Principal / Senior Principal Engineer - Navigation

Northrop Grumman; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems in Rancho Bernardo, CA, seeks a Principal Engineer/Senior Principal Engineer for Navigation within the Vehicle Management System. You will lead integration of navigation hardware, manage interfaces, and ensure redundancy to support flight control and safety.

Responsibilities include lab and flight testing, production and field support, anomaly resolution, and supplier collaboration, with a path to advance to senior levels based on expertise and program needs.

Qualifications

• Basic qualifications for a Principal Engineer include a STEM degree and 5+ years of experience, or a Master’s with 3+ years, or a PhD with 1 year.
• Senior Principal Engineer requirements include a STEM Bachelor's with 8+ years, Master’s with 6 years, or PhD with 3 years.
• Strong understanding of GPS, inertial sensors, RF devices, and their interconnections.
• Experience with MATLAB and MS Office; familiarity with lab/test equipment.

Responsibilities

• Integrate navigation hardware, define interfaces, and ensure redundancy.
• Conduct investigations, system testing, and lab/flight tests.
• Provide remote and on-site troubleshooting for Production and Field issues.
• Support technical planning, verification & validation, and cost/risk analysis.
• Convert customer requirements into total system solutions balancing schedule and cost.

Skills

GPS system understanding

Inertial sensors

RF devices

Test equipment

MATLAB

MS Office

Education

Bachelor's in STEM

Master's in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

MATLAB

Microsoft Office

Oscilloscopes

Signal generators

Signal analyzers

Multi-meters

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% 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. Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems MQ-4 Triton Program seeks a Principal Engineer/ Sr. Principal Engineer Navigation to support the Vehicle Management System - Navigation team in Rancho Bernardo, CA.

The Vehicle Management System group is responsible for vehicle flight control and safety. The Navigation team is responsible for managing the navigation subsystem, including Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, inertial measurement units (IMU), and radio-frequency equipment. The selected candidate will work independently and collaborate across multiple teams to deliver quality solutions. General duties for the candidate include flight/lab testing, Production/Field Support, anomaly resolution, and supplier management.

Responsibilities

• Integrate navigation hardware, accounting for hardware capabilities/limitations, defining interfaces, and incorporating required redundancy.
• Conduct investigations, system testing, and flight testing in lab environments.
• Provide remote and on-site troubleshooting for Production and Field issues.
• Support proposal development, technical planning, verification & validation, cost & risk analysis, and trade studies.
• Ensure the logical and systematic conversion of customer or product requirements into total system solutions that balance technical, schedule, and cost constraints.

This position can be filled at either the Principal Engineer or Senior Principal Engineer level.

Basic Qualifications

• Basic qualifications for a Principal Engineer Guidance Navigation Control include a Bachelor's in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and at least 5 years of experience, a Master's Degree in STEM with 3 years of experience, or a PhD Degree with 1 year of experience
• Basic qualifications for a Senior Principal Engineer Guidance Navigation Control include a Bachelor's in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and at least 8 years of experience, a Master's Degree in STEM with 6 years of experience, or a PhD Degree with 3 years experience
• General understanding of the GPS system, inertial sensors, and RF devices (amplifiers, splitters, etc.) and how these concepts are interconnected.
• Experience with the following software Tools: Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Project, Visio), MATLAB
• Experience with test equipment such as oscilloscopes, signal generators, signal analyzers, or multi-meters.
• Your ability to obtain and/or transfer and maintain the final U.S. adjudicated government Secret clearance (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.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active DoD Secret security clearance or higher
• Comprehensive knowledge of navigation components, including receivers and inertial sensors.
• Experience with system redundancy and associated safety analysis
• Familiarity with databuses and related protocols, such as MIL-STD-1553, RS-422, ARINC-429
• Experience performing system-level design/troubleshooting
• Flight Test experience: Some experience
• Supplier management: Some experience
• Requirements verification testing: Some experience

Primary Level Salary Range: $0.00 - $0.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $0.00 - $0.00

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.