Director Systems Engineering 1

0090 CORP-Corporate Office; United States; On-site; USD 194,000 - 321,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems seeks a Director of Engineering 1 based in Charlottesville, VA or Sykesville, MD. You will lead ~250 engineers and scientists across three sites, directing naval hardware/software development and shipboard integration for Navy/USCG programs.

This senior role requires a strong engineering background, matrix leadership, and active security clearance. You will manage strategy, budgets, and cross-site collaboration to deliver complex solutions with high quality and

Qualifications

• Director 1: Bachelor's in engineering or related field with 12+ years or Master’s with 10+ years.
• Experience delivering complex hardware and software integrated systems.
• Proven ability to drive engineering performance and staff development in a matrixed org.
• Proficiency in decomposition, root cause analysis, and corrective actions.

Responsibilities

• Develop, lead, and execute engineering strategy for Naval systems programs.
• Provide functional leadership including goal setting and performance management.
• Manage workload forecast for engineering across 3 sites.
• Drive innovation and engineering rigor across programs and phases.
• Provide oversight across all engineering disciplines for technical excellence and cost-effective execution.
• Lead development, design, implementation, costing, and product support for naval hardware/software solutions.
• Foster a high-performance culture with technical depth and continuous learning.
• Ensure compliance with policies, quality standards, and risk management.
• Support growth through technical solutioning, proposals, and customer engagement.
• Support Site PMs to meet cost, schedule, and performance requirements.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Budget management

Staff development

Root cause analysis

Matrixed organization

Technical problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Master's degree in engineering or related field

Tools

MBSE

Agile software development

Digital engineering

Product Lifecycle Management

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret TRAVEL: Yes, 50% of the Time

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.

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

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.

We are a pioneering company. With careers across all areas: air, cyber, land, sea and space – our 90,000 employees work as one to defend and define the future. Northrop Grumman careers and internships are as varied as your interests, with a lifetime of potential that will give you every opportunity to do your best work. Working together with people from many backgrounds, personal passions and disciplines, we share a drive to push the boundaries of science, technology and engineering to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide.