Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Air Vehicle System Test Engineer - Engineering Field Service Representative (FSR) to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within the Test & Evaluation organization. This role is located in Pax River, MD.
This position requires 6+ months of training on a Domestic Assignment to Pax River, MD and Rancho Bernardo, CA to be completed prior to employment in Pax River, MD. 25% Domestic and OCONUS travel is expected to support business needs. After training is completed, it is expected that the candidate will be available to deploy to Japan, United Arab Emirates, or Guam for a minimum of 24 months, based on current business needs. The international location will be selected by Northrop Grumman after training is completed and will be based on timing and available location(s), determined by business needs. Deployment benefits will be communicated once a location is selected. If no immediate international or Guam deployment location is available, the candidate may continue to work out of Pax River, MD.
The FSR will be embedded with a US Navy unit and be the system subject matter expert, providing training on the system hardware and software, as well as supporting the sailors in the unit with system operations, troubleshooting, and routine maintenance. The Navy’s intent is for sailors to be the primary operators and maintainers of the system, with the FSR providing training/assistance as needed to keep the system fully mission capable. The FSR will have reach-back/liaison support from Northrop Grumman Responsible Engineering/Development/Test Engineering teams.
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
- Interfacing with NGC and customer Flight Engineers, aircraft maintenance Technicians, US Navy service members, and Subsystem SMEs to sustain operations.
- Primary interface between maintenance, design and flight test engineering.
- Vehicle and Payload Test Controller (VTC/PTC) operations during aircraft start-up/shut down for launch and recovery, conduct static ground tests, and troubleshooting.
- 25% Domestic and OCONUS travel expected
Essential Functions:
- Responsible for providing inputs to update Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMS).
- Reviews/provides inputs during engineering development and executes Detailed Test Requirements, Acceptance Test Procedures, and Ground Test Plans.
- Installs, operates, troubleshoot, maintains, repairs, and modifies equipment, in accordance with IETMS and/or other engineering directives (TDs/ECRs/TEIs/AMRs/MAFs).
- Perform a variety of Organizational / Depot-level maintenance and technical support on products such as equipment, integrated systems and subsystems, and software at customer and/or field locations.
- Develop general knowledge of all aircraft systems, VTC/PTC, Engineering Design and software. Perform field integration, troubleshooting, and repair of air vehicle systems at the customer location including operations on a flightline, or in a hangar.
- Ability to interpret and trace electrical and Air Vehicle schematics. Perform essential electrical and RF troubleshooting using equipment such as but not limited to: Multimeter, Network/Spectrum Analyzer, Oscilloscope, Time-Domain Reflectometer (TDR), etc.
- Able to perform/support review and analysis of engineering schematics, supplier design data, support of functional test requirements including acceptance, qualification, and system integration on the Air Vehicle.
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field with 2 years of relevant experience or a Masters degree in a STEM discipline with 0 years of relevant experience.
- Must have a DoD Secret clearance that is in-scope or currently enrolled in CE, with the ability to obtain a Top-Secret/SCI clearance within a reasonable amount of time to meet business needs
- Experience with Aircraft Ground Test Operations
- Willingness and ability to successfully complete required training in Pax River, MD and Rancho Bernardo, CA
- Possess the capability and readiness to travel effectively supporting customer needs, management reviews, and demonstrating leadership as a technical expert on support trips worldwide.
- Willingness and ability to support an international assignment in Japan, United Arab Emirates, or Guam for a minimum of 24 months. The location will be selected by the Company and the selection will be based solely on business needs.
- Willingness and ability to support 25% domestic and OCONUS travel to Japan, United Arab Emirates, or Guam.
- Ability to pass a new hire physical if determined necessary by Company, based on international location selected.
- Must have working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel & PowerPoint) and the ability to effectively communicate with various levels of leadership.
- Strong interpersonal skills with excellent communications skills, including the ability to brief test results to senior leadership.
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR) within a reasonable amount of time for business needs
Preferred Qualifications:
- Active in-scope Top Secret/SCI DoD security clearance at time of application, with eligibility/ willingness to submit to a counterintelligence polygraph if/when needed.
- Previous Unmanned Air Vehicle system test or maintenance experience is highly desired. MQ-4 Vehicle Test Controller or Triton BETTIE operator experience is preferred.
- Aircraft Test or Lab Test experience is highly desired.
- Experience with equipment to test and troubleshoot aircraft systems.
- Experience with loading data and configuration files to aircraft assemblies.
- Ability to support a new and/or extended assignment at a company selected international or Guam location after the initial 24-month assignment.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in STEM with 2 years relevant experience or Master's in STEM with 0 years
- Active DoD Secret clearance in-scope or currently enrolled in Continuous Evaluation (CE)
- Ability to obtain Top-Secret/SCI clearance within a reasonable time
- U.S. Citizenship (required for government clearance)
- Experience with Aircraft Ground Test Operations
- Willingness and ability to complete required training in Pax River, MD and Rancho Bernardo, CA
- Willingness and ability to support 25% domestic and OCONUS travel and an international 24-month assignment
- Ability to interpret and trace electrical and air vehicle schematics and perform electrical/RF troubleshooting
- Proficiency using test equipment (multimeter, spectrum/network analyzer, oscilloscope, TDR)
- Working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and strong oral/written communication skills
- Ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR)
- Ability to pass a new hire physical if required by international location
- Previous unmanned air vehicle system test or maintenance experience (e.g., MQ-4 VTC or Triton BETTIE)
- Active in-scope Top Secret/SCI clearance and willingness to submit to polygraph
- Aircraft test or lab test experience; experience loading data/configuration files to aircraft assemblies
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.








