Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Staff Engineer to Lead our team at Palmdale, CA. The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct, be able to lead a team and communicate with upper leadership.
The selected individual will join a small team with different and complementary specialty skills to learn and execute repairs and/or modifications to aerospace systems at either a development or field location. The ideal candidate will need to be well versed in both Vehicle Engineering and Survivability Engineering requirements, troubleshooting and repairs.
Roles and Responsibilities will include:
• Evaluate and resolve engineering related production problems related to manufacturing, design, quality and material engineering.
• Analyze engineering specifications and drawings; confer with responsible engineers, quality, material, manufacturing and subcontractors to provide and obtain technical information.
• Investigate report of defective, damaged or malfunctioning parts, assemblies, equipment or systems
• Examine, measure, inspect or test defective parts for conformance.
• Evaluate findings to formulate corrective actions.
• Develop installation procedure steps
• Redlines engineering drawings for newly designed parts, components, and subsystems.
• Facilitate retrofit and modification activities in the field to include the execution of the install or repair, and/or provide training or instructions to available technicians
• Brief upper leadership and customer weekly if not daily
• Assign work to team members
The candidate must be willing to support a dynamic work schedule, willing to travel to potentially remote locations, and frequently respond to pressing needs on short notice. The candidate must be equally comfortable briefing a government customer, members of program leadership, and working closely with engineers and maintenance personnel. Excellent verbal and non-verbal communication skills are essential in this role. Expected support can include precoordinated nights and weekends work
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. Travel up to 25% may be required.
Basic Qualifications
• T05: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 12 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 10 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience.
• Experience working with aviation systems and subsystems
• Must be proficient in understanding and following technical manuals and repair manuals
• Must be able to communicate effectively with design engineers and work closely with other aerospace specialties when learning and testing the functionality of new repair procedures or processes
• Must have prior field engineer, mission or maintenance engineering support.
• The candidate must have a deep and diverse mechanical background in aviation systems and sub-systems
• Strong understanding of TCP and UDP based networks and basic familiarity with network management protocols such as DHCP and DNS
• Active U.S Government 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.
• Note: SAP/PAR will be upgraded once selected candidate is in role. Therefore, candidate must also be able to obtain and maintain upgraded SAP/PAR.)
Preferred Qualifications
• Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
• Degree in Mechanical or Aeronautical Engineering
• Experience working in an aviation manufacturing or maintenance facility
• Experience interfacing with a customer
• Experience using NX, VisPro, MES, TeamCenter, and CATIA software tools
Primary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00The 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 in STEM plus 12 years related engineering experience or Master's plus 10 years or PhD plus 8 years
- Experience working with aviation systems and subsystems
- Proficiency reading and following technical and repair manuals
- Prior field engineer, mission, or maintenance engineering support experience
- Deep mechanical background in aviation systems and subsystems
- Strong understanding of TCP and UDP networks and familiarity with DHCP and DNS
- Active U.S. Government Top Secret SCI clearance with background investigation within past 5 years or Continuous Evaluation enrollment
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) access via Program Access Request (PAR) and upgraded SAP/PAR
- Ability to brief government customers and senior leadership and communicate with multidisciplinary teams
- Willingness to support dynamic schedules, nights/weekends, and travel to remote locations (up to 25%)
- Work full-time on-site at Palmdale, CA (no remote/hybrid)
- Experience using NX, VisPro, MES, TeamCenter, and CATIA software tools
- Degree in Mechanical or Aeronautical Engineering
- Experience working in an aviation manufacturing or maintenance facility
- Experience interfacing with customers
- Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance
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.








