Join Northrop Grumman on our continued mission to push the boundaries of possible across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Enjoy a culture where your voice is valued and start contributing to our team of passionate professionals providing real-life solutions to our world’s biggest challenges. We take pride in creating purposeful work and allowing our employees to grow and achieve their goals every day by Defining Possible. With our competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, we have the right opportunities to fit your life and launch your career today.
Northrop Grumman Defense Systems is seeking a Principal or Sr. Principal Mechanical Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This position will be located at Clearfield, UT to support the Sentinel (GBSD) program in the Strategic Deterrent Systems (SDS) Division. Northrop Grumman supports the Air Force’s sustainment, development, production and deployment of hardware and system modifications for Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Ground and Airborne Launch Control Systems, Launch Facilities and associated infrastructure. This position may be filled at a higher level based on qualifications below.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Design, research, and develop engineering products for production.
- Assess conditions of aging weapons system, in collaboration with weapon system sustainment engineering specialists, to identify field monitoring solutions.
- Design engineering will be performed utilizing software packages such as NX and Teamcenter.
- Excellent communication and people skills required to work with key stakeholders within other engineering disciplines, including but not limited to system engineering and electrical engineering for capturing all engineering requirements needed for the design and to achieve program objectives in a timely manner.
- Critical thinking and personal organizational skills required to capture and complete a design that meets all engineering requirements.
- Additional work responsibilities may include task planning, conduct technical peer reviews, and mentoring junior engineers.
Basic Qualifications
This position may be filled at a Principal Mechanical Engineer level or at a Sr. Principal Mechanical Engineer level
- Requires a bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university with 5 years of related experience; or a master’s degree with 3 years of related experience (Sr. Principal level requires 8 years with a bachelor's; or 6 years with a master's)
- Must be a US Citizen with an active U.S. Government Secret Security Clearance, at time of application, current and within scope, with an investigation date within the last 6 years
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) approval within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company to meet its business needs
- Requires design experience performing CAD modeling with design tools such as Siemens NX or similar
Preferred Qualifications
- Active U.S. Government SAP access for NGDS SDS programs
- Master of Science in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
- 3+ years NX and Teamcenter experience
- 5+ design experience
- Aerospace/Defense Industry experience
- Hard working, motivated, and independent worker
- Excellent communication skills and people skills
- Excellent critical thinking and personal organizational skills
Position Benefits
As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman Defense Systems, 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 position’s standard work schedule is 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.
Primary Level Salary Range: $89,400.00 - $134,200.00Secondary Level Salary Range: $111,700.00 - $167,500.00The 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 STEM with 5 years related experience OR Master's degree with 3 years related experience (Sr. Principal requires 8 years with bachelor's or 6 years with master's)
- Must be a US Citizen with an active U.S. Government Secret security clearance, current and within scope, investigation within last 6 years
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) approval within a reasonable period
- Design experience performing CAD modeling with design tools such as Siemens NX or similar
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.









