Principal Engineer Aeronautical - Aircraft Ground and Flight Test

Northrop Grumman; Melbourne (FL); On-site; USD 98,400 - 147,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

9/80 work schedule

Health insurance coverage

Paid Time Off (PTO)

Job summary

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Principal Engineer Aeronautical in Melbourne, FL. This role involves overseeing flight test activities, supporting planning, monitoring, and post-processing test data analysis.

The ideal candidate will have extensive experience in test planning and execution within a flight operations environment. You will work with a proactive team and have opportunities for flexible work arrangements and a structured 9/80 work schedule.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in a related field or 3+ with a Master's degree.
• Experience with test planning and execution.
• Familiarity with generating technical documents.

Responsibilities

• Assist in development of test plans and cards.
• Monitor flights in real-time for safety.
• Lead test missions coordinating various teams.

Skills

Test planning

Execution of flight operations

Technical documentation

Data processing tools (MATLAB, MS Office)

Education

Bachelor's/Master's/Ph.D. in STEM

Tools

MATLAB

MS Word

MS Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

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.

Please note that this opportunity is contingent on program funding. Start dates are determined after funding confirmation.

Principal Engineer Aeronautical - Aircraft Ground and Flight Test

Location: Melbourne, FL. This role is located onsite in Melbourne, FL.

In this role, the successful candidate will provide support to all flight test activities, which include test planning, real‑time data monitoring, post‑flight data processing, and reporting on test results. Candidate shall display professionalism, leadership, have a strong work ethic, work well with others, and be able to function as a member of the Flight Test Team.

Key Responsibilities

• Assist in development of test plans/test cards
• Participate in pre‑and post‑flight briefs/debriefs
• Monitor flights in a real‑time environment, providing support to senior engineers and Test Conductors to ensure testing is performed safely and that all knock‑it‑off and safety of test parameters remain within allowable limits
• Plan and conduct test missions as an approved test conductor, which includes test deck preparation, leading engineering briefs/debriefs, coordination with scheduling, maintenance, and telemetry support, and leading the test team through test missions as the link between the test engineers in the control room and the test aircraft and crew
• Provide support for post‑flight data processing and analysis as required to support mission objectives
• Provide support in generating data releases and reports to be provided to the Company and Customer engineering

We offer flexible work arrangements, a 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.

Basic Qualifications

• Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) discipline AND 5 years of related professional/military experience OR a Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 3 years of related professional/military experience, OR a STEM Ph.D. AND 1 year of related professional/military experience
• Your ability to transfer and maintain the final adjudicated government Secret clearance (DoD must be in‑scope or enrolled in Continuous Evaluation) and any program access(es) required for the position within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Company
• Must have experience that includes test planning, execution, flight operations, and/or generating test artifacts (e.g., detailed test plans, test cards, etc.) and reports
• Must have experience generating technical documents and working with various software/data processing tools such as MS Word, MS Excel, PowerPoint, MATLAB, and other programming languages

Preferred Qualifications

• Current, Active Top Secret clearance
• Experience supporting real‑time flight operations, data/telemetry monitoring via a Certified Control Room and/or have a working knowledge of using and/or creating displays with IADS
• Experience within a ground/air vehicle flight test space
• Experience with mission system, weapon system, and/or other subsystems
• Flutter flight testing experience
• Experience in telemetry room as a test conductor and/or data monitor for flight and ground testing
• Recent Flight Test Engineer experience
• Full understanding of all aspects of testing to include requirements definition, test planning, test conduct and test reporting
• Experiences in a Gov/contractor Integrated Test Teat (ITT, ITF, CTF, etc)

Salary and Benefits

Primary Level Salary Range: $98,400.00 - $147,600.00. 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 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.