Director of Engineering and Chief Engineer for the Research and Advanced Design (R&AD) Division

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the TimeDescription

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking a Director of Engineering and Chief Engineer for the Research and Advanced Design (R&AD) Division.

This position is in El Segundo, CA and reports to the Sector Vice President, Engineering and the Sector Vice President, Research and Advanced Design.

The individual selected for this position will serve as the Engineering focal point for R&AD and lead the Engineering functional organization.  They will be responsible for leading Chief Engineers, System Architects, and a diverse, multi-disciplinary set of engineers in the execution of R&AD programs across a diverse set of directorates including Advanced Autonomy; Advanced Collaborative Platforms; Battlefield Management; Survivability; Vehicle Technology; Aircraft Advanced Design; and Advanced Weapons. In partnership with the Engineering Center of Technical Excellence (CoTE), they will implement common processes and procedures to develop effective and affordable solutions for internal and external customers, specifically focusing on R&AD agile development to execute programs quicker and in a time critical manner, with first to market products

The position duties and responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:   

• Serve as the Engineering focal point for R&AD and lead the Engineering functional organization. 

• Assign, manage, and lead R&AD Chief Engineers and Chief System Architects

• Provide engineering leadership for definition, development, and verification of products and capabilities

• Responsibility for the identification and implementation of engineering people, processes, and tools that support the R&AD Directorates to achieve their objectives

• Accountability for recruiting, staffing, training, and retaining engineering talent to deliver on the objectives

• Work to enable with R&AD Strategic Business Units (Scaled Composites, Sonoma Photonics).

The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong leadership characteristics, a commitment to ethics and integrity, exemplify strong employee engagement and accountability, and foster a culture of diversity and inclusion.  He or she will inspire innovation and engineering process excellence while challenging the traditional way of doing business. 

Our Leaders at Northrop Grumman live our values daily and encourage our teams to do the same. We do the right thing: upholding the highest ethical standards and facilitating a safe and respectful environment that attracts, retains, and inspires a diverse and engaged team. We do what we promise: holding yourself and others accountable to meet predictable and balanced results. We commit to shared success: operating as OneNG and removing barriers for our teams. Finally, We pioneer: setting a vision that shapes the future and inspires others.

Basic Qualifications:

• Must have a Bachelor’s of Science degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline AND 9 years of related professional/military experience within the Aerospace and Defense industry that includes a background in leadership positions, OR a Master’s of Science degree in a STEM discipline and 7 years of related professional/military experience within the Aerospace and Defense industry that includes a background in leadership positions 

• Familiarity with technologies and engineering skills necessary for autonomy, battlefield management, advanced air vehicles and weapons, and survivability.

• Demonstrated experience in at least three of the following disciplines: software development, avionics integration, Missions systems and Communications systems integration,  Model Based systems engineering including (requirements analysis, modeling and simulation, and verification at subsystem and system level), integration and test in both laboratory and flight test environments, air vehicle design (structures and subsystems), risk management, cybersecurity, low observables and/or product support

• Experience in a technical leadership and technical management roles – inclusive of technical baseline management (including product support) as chairman of the Technical Review Board (TRB), leading and ensuring major technical reviews (SRR, SFR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR), safety of flight and airworthiness approval, and technical risk, TPMs, and opportunity management

• Experience in small to large technical effort-based proposals including estimating, price-to-win, design-to-cost, business clearance position, and execution risk assessment

• Partner with Center of Technical Excellence organization to ensure R&AD rapid execution and prototype environments are addressed in sector processes and tools

• Experience working directly with multiple US government customers and government organizations

• Must have an active US government Top Secret clearance that is in scope or currently enrolled in continuous evaluation

• Must be able to attain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR) within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience leading Engineering teams ranging from 50- to over 200 people, experience developing highly performing teams, managing, and prioritizing across multiple stakeholders

• Prior Engineering Functional organization management experience

• Experience and understanding of technologies and engineering skills necessary for autonomy, battlefield management, advanced air vehicles and weapons, vehicle technologies, and survivability.

• Experience in successfully developing and integrating software and hardware solutions for defense applications

• Experience with the software development best practices including Agile in conjunction with Model Based System Engineering

• Experience in subsystem architecture development including supplier management and qualification testing

• Experience in system modeling, simulation, and architecture development with Model Based System Engineering

• Experience in air vehicle development including structural design/analysis, loads and dynamics, performance, hydraulics, ECS, propulsion, fuel systems, landing gear, and flight controls. Includes supplier management for procured subsystems.

• Experience in integrating complex Mission System and Communications hardware and architectures into vehicle systems.

• Experience in Subcontractor Management

• Experience and understanding of best practices in program management, configuration data management, manufacturing, and product support

• Experience implementing action plans based on metrics and/or root cause/corrective actions

• Current Special Access Program clearance(s)

Primary Level Salary Range: $242,100.00 - $363,100.00

The 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.