2026 Flight Dynamics Controller - Dulles VA

Northrop Grumman; United States; On-site; USD 76,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Northrop Grumman in Dulles, VA seeks a Flight Controller to support the IceSat-2 mission. You will perform flight control for satellite programs, coordinate with systems engineers, develop procedures, and monitor health across subsystems.

The role requires collaboration in a 24/7 environment and is 100% onsite with some travel. Responsibilities include testing with simulators, producing telemetry, and reporting statuses to stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field.
• Master’s degree in a STEM field for Engineer level.
• Ability to work in diverse teams to achieve mission success.
• Outstanding verbal and written communications skills for external presentations.
• Willingness to support a 24/7 environment.

Responsibilities

• Provide mission operations support to Satellite programs including flight control.
• Support system maintenance activities such as procedure updates and milestones.
• Work with systems engineers to conduct anomaly investigations.
• Conduct testing using simulators and resolve discrepancies.
• Develop/testing procedures, telemetry pages, and vendor docs.
• Monitor vehicle state of health and perform telemetry trending.
• Track space vehicle configuration and parameters.
• Modify operations procedures based on lessons learned.
• Develop new procedures as required.
• Provide status reporting through functional and program channels.
• Maintain standards within established processes.
• Support meetings with internal and external customers via MS Office tools.

Skills

Verbal communication

Written communication

Teamwork

24/7 availability

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Master's degree in STEM

Tools

STK/ODTK

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: None

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.

Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations. Northrop Grumman's Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams. As a Flight Controller - Level 1 or 2 located in Dulles, VA, you'll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one. You'll be primarily supporting the Flight Dynamics team on IceSat-2 which is designed to measure the 3D elevation of Earth's ice sheets, glaciers, sea ice, forests, and water surfaces using advanced laser technology to track changes over time. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.

Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Provide mission operations support to Satellite programs including flight control.
• Support system maintenance activities such as procedure updates, architecture upkeep, and formal program milestones.
• Work with systems engineers to conduct anomaly review board investigations, as necessary.
• Conduct testing using simulators and resolve discrepancies.
• Develop and test command procedures, telemetry pages, and other products derived from vendor provided documentation
• Monitor vehicle state of health across all subsystems and perform short and long-term telemetry trending.
• Track space vehicle configuration, to include both hardware, software, and configurable item parameters.
• Make modifications to existing operations procedures to incorporate lessons learned from in-flight performance.
• Develop new procedures as required.
• Provide status reporting through both the functional and program reporting branches.
• Maintain standards associated with the established functional group processes.
• Support internal and external customer meetings through proficient verbal and documented (MS PowerPoint, MS Word, MS Excel) communications.
• Other duties as assigned

Basic Qualifications for Associate Engineer

• Be completing or has completed their Bachelor's Degree from an accredited institution.
• Be majoring in or having majored in a STEM field
• Ability to work within a group of diversified individuals with varying backgrounds to achieve mission success
• Outstanding verbal and written communications skills, including ability to make persuasive presentations to external customers at milestone review
• Willingness and ability to support a 24/7 environment

Basic Qualifications for an Engineer

• Be completing or has completed their Master's Degree from an accredited institution.
• Be majoring in or having majored in a STEM Field
• Ability to work within a group of diversified individuals with varying backgrounds to achieve mission success
• Outstanding verbal and written communications skills, including ability to make persuasive presentations to external customers at milestone review
• Willingness and ability to support a 24/7 environment

Preferred Qualifications for both levels

• Prior experience conducting on-orbit mission operations and resolving satellite and ground system anomalies highly preferred
• Experience related to STK/ODTK
• Experience writing technical documents for external customers
• Leadership experience within a diverse team of engineers/operators

Associate Salary Ranges: 76,200 - 114,400

Engineer Salary Ranges: 91,800.00 - 137,600.00

Primary Level Salary Range: $76,400.00 - $114,400.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $91,800.00 - $137,600.00

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