Northrop Grumman Defense Systems is seeking to hire a Mission Equipment Complex (MEC) – Zone Lead Manager 3 located in Roy, UT. This position may offer a competitive relocation package.
What You’ll Get To Do:
The Mission Equipment Complex (MEC) IPT is seeking a senior leader to own the end-to-end design, integration, and release of the MEC zone, spanning four product teams: MEC Structures, Launch Support (LS) Power, LS Environmental Control System (ECS), and Delay/Denial. You will act as the Cost Account Manager (CAM) for this work scope, directing a multi-disciplinary team responsible for delivering fully integrated MEC hardware and interfaces that meet demanding operational, environmental, and survivability requirements.
This role reports directly to the Launch Silo IPT Lead and is accountable for aggressive cost, schedule, and performance targets while maintaining close partnership with customers, subcontractors, and internal stakeholders.
What You’ll Get
Strategic Impact – Shape the core Mission Equipment Complex that enables safe, reliable, and survivable ground operations for national-defense missions.
Leadership Visibility – Direct reporting to the MEC IPT Lead and regular interaction with senior executives and DoD customers.
Professional Growth – Access to cutting-edge tools, senior mentors, and opportunities to influence program-wide engineering and integration strategy across multiple product teams.
Competitive Compensation – Market-aligned salary, comprehensive health & retirement benefits, and flexible work-location options.
Key Responsibilities:
Technical Ownership - Lead design, analysis, integration, and release of all MEC zone subsystems, including MEC Structures, LS Power, LS ECS, and Delay/Denial hardware. Ensure requirements flow-down, interface control, and configuration management are rigorously applied across all four product teams.
Cost & Schedule Management (CAM) - Develop and maintain the Earned Value Management System (EVMS) baseline for the MEC zone work scope; track cost, schedule, and performance; drive corrective actions to maintain cost and schedule objectives across the MEC product teams.
Cross Functional Team Leadership - Direct functional leads for structural, mechanical, electrical, thermal, and systems engineering, as well as CAD/ECAD librarians. Foster collaboration across the MEC IPT and adjacent zones for seamless hand-offs between design, integration, test, and operations.
Model Based Engineering & Release Process - Champion model-based engineering (MBE) practices; maintain an up-to-date digital representation of the MEC zone (including MEC structures, LS power/ECS, and Delay/Denial elements). Own the Product Development Process (PDP) release flow for MEC scope, close design-review gaps, and certify releases for production and integration.
Stakeholder & Partner Management - Serve as the primary technical liaison for MEC-zone scope to DoD customers, prime subcontractors, and key suppliers. Prepare concise briefings and status reports for senior leadership, program reviews, and customer technical panels. Coordinate dependencies and interfaces across the four MEC product teams and with other zones.
Talent Development & Culture - Mentor and develop engineers, team leads, and section managers across the MEC zone. Drive hiring, training, and retention of top talent; lead initiatives that improve employee engagement, inclusion, and continuous improvement within the MEC organization.
Special Projects & Support Provide MEC subject-matter expertise for proposals, independent technical reviews, audits, and ad-hoc assignments that support the broader ground-systems and mission-equipment portfolio.
Position Benefits:
As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman, you are eligible for our robust benefits package including
• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
• 401k
• Educational Assistance
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
• Paid Time Off
• Health & Wellness Resources
• Employee Discounts
This positions standard work schedule is a 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off. This role may offer a competitive relocation assistance package.
You’ll Bring These Qualifications:
• Bachelor's degree in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 8 years of related experience or Master's degree and 6 years of related experience
• Must be a U.S. citizen with an active U.S. Government Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope (< 6 yrs), with an ability to obtain and maintain SAP Special Program Access (SAP)approval within a reasonable period, as determined by the company to meet its business needs and ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance.
• Experience working in the Aerospace or Defense Sector.
• Experience with Earned Value Management (EVM) / Cost Account Management (CAM) – baseline development, variance analysis, and reporting.
These Qualifications Would be Nice to Have:
•Minimum 3 years in a formal lead/management position overseeing multi-disciplinary engineering teams. Experience leading multiple product teams or a complex subsystem “zone” is strongly desired.
• Direct experience with mission equipment complexes, launch support systems, facilities integration, or ground systems including structures, power, ECS, and/or protective systems (e.g., delay/denial, hardening, survivability).
• Work history collaborating with prime and secondary subcontractors on ground-system, launch-system, or weapon-system projects, including joint technical reviews, interface negotiations, and integrated schedule management.
• In-depth knowledge of applicable engineering codes and standards (e.g., MIL-STDs, UFCs, NFPA, IBC, mechanical/electrical codes) and the ability to apply them to MEC structures, power distribution, ECS, and protective / delay-denial designs.
• Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering tools (Cameo, MagicDraw, IBM Rational, etc.) and CAD/ECAD platforms (e.g., SolidWorks, CATIA, NX, Mentor Graphics) for configuration-controlled design releases.
•Experience with ANSYS, NASTRAN, ABAQUS, or comparable solvers for high-fidelity structural, thermal, and fluid-dynamics studies of MEC or ground-system components, including environmental and survivability conditions.
• Prior participation in Government-Owned-Contractor-Operated programs, with familiarity in government procurement processes and contract clauses.
• PMP, PMI-ACP, or Earned Value Management Certification (EVMC) preferred.
• Proven ability to lead design engineering for complex, high-consequence systems such as mission equipment, power distribution and controls, environmental control systems, and protective / delay-denial hardware.
• Excellent oral and written communication; demonstrated capability to present technical status, risks, and recommendations to senior leadership, customers, and partners.
• Strong track record of working with subcontractors, suppliers, and DoD customers to resolve technical and schedule challenges, particularly across multiple interfacing subsystems.
•Experience coaching engineers and managers, fostering an inclusive, high-performance culture across multiple product teams.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in STEM and 8 years of related experience, or Master's degree and 6 years of related experience.
- Must be a U.S. citizen with an active U.S. Government Secret security clearance at time of application (current and within scope < 6 years).
- Ability to obtain and maintain SAP Special Program Access and ability to obtain and maintain Top-Secret clearance.
- Experience working in the Aerospace or Defense sector.
- Experience with Earned Value Management (EVM) / Cost Account Management (CAM) including baseline development, variance analysis, and reporting.
- Minimum 3 years in a formal lead/management position overseeing multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
- Direct experience with mission equipment complexes, launch support systems, facilities integration, or ground systems (structures, power, ECS, protective/delay-denial systems).
- Experience collaborating with prime and secondary subcontractors on ground-system or weapon-system projects, including joint technical reviews and interface negotiations.
- In-depth knowledge of engineering codes and standards (e.g., MIL-STDs, UFCs, NFPA, IBC, mechanical/electrical codes).
- Experience with MBSE tools (Cameo, MagicDraw, IBM Rational) and CAD/ECAD platforms (SolidWorks, CATIA, NX, Mentor Graphics) for configuration-controlled design releases.
- Experience with ANSYS, NASTRAN, ABAQUS, or comparable solvers for structural, thermal, and fluid-dynamics studies.
- Prior participation in Government-Owned-Contractor-Operated programs and familiarity with government procurement processes and contract clauses.
- PMP, PMI-ACP, or Earned Value Management Certification (EVMC).
- Proven ability to lead design engineering for complex, high-consequence systems and present technical status to senior leadership and customers.
- Strong track record of resolving technical and schedule challenges with subcontractors, suppliers, and DoD customers.
- Experience coaching engineers and managers and fostering an inclusive, high-performance culture.
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.









