If forging a secure future excites you, look no further! Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector provides an arena where your passion for innovation and quest for exploration are welcome. The Senior Manager Contracts Administration will join the team as the Business Unit (BU) Manager of Contracts, supporting its Launch and Exploration Division, specifically, the Launch Systems (LS) BU. As the BU Senior Manager of Contracts you will be pivotal in supporting missions critical to national and global security. This role will be performed in-office in Chandler, AZ. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.
In this role, the successful candidate will be responsible for all aspects of the LS BU contracts’ portfolio delivering strong customer satisfaction, successful financial performance and effective risk mitigation.
Additionally, the successful candidate will be responsible for the direct supervision and management of contract administration/staff personnel within the BU’s portfolio and new business pursuits.
The selected candidate will also be required to provide objective-oriented direction utilizing management guidelines and general policies and maintain a strong level of engagement, while leading, motivating and developing a team of contract managers and professionals.
This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.
What You'll Get to Do:
In this job, you will:
- Review and approve contractual documents for protection of the company's contractual/risk posture, satisfaction of contractual requirements and adherence to company policies.
- Make decisions in a timely manner, offer guidance and work cooperatively with a multitude of organizations ranging from technical, program, and functional stakeholders
- Be a role model for seeking out diverse perspectives to solve complex problems
- Provide concise and effective executive communication
- Conduct proposal preparation, contract negotiation, contract administration, and customer contact activities to provide for proper contract acquisition and fulfillment in accordance with company policies, legal requirements, and customer specifications
- Provide advice and counsel to senior leadership on contractual rights/obligations and interpretation of terms and conditions, as well as methods for change, risk assessment and mitigation, and cash management
- Work under general supervision while using sound judgment to develop creative solutions to both routine and complex contractual matters while ensuring compliance with customer requirements and company policies,
- Primary responsibility for effective customer negotiations of contract scope, price, terms, and conditions
- Build strong relationships with customers, stakeholders, and direct reports
- Coach and develop a team of high performing managers and professionals
- Ensure a robust talent pipeline through effective organizational management
- Other duties as assigned
If this job description reads like it was written specifically for you, consider joining our team!
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of professional experience including people management experience – OR – Master’s degree with 6 years of professional experience including people management experience.
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top-Secret security clearance with SCI Access
- Experience negotiating and administering various contract types and sizes and negotiating and administering various types of agreements with the United States Government or commercial entities
- Prior experience as a prime contractor and first-tier subcontractor with FAR, DFARS, and OTA Requests for Proposal and Contracts
- Experience with proposal development and pricing, risk identification, contract negotiation, and customer liaison
- Strong problem solving and analytical skills; ability to make recommendations and effectively bring projects to completion
- Prior leadership experience, including employee development and task delegation
Preferred Qualifications:
- Master’s degree or equivalent professional certification
- Experience at a major defense prime contractor
- Dynamic self-starter with strong attention to detail
- Advanced contract administration and negotiation skills
- Current, active US Government Top Secret Security Clearance with SCI Access
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
Primary Level Salary Range: $137,800.00 - $206,600.00The 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 8 years of professional experience, including people management experience
- Master's degree with 6 years of professional experience, including people management experience
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance with SCI access
- Experience negotiating and administering various contract types and sizes
- Experience negotiating and administering agreements with United States Government or commercial entities
- Experience as a prime contractor and first-tier subcontractor with FAR, DFARS, and OTA requests for proposal and contracts
- Experience with proposal development and pricing
- Experience with risk identification and contract negotiation
- Experience serving as a customer liaison
- Strong problem-solving and analytical skills
- Ability to make recommendations and bring projects to completion
- Prior leadership experience, including employee development and task delegation
- Master's degree or equivalent professional certification
- Experience at a major defense prime contractor
- Advanced contract administration and negotiation skills
- Current, active U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance with SCI access
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.









