Northrop Grumman Aeronautic Systems has an opening for a Sr. Principal Design Engineer to join our team of qualified diverse individuals. This position will be located in Palmdale or El Segundo, CA. The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team (IPT) construct.
Looking for an Engineer who analyzes, researches and develops structural engineering specifications involving metals, non-metallic or composite structural materials for product design. Analyzes damage tolerance, durability of metal and composite airframe structures. Knowledge of random vibration analysis. Tools utilized may include Catia, FEMAP, Patran, Nastran and a variety of software applications.
Essential Functions:
- Design and develop subsystem components (avionics, control surfaces, propulsion interfaces, environmental systems) meeting performance, weight, and reliability requirements.
- Translate system-level requirements into detailed subsystem specifications, interfaces, and engineering drawings.
- Perform trade studies, engineering analyses, and simulations (stress, aeroelasticity, thermal, vibration) to validate subsystem concepts and support design decisions.
- Create and maintain technical documentation, including schematics, bills of materials, test plans, and verification matrices.
- Support integration and interface activities with other engineering disciplines to ensure subsystem compatibility and compliance.
- Plan, execute, and analyze subsystem-level tests (bench, hardware-in-the-loop, environmental) and resolve design deficiencies through corrective actions.
- Contribute to configuration management, design reviews, risk assessments, and continuous improvement activities to ensure producible, maintainable subsystem designs.
Basic Qualifications:
- BS degree in Engineering (Aerospace, Mechanical, or Civil) and a minimum of 8 years of experience in Aerospace structural analysis or MS degree in Engineering (Aerospace, Mechanical, or Civil) with 6 years of experience OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 4 years of related engineering experience..
- Proficiency with CAD and drafting tools (e.g., CATIA, NX, SolidWorks) and creation of engineering drawings and BOMs.
- Strong knowledge of requirements development and management practices and tools
- Experience with subsystem test planning, execution, troubleshooting, and hardware-in-the-loop or bench testing.
- Familiarity with manufacturing/ producibility considerations, design for maintainability, and configuration management processes.
- Active USG Secret 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.
- Ability to obtain and maintain subsequent SAP PARs following commencement of employment to be able to completely support statement of work.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
- Active USG Top Secret clearance or higher (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
- Experience integrating avionics, flight control electronics, sensors, or actuators.
- Proficiency with MBSE and simulation
- Familiarity with certification processes
- Experience performing engineering analyses and simulations (structural, thermal, vibration, aeroelastic) using tools such as Nastran, Ansys, MATLAB/Simulink.
- Have some proficiency in 3-dimensional, constraint based, design systems, CATIA or NX.
- Have some familiarity with configuration management tools such as Teamcenter or CPLM
- Experience with EVMS, CAM certification
- Previous Team Leadership - IPT, Project Management, etc
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