Principal Space Vehicle Systems Engineer (AHT)

Northrop Grumman; Chantilly (VA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Savings plan

Paid holidays

PTO

Job summary

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Principal Engineer (Level 3) in the Space Sector, located onsite in Dulles or Chantilly, VA. This role requires Top Secret clearance and supports major space programs critical to national security.

The candidate will lead multi-disciplinary teams, develop analyses, and present to senior leaders. Relocation assistance may be available, and on-site work is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or related field with relevant professional experience.
• Master’s degree or PhD may substitute years of experience per the posting.
• Experience in systems engineering disciplines and cross‑functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Support major program milestones and readiness reviews by creating technical content and presenting to stakeholders.
• Author and input program data products and other deliverables.
• Work with mission partners to model mission-level elements accurately.
• Develop day-in-the-life analyses and design reference missions (DRMs).
• Produce propellant budgets, on-orbit fuel estimates, RF link budgets, and mission lifetime estimates.
• Develop analysis tools as required.
• Manage requirements from Mission down to Subsystems and document interfaces.
• Create and maintain Interface Control Documentation.

Skills

Systems engineering

Requirements management

Interface management

Cross-discipline collaboration

Briefing senior leaders

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master’s degree

PhD

Tools

Python

MATLAB

STK

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% 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.

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's Space Sector is seeking a Principal Engineer (Level 3) to join our team in Dulles or Chantilly, VA. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.

The qualified candidates will support new programs within the Space Superiority and Warfighting Division

In This Job, You Will

• Supporting major program milestones and readiness reviews by developing technical content and summarizing them into presentations for key stakeholders.
• Authoring and providing input to program data products and other vital deliverables.
• Working with mission partners to accurately model mission-level elements.
• Assessment of a vehicle’s day-in-the-life and creation of design reference missions (DRMs).
• Producing miscellaneous analysis, such as propellant budget analyses, on-orbit fuel requirements, RF link budgets, and mission lifetime estimates.
• Development of analysis tools as required.
• Requirements Management, including the decomposition of requirements from the Mission down to Subsystems.
• Interface Management, including the development of Interface Control Documentation.

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 with 5 years of professional experience or Master’s degree with 3 years of professional experience or PhD with 1 year of professional experience
• Requires an active U.S. Government Top-Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope
• Experience in systems engineering to include architectural studies, technical baseline definition, requirements & interface management, hardware/software integration, and mission planning & execution
• Experience working with a cross-discipline engineering team

Preferred Qualifications

• Exposure to Northrop Grumman space vehicle design and production.
• Experience working on Class B, C, or D Space Systems.
• Experience with developing and presenting briefing slides to senior leaders and executive level personnel.
• Ability to lead a multi-disciplinary team.
• Experience in system architecture, CONOPs development, or model-based system engineering.
• Experience in scripting languages and modeling tools (e.g. Python, STOL, MATLAB, STK, etc).
• Experience in any of the following areas is also desired: orbital mechanics, orbital debris modeling, spacecraft attitude control, power systems and modeling, avionics or digital electronics design, risk analysis, communications, or spacecraft integration and testing.

Primary 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.