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Sr Principal Electronics Engineer – Payloads Field Liaison

Palmdale, California, United States
Full Time On-site

Summary

Job Description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time

Description

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 looking to add a Sr Principal Electronics Engineer – Payloads Field Liaison to join our team in Palmdale, CA. The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct. The selected individual will join a small team with different and complementary specialty technical skills to develop and support the execution of repairs and/or modifications to a variety of systems in the field.

Roles and Responsibilities will include:

  • Serve as the field liaison payload engineer between operations, engineering, and customer teams to ensure successful issue resolution, delivery and installation.

  • Reporting subsystem status to programmatic and technical team leadership and identifying risks/issues/concerns to prevent increased cost and/or schedule delay.

  • Manage all field-related payload subsystem issues. Coordinate with necessary stakeholders and track status from identification to completion.

  • Develop and maintain technical documentation, configuration records, and test reports, and ensure all deliverables conform to program requirements and quality standards.

  • Update interface control, change requests, and risk mitigation activities, coordinating corrective actions and schedule adjustments with stakeholders to minimize program impact.

  • Provide training, technical briefings, and operational support to field personnel and customer representatives to ensure safe, compliant, and efficient payload operations.

  • Collaborate with a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and non-engineers to determine effective technical solutions which are innovative, practical, and consistent with organizational objectives

  • Periodically participate in engineering working groups, as needed, to represent design intent while maintaining awareness and consideration of sustainment priorities

The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility.  There is NO remote / hybrid / telework available for this position.  Travel up to 25% may be required.

Basic Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 6 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 4 years of related engineering experience.

  • Experience working with electronic warfare payload systems.

  • Experience working with aerospace payloads systems and subsystems

  • Proficient in understanding and following technical manuals and repair manuals.

  • The candidate must have a deep and diverse background in aviation payloads systems and sub-systems.

  • Payload integration and interfacing expertise (mechanical mounts/fixtures, harnessing, mass/CG, fit checks)

  • Proficiency preparing and validating field analysis reports and associated hazard analyses/mitigations

  • Experience with military specs and standards

  • A U.S. Citizen with Active DoD Top Secret/SCI clearance OR active DoD Top Secret clearance with SCI eligibility (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).

  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs

Preferred Qualifications

  • Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.

  • Active DoD Top Secret SCI clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).

  • Prior field engineer, mission or maintenance engineering support experience

  • Willing to support a dynamic work schedule, willing to travel to potentially remote locations, and frequently respond to pressing needs on short notice.

  • Able to communicate effectively with design engineers and work closely with other aerospace specialties when learning and testing the functionality of new repair procedures or processes.

Primary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00

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.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the United States, building advanced systems across space, air, land, sea, and cyber domains. The company is known for some of the most complex defense programs in the world, including stealth aircraft, autonomous systems, missile defense technologies, satellites, and space-based intelligence platforms that support U.S. national security operations.

For job seekers, Northrop Grumman offers careers across a wide range of high-impact fields including aerospace engineering, software development, cybersecurity, systems engineering, manufacturing, program management, and intelligence support. The company is especially attractive to veterans, cleared professionals, and engineers who want to work on mission-critical systems that directly support the Department of Defense and intelligence community. Many roles involve long-term programs with significant technical depth and real-world operational impact.

Unlike smaller defense startups focused on narrow capabilities, Northrop Grumman operates across multiple major mission areas, giving employees exposure to highly advanced programs such as stealth platforms, space systems, autonomous vehicles, and next-generation command-and-control systems. The company is also a major leader in classified space and intelligence systems, where cutting-edge engineering and secure infrastructure play a critical role in national defense.

As global competition in space, cyber, and advanced military systems continues to intensify, Northrop Grumman remains one of the most strategically important employers in the defense industry. For professionals seeking stable, highly technical careers with long-term impact on national security, Northrop Grumman continues to stand out as a leading destination in aerospace and defense.

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