Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer or Principal Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer
Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer or Principal Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer to join our team that supports our South Bay Vehicle Engineering organization. This position is in El Segundo, CA.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities:
- Define key subsystem-level requirements from high level aircraft and program requirements to define avionics hardware architectures according to customer specifications
- Define, develop, and manage components, interface definitions, and implementation approaches of flight critical systems such as:
- Flight control computers or vehicle management computers
- Flight control actuation systems (FCAS)
- Air data systems (ADS)
- IMU and GPS for Navigation
- Electrical power systems
- Interface with subject matter experts for receiving and management of information regarding other subsystems such as propulsion, hydraulics, fuel, etc.
- Perform technical planning, analysis, and hardware trade studies to meet requirements
- Coordinate and manage suppliers and hardware procurement
- Perform component hardware and software integration, and derive software requirements for control of flight-critical and safety-critical systems
- Develop and execute components, subsystem, and system level test procedures to verify functionality of the VMS hardware and software
- Coordinate with software engineers, subsystems/design engineers, hardware engineers, test and integration, suppliers, and systems engineering
- Investigate and resolve system anomalies across multiple engineering disciplines
This requisition may be filled at either the Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer level or the Principal Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer level, depending upon the qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications for Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a related Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field from an accredited university with 2 years of related engineering experience OR a Master’s Degree in a related STEM field with 0 years of relevant experience.
- Experience with or knowledge of the design, development, and/or integration of the Air Vehicle systems and subsystems listed above (propulsion, hydraulics, fuel, etc.)
- Understanding of electrical and data interfaces (such as MIL-STD-1553, RS-232, ARINC 429, or analog interfaces)
- Experience with or knowledge of hardware/software integration, verification & validation
- Experience with or knowledge of engineering modeling and simulation
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a US Government clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs
Basic Qualifications for Principal Vehicle Management Systems (VMS) Engineer:
- Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) field from an accredited university with 5 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s Degree in a relevant STEM field with 3 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a relevant STEM field with 1 year of related engineering experience
- Experience with or knowledge of the design, development, and/or integration of the Air Vehicle systems and subsystems listed above (propulsion, hydraulics, fuel, etc.)
- Understanding of electrical and data interfaces (such as MIL-STD-1553, RS-232, ARINC 429, or analog interfaces)
- Experience with or knowledge of hardware/software integration, verification & validation
- Experience with or knowledge of engineering modeling and simulation
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a US Government clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs
Preferred Qualifications for both levels:
- Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills
- Ability to work as part of a team, organize work, manage time, plan, and prioritize
- A current active in-scope DoD Secret security clearance or higher, with the ability to obtain Special Program Access (SAP).
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in STEM with 2 years related engineering experience OR Master's degree in STEM with 0 years (VMS Engineer)
- Bachelor's degree in STEM with 5 years related engineering experience OR Master's with 3 years OR PhD with 1 year (Principal VMS Engineer)
- Experience with design, development, and integration of air vehicle systems and subsystems (propulsion, hydraulics, fuel, etc.)
- Understanding of electrical and data interfaces (MIL-STD-1553, RS-232, ARINC 429, analog interfaces)
- Experience with hardware/software integration and verification & validation
- Experience with engineering modeling and simulation
- Ability to obtain and maintain US Government clearance and Special Access Program (SAP)
- Excellent oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills
- Ability to work on a team, organize work, manage time, plan, and prioritize
- Current active in-scope DoD Secret security clearance or higher (preferred)
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.







