Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission!
Northrop Grumman Corporation is offering a challenging and rewarding career as a Sr. Principal Mechanical Drafting Designer within the Mission Systems Sector located at the Rolling Meadows - Illinois facility. This position will support the design and documentation of ruggedized electronic equipment for military applications. The candidate will have the opportunity to be exposed to multiple skill sets within the Mechanical Drafting discipline such as: CAD design, drawing creation, documentation updates, and library part creation. The individual will work within a team environment consisting not only of senior oversight, but also other functional disciplines such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and systems engineering.
The candidate will work within the Hardware Engineering organization. It is a high performing organization that values its employees greatly and has a strong sense of purpose tied to the vision of Northrop Grumman: To be the most trusted provider of systems and technologies that ensure the security and the freedom of our nation and its allies. The candidate will be able to contribute within an ethical/inclusive environment and be able to grow personally and professionally while being an important part of something bigger and better than ourselves.
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This position will be full-time and on-site at our Rolling Meadows, IL. location
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelors’ degree with a minimum of 8 years or relevant experience or MS degree with minimum of 6 years of relevant experience or in lieu of degree an additional 4 years of experience required.
- Minimum of 7 years of experience in Mechanical design and drafting
- Experience with CAD tools such as Siemens NX, ProEngineer Creo, Solidworks, AutoCad, CATIA
- Experience designing parts for machining and extensive familiarity with ASME standards.
- U. S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelors’ degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math with a minimum of 5 years of experience in Mechanical design and drafting
- Active DoD Secret Clearance or higher
- Experience working with manufacturing, quality, or inspection teams
- Experience supporting aerospace or defense hardware development
- Proficiency with ASME Y14.5 geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and ASME Y14.100 engineering drawing practices
- Strong communication and collaboration skills with the ability to support and mentor peers
- Ability to provide constructive feedback and support to peers to enhance their skills and performance
- Working knowledge of materials, specifications, manufacturing processes and design tools utilized for Mechanical Design of Electronic Assemblies:
- Siemens NX
- Teamcenter
- ProEngineer
- AutoCad
- Good written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree with minimum 8 years relevant experience OR MS with minimum 6 years OR an additional 4 years experience in lieu of degree
- Minimum of 7 years of experience in mechanical design and drafting
- Experience with CAD tools such as Siemens NX, ProEngineer (Creo), Solidworks, AutoCAD, CATIA
- Experience designing parts for machining and extensive familiarity with ASME standards
- U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain DoD security clearance
- Active DoD Secret Clearance or higher
- Experience working with manufacturing, quality, or inspection teams
- Experience supporting aerospace or defense hardware development
- Proficiency with ASME Y14.5 geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and ASME Y14.100 drawing practices
- Working knowledge of materials, specifications, manufacturing processes and design tools for mechanical design of electronic assemblies (Siemens NX, Teamcenter, ProEngineer, AutoCAD)
- Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills and ability to mentor peers
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.






