Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Senior Principal Engineer Electronics - Communications to join our team in San Diego, CA.
This candidate will work primarily as a part of our integrated development group, helping to ensure success of program execution, architecture development, requirements development, and supplier deliveries while continuing to drive efficiencies into our existing processes.
Roles and Responsibilities will include:
- Supporting the development program manager to manage the technical, cost, and schedule baselines for contractual development activities
- Supporting weekly cost and schedule reviews with program management to ensure program is executing to established baseline
- Supporting the Earned Value Management System process to enable accurate EAC reporting
- Working independently to proactively identify and address risks and issues; and bringing those items to appropriate engineering teams and program leadership
- Establishing supplier relationships and required non-disclosure agreements in accordance with Contracts and Global Supply Chain best practices
- Identifying opportunities for schedule improvement and working with engineering teams to implement in accordance with approved program process.
The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility. There is no remote / hybrid / telework available for this position. An occasional travel requirement up to 10% may be needed.
Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal Electronics Engineer:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 6 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 4 years of related engineering experience.
- Experience as Cost Account Manager (CAM) or directly managing Earned Value Management (EVM)
- Experience managing the budget, cost and schedule baseline for an engineering project or program
- Experience in Communications, Payloads, and Network system integration
- Active DoD Top Secret SCI clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Ability to obtain and maintain initial Special Access Program (SAP) access via a Program Access Request (PAR). This SAP/PAR must be obtained prior to commencement of employment and must be obtained within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
- Ability to obtain and maintain subsequent SAP PARs following commencement of employment to be able to completely support statement of work.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
- Network training/certifications (Network+, Security+, CCNA, etc.)
- Experienced with antenna theory, modulation/encoding schemes, satellite communications, and tactical data links
- Familiarity with common industry standards related to communications and network-based systems, such as MIL-STD-1553, RS-232/422, Ethernet (IPv4/IPv6)
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline and 8 years related engineering experience; OR Master's +6 years; OR PhD +4 years
- Experience as a Cost Account Manager (CAM) or directly managing Earned Value Management (EVM)
- Experience managing budget, cost and schedule baseline for an engineering project or program
- Experience in communications, payloads, and network system integration
- Active DoD Top Secret SCI clearance (background investigation within past 5 years or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation)
- Ability to obtain and maintain initial Special Access Program (SAP) access via Program Access Request (PAR) prior to employment
- Ability to obtain and maintain subsequent SAP PARs following commencement of employment
- Work full-time on-site at company facility (no remote/hybrid)
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.








