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Test Conductor/ Principal Test Conductor

San Diego, California, United States
Full Time On-site
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% 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 has an opening for an Test Conductor/  Principal Test Conductor to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within the Triton Test and Evaluation organization supporting the Mission Data Center. This position will be located in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo), CA.

Mission-critical and hands-on—In this role you will be doing planning, coordinating, and executing production tests across multiple integration levels; leading test readiness reviews; troubleshooting anomalies in real time; and refining procedures to ensure tests meet mission objectives. In this role you will be supporting cross-functional delivery by serving as the liaison across program, engineering, and line management while coordinating test schedules and daily execution with managers, operators, and manufacturing on-site in San Diego (with overtime/off-hour flexibility and up to 10% travel). In this role you will be responsible for managing test schedules and status reporting, selecting and supervising technicians, and driving test execution quality from readiness through completion.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Providing laboratory support for integration testing
  • Supporting and hosting test planning working groups
  • Interfacing with test article design and analysis teams to define test configuration and data requirements
  • Reviewing and evaluating test requirements to ensure completeness of test program
  • Performing technical analysis of complete systems and prepares comprehensive system level evaluations
  • Supporting test card reviews in collaboration with other engineering disciplines and test operations personnel
  • Supporting test readiness reviews, and pre/post-test briefings
  • Providing mission control room support and make real-time decisions regarding safety, efficiency, and effectiveness.
  • Conducting and contributing to pre and post-test data analyses to support anomaly identification and resolution. Maintains metrics on status of testing and constraints
  • Generating metrics for leadership reviews
  • Hot bench, Lab, and flight data management
  • This position requires outstanding written and oral communications skills. Individual will be required to serve as either a principal subject matter focal point between maintenance, design engineering, and test site team - contractor and customer.
  • Individual must be able to work under only general direction to determine and develop approaches to solutions; must be able to work both within a team environment and independently; must be self-motivated, thorough, and detailed; and must be willing to learn additional engineering discipline areas.
  • Extended Work Week, odd shifts, and weekend work will occasionally be required

We offer flexible work arrangements, 9/80 work schedule with every other Friday off, phenomenal learning opportunities, exposure to a wide variety of projects and customers, and a very friendly team environment. We are looking for self-motivated, proactive, and goal-oriented people to help us grow our services and become even better at what we do.

*This position may be filled at either level depending on requirements below*

Basic Qualification for Test Conductor (Level 2):

  • Must have a High School Diploma and 6 years of related professional/military experience, OR Bachelor degree AND 2 years of related professional/military experience, OR a Master's degree AND 0 years of related professional/military experience.

Basic Qualification for an Principal Test Conductor (Level 3):

  • Must have a High School Diploma and 9 years of related professional/military experience, OR Bachelor degree AND 5 years of related professional/military experience, OR a Master's degree AND 3 years of related professional/military experience OR a Ph.D. AND 1 year of related professional/military experience.

Basic Qualification for Both Levels:

  • Must have an active US Government Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 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.
  • This position requires ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Top-Secret clearance
  • In depth knowledge of or test experience, to include control room monitoring
  • General knowledge of aviation systems

Preferred Qualifications:

  • In depth knowledge of or test experience, to include control room monitoring
  • Active US Government Top Secret clearance
  • Experience with guidance, navigation and control or flying qualities experience in a control room environment.
  • Prior experience working with IADS software
  • Familiar with windows operating system
  • Familiar with windows programs: word, excel
  • Windows file organization and data migration

Primary Level Salary Range: $83,400.00 - $125,200.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $103,600.00 - $155,400.00

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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