Director Engineering 2

Northrop Grumman; Chandler (AZ); On-site; USD 209,000 - 314,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Total Rewards

Paid time off

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Space Sector in Chandler, AZ seeks an Engineering Director for the Glide Phase Interceptor program. As Chief Engineer you will own technical execution, system integrity, and architecture decisions across the product lifecycle, reporting to the VP of Central Region Engineering, and leading cross‑functional teams in a high‑stakes defense program.

This 9/80 onsite role emphasizes model‑based systems engineering, risk management, and collaboration with customers and program

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering with extensive leadership experience.
• Experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering organizations and complex programs.
• Proven ability to establish technical strategy, baselines, and execution plans for hardware/software/integrated systems.

Responsibilities

• Serve as GPI Chief Engineer, providing technical leadership across the program.
• Own technical execution, system integrity, and architecture decisions for GPI.
• Maintain the integrated technical baseline across requirements, design, verification, and validation.

Skills

People management

Leadership

Systems engineering

Cross-functional teams

Technical strategy

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering

Master’s degree in Engineering

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: None

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.

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 an Engineering Director2: Glide Phase Interceptor located in Chandler, AZ, you will serve as a senior technical leader for a large, complex, multi-disciplinary program supporting critical national security capabilities across a large stakeholder community. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.

Job Summary

As the Chief Engineer you will be accountable for the overall technical execution and integrity of the Glide Phase Interceptor program. You will report to the Vice President, Central Region Engineering. You will provide day‑to‑day technical leadership for the full product life cycle, including concept exploration, system architecture, requirements definition, integration, testing, risk management, and operational support with a strong emphasis on best‑in‑class system engineering, performance assessment through high fidelity system modeling and simulation, and cross‑functional collaboration across a large stakeholder community.

This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.

In this job, you will:

• Serve as the GPI Chief Engineer, providing technical and process leadership and oversight across the GPI program.
• Own the overall technical execution, system integrity, and architecture decisions for GPI, ensuring alignment with business, mission, and customer objectives.
• Establish and maintain the integrated technical baseline, ensuring requirements, design, verification, validation, risk, configuration, and mission‑assurance activities remain aligned throughout the product lifecycle.
• Partner closely with program management, functional leadership, and customer stakeholders to define technical baselines, manage technical risk, and ensure delivery of mission‑capable solutions on cost and schedule.
• Provide technical direction and decision‑making for major reviews, trades, and design milestones; chair or co‑chair key technical boards as appropriate.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with external customers and internal stakeholders; represent GPI engineering in executive‑level and customer forums.
• Other duties as assigned.

Clearance and Program Access

This position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering with 20+ years of professional experience including people management experience – OR – Master’s degree with 18+ years of professional experience including people management experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering organizations, integrated product teams, or complex technical programs involving multiple engineering disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience establishing technical strategy, technical baselines, engineering plans, and execution approaches for complex hardware, software, and/or integrated systems.
• Experience managing engineering performance across cost, schedule, technical performance, risk, quality, and delivery commitments.
• Experience leading and developing engineering leaders, technical personnel, and cross‑functional teams.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active U.S. Government Secret security clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain required program access.
• Advanced degree in engineering, science, systems engineering, engineering management, or a related STEM discipline.
• Experience serving as a Chief Engineer, Engineering Director, Chief Architect, Technical Director, or comparable senior technical leader on complex aerospace, defense, or space systems.
• Experience with end-to-end system engineering, including requirements development, architecture, design reviews, verification and validation, technical risk management, and configuration management.
• Experience leading engineering organizations supporting space, aerospace, defense, mission‑critical, or safety‑critical products and programs.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders, customers, and external stakeholders on high‑consequence technical and business decisions.

As a leader with integrity, you ensure ethical conduct, balanced results, and partner satisfaction. You respect and nurture growth, fostering a culture of excellence. Skilled in building collaborative teams and customer trust, you communicate well, foster strong teams, and embrace change.

Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Visit https://www.northropgrumman.com/space.

Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.

Primary Level Salary Range: $209,000.00 - $313,600.00

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 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.