.
The Manager 2 Research Scientist serves as both an individual contributor and manager of a group of 8–12 material specialists and subject matter experts in adhesives, coatings, and thermal protective systems (TPS). Provides technical leadership for the Adhesive and Coatings team, ensuring the team supports near‑term production needs as well as long‑term growth initiatives. Oversees proper support for a variety of internal and external customers, and is responsible for growing and developing technical knowledge and depth within the group.
This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.
Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
Material ownership for adhesives, adhesive ingredients, primers, coatings, and external TPS
Material specification ownership and maintenance
Material development through directing lab testing and analyzing results
Production support for material related issues, including nonconformances and failure investigations
Requirements Verification and Compliance
Coordinate team tasks, budgets, and schedules with program managers, IR&D leadership, project engineers, and others in Propulsion Systems
Oversee team member workloads and task progression and completion
Mentor team members in personal growth and career development
Lead and document periodic formal and informal performance reviews and determine merits and promotions
Review and update standard work requirements and guidelines
Determine staffing requirements
Support initiatives of engineering leadership
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.
Basic Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in engineering or science discipline with 8 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 6 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 4 years of professional experience.
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance
Proven team leadership skills
An understanding of adhesives, coatings and/or TPS, and their handling and application
Experience in conducting/supporting technical reviews
Strong knowledge of and ability to facilitate and coordinate work across multiple programs
Strong problem-solving skills
Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and the ability to interface with all levels of employees, management, and customers
Prior experience guiding and mentoring lower-level engineers and scientists
Preferred Qualifications:
M.S. degree in an engineering or science discipline with minimum 6 years experience, or a PhD with minimum 4 years experience
Prior experience managing direct reports
Proven capability with Smartsolve (nonconformance system) and EPLM (document control)
Experience with Polymer Chemistry, Polymerization reactions and Kinetics
Experience with the different families of adhesives and their specific applications in aerospace
Technical knowledge of adhesion science, including surface prep techniques, failure mode principles, and fracture toughness
An understanding of lab techniques for characterizing adhesives, adhesive ingredients, and bondline
As a leader with integrity, you ensure ethical conduct, balanced results, and partner satisfaction. You respect and nurture growth, fostering a culture of excellence. Skilled in building collaborative teams and customer trust, you communicate well, foster strong teams, and embrace change.
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: $139,100.00 - $208,700.00The 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 engineering or science with 8 years of professional experience OR Master's degree with 6 years OR PhD with 4 years
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance
- Proven team leadership skills
- Understanding of adhesives, coatings, and/or thermal protective systems (TPS) handling and application
- Experience in conducting or supporting technical reviews
- Ability to facilitate and coordinate work across multiple programs
- Strong problem-solving skills
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
- Prior experience guiding and mentoring lower-level engineers and scientists
- Prior experience managing direct reports
- Experience with SmartSolve nonconformance system
- Experience with EPLM document control systems
- Experience with polymer chemistry, polymerization reactions, and kinetics
- Experience with aerospace adhesive families, surface prep, failure modes, and fracture toughness
- Lab techniques for characterizing adhesives, adhesive ingredients, and bondline
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.






