Northrop Grumman in Azusa, CA specializes in Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) space programs that deliver timely, reliable and accurate missile warning and infrared surveillance information to key decision makers. The programs enhance global missile launch detection capability, support the nation's missile defense system, expand the country’s technical intelligence gathering capacity and bolster situational awareness for warfighters on the battlefield.
Northrop Grumman in Azusa needs qualified system engineers with an emphasis in applied math to fill Line-of-Sight (LOS), guidance, navigation and control (GNC), image processing, data exploitation algorithms development, testing and tuning needs on OPIR programs. Strong mathematics background in numerical methods and statistics strong desired. Northrop Grumman has many payloads in different stages of their life including proposal and design, requirements and verification, ground testing and calibration, launch and on-orbit testing and calibration, and sustainment and anomaly resolution. Work may include payload design, payload and space vehicle integration and test, analyzing LOS calibration system performance for on-orbit payloads as well as in support of flight readiness test activities for payload and ground systems. Ideal candidate will have a technical understanding of LOS calibration techniques such as mechanical and optical misalignment compensation in a space environment, calibration errors associated with gyros, IMUs, and optical encoders, understanding of orbital mechanics and commonly used orbital reference frames and time systems; a working knowledge of Kalman filtering and least squares estimation techniques is strongly desired.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field plus 12 or more years of relevant work experience, OR a Master’s degree in a STEM field with 10 years of experience, OR a PhD in a STEM field with 8 years of relevant experience
- Active U.S. Government Secret and SCI Clearance or higher at time of application
- Professional or coursework experience in the area of applied math
- Excellent written, oral and presentation communication skills.
- Experience with typical electro-optical pointing hardware such as encoders, resolvers, inertial measurement units, and motors.
- Basic understanding of MATLAB
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with pointing and control flight software constructs such as onboard attitude propagation and calibration, motor control, and anomaly, diagnostic, and resolution applications.
- Professional experience with applied mathematics for embedded systems and numerical error analysis.
- Technical understanding in LOS calibration techniques and working knowledge of Kalman filtering and least squares estimation techniques.
- Proficiency in MATLAB and object-oriented programming.
- Understanding of payload operations in relation to OPIR.
- Familiarity with commonly used tools in both MS Windows & Unix environments.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field plus 12+ years, OR Master's in STEM plus 10+ years, OR PhD in STEM plus 8+ years of relevant experience.
- Active U.S. government clearance (Top Secret required at start).
- Professional or coursework experience in applied mathematics (numerical methods, statistics).
- Experience with electro-optical pointing hardware such as encoders, resolvers, inertial measurement units (IMUs), and motors.
- Basic understanding of MATLAB.
- Excellent written, oral, and presentation communication skills.
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.








