Director Systems Engineering 1

Northrop Grumman; Charlottesville (VA); On-site; USD 193,000 - 321,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Bonuses

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems seeks a Director of Engineering 1 based in Charlottesville, VA or Sykesville, MD. The role reports to the Naval and Oceanic Systems Senior Director of Engineering and Sciences and leads an engineering team of about 250 across three sites.

You will set strategy, manage budgets and people, drive technical excellence, and ensure cost, schedule and performance for Navy and USCG programs while growing talent and enforcing standards. Up to 50% travel required.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering complex hardware and software integrated systems.
• Demonstrated ability to drive engineering performance and staff development.
• Proficiency in guiding multi-site teams and managing budgets.

Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, and execute engineering strategy aligned with program objectives.
• Provide functional leadership, including goal setting, performance management, and budgeting.
• Lead multi-site workload forecasts and ensure utilization goals are met.
• Drive innovation and engineering rigor across all program phases.
• Provide oversight across disciplines to ensure technical excellence and cost-effective delivery.
• Engage with government customers and prime contractors to align on requirements.

Skills

Leadership

Staff development

Budget management

Problem solving

Executive briefing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Master’s degree in engineering

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 50% 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 Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered to provide the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission!

What You Get To Do

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) seeks to fill a Director of Engineering 1 position based in either Charlottesville, VA or Sykesville, MD. In this role, the selected candidate will report to the Naval and Oceanic Systems Senior Director of Engineering and Sciences and will be responsible for the overall direction, leadership, and management of the Naval engineering organization; a team comprised of approximately 250 managers, engineers, and scientists of varying levels of experience and growth across 3 sites: Charlottesville VA, Sykesville MD, and Ocean Springs MS. The organization comprises Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Software Engineering, and Integration & Logistics.

The selected candidate must be able to work collaboratively with other E&S and business leaders, as well as other enabling functions to meet our commitments and address/resolve challenges in a timely manner.

This leadership role is pivotal in the development of hardware, software and systems solutions as well as production support and shipboard integration and test for Navy and USCG surface and subsurface fleet.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, and execute engineering strategy aligned with business and program objectives for Naval systems programs.
• Provide functional leadership to include goal setting, performance management, employee development, and managing budgets required to perform their statements of work.
• Manage multiple sites’ workload forecast for engineering while meeting utilization goals
• Drive innovation and engineering rigor across complex programs in all phases: concept development, design, integration, verification, deployment, and sustainment.
• Enhance the personnel, processes, and tools to meet the current and future needs of the programs and technologies.
• Provide oversight and leadership across all engineering disciplines, ensuring technical excellence, cost-effective execution, and alignment with customer needs.
• Proactively push information and issues to business and functional leadership
• Serve as the engineering authority for Naval systems programs, engaging regularly with internal stakeholders, senior leadership, government customers, and prime contractors.
• Lead the development, design, implementation, application, training, costing, and product support for state-of-the-art solutions in support of captures, programs, and research & development.
• Foster a high-performance culture that promotes technical depth, continuous learning, operational discipline, and talent development across departments.
• Ensure compliance with engineering policies, quality standards, and risk management practices.
• Support business growth through technical solutioning, proposal development, and customer engagement.
• Support the sites’ Program Management teams in the successful execution of programs while meeting cost, schedule and customer performance requirements
• Provide technical oversight to program risk and opportunity management boards

This position will be on-site at either Charlottesville, VA or Sykesville, MD locations

There will be up to 50% travel for this position to other Northrop Grumman locations.

Basic Qualifications Director 1 Position

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering (e.g., Electrical, Mechanical, Software, Systems) or a related technical field with 12+ years of professional relevant experience; or a Master’s degree in engineering (e.g., Electrical, Mechanical, Software, Systems) or a related technical field with 10+ years of professional relevant experience.
• Experience delivering complex hardware and software integrated systems within cost, schedule, and performance objectives.
• Demonstrated ability to drive engineering performance, process discipline, and staff development in a matrixed organization.
• Proficiency in technical problem solving to include decomposition, root cause analysis, and corrective actions development, implementation, and progress checks.
• Previous experience in Functional People Management including staffing, metrics, training resources, processes, and tools
• Experience briefing high level management, executives, and customers
• Active Secret clearance with the ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret security clearance
• U.S. citizenship required

Preferred Qualifications For Director 1 Position

• Master’s degree in engineering, Engineering Management, Systems Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 12+ years of experience in Aerospace & Defense in maritime domain
• Experience with Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), Agile software development, and digital engineering practices.
• Experience with Product Lifecycle Management processes and tools
• Familiarity with Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition lifecycle and the Systems Engineering lifecycle milestone reviews, e.g., System Requirements Review, Critical Design Review).
• Experience as a Control Account Manager (CAM) including certification.

Primary Level Salary Range: $193,800.00 - $321,100.00

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.