Principal/Sr. Principal Digital Design Engineer

Northrop Grumman; Rolling Meadows (IL); On-site; USD 108,800 - 163,200; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance coverage

Life and disability insurance

Company-paid holidays

Paid time off (PTO)

Job summary

A leading aerospace and defense company is seeking a Principal/Sr. Principal Digital Design Engineer in Rolling Meadows, IL. This role involves designing and developing digital hardware products and testing various electronic systems. Candidates must have a relevant degree along with years of digital electronics design experience. The position includes significant leadership responsibilities and a focus on prototyping and debugging complex systems. Benefits include competitive salaries and relocation assistance.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of digital electronics design experience for Principal level, or 8+ years for Sr. Principal.
• Experience in simulation, test, and integration of digital circuits.
• Ability to lead projects and translate specifications into requirements.

Responsibilities

• Research, design, and develop digital hardware products.
• Test a variety of electronic equipment and systems.
• Lead projects with team members depending on the role level.

Skills

Digital circuit design

Hands-on prototyping and debugging

Project leadership

Documentation revision control

Familiarity with FPGAs and embedded processors

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or Computer Engineering

Master’s degree in relevant field

Tools

Cadence Concept

Allegro

Mentor Designer

Job description

Relocation assistance may be available.

Clearance required: Yes (SAP).

Travel: Yes, 10% of the time.

Job Description

As a Principal/Sr. Principal Digital Design Engineer, you will join our diverse team and be responsible for research, design, and development of digital hardware products. Your expertise in digital component design and analysis, modeling and simulation, circuit‑level design and test, and project leadership are desired for this position. Researches, designs, develops, and tests a variety of electronic equipment and systems, including radar and radiation detection equipment; radio, television and other communications equipment and systems; circuitry components; analog and digital computers; and control and test equipment.

This position may be filled at either a Principal or Sr. Principal Digital Design Engineer level based on the qualifications listed below.

This position will be full‑time, on‑site at our Rolling Meadows, IL. location.

This position is contingent upon funding/contract award, special‑access program, and acquiring and maintaining the necessary U.S. Government security clearance per customer requirements prior to start.

Basic Qualifications for a Principal Digital Design Engineer

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or similar engineering discipline with a minimum of 5 years of digital electronics design experience, or Master’s degree with 3 years of experience.
• Digital circuit design experience, including simulation & schematic capture through test and integration.
• Prior hands‑on prototyping and debug experience testing complex digital subsystems, such as circuit card development involving FPGAs, embedded processors, and/or high‑speed interfaces.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects with 2 or fewer team members.
• Demonstrated ability to translate system performance and operational specifications into hardware requirements, design, and test specifications.
• Familiarity with documentation revision control and review systems similar to DOORS, ClearCase, and ClearQuest.
• U.S. Citizen.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a minimum of a Secret clearance with additional customer‑specified clearance prior to start.

Basic Qualifications for a Sr. Principal Digital Design Engineer

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or similar engineering discipline with a minimum of 8 years of digital electronics design experience, or Master’s degree with 6 years of experience.
• Extensive digital circuit design experience, including simulation & schematic capture through test and integration.
• Extensive hands‑on prototyping and debug experience testing complex digital subsystems, such as circuit card development involving FPGAs, embedded processors, and/or high‑speed interfaces.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects with 2 or more team members.
• Demonstrated ability to translate system performance and operational specifications into hardware requirements, design, and test specifications.
• Familiarity with documentation, revision control and review systems similar to DOORS, ClearCase, and ClearQuest.
• U.S. Citizen.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a minimum of a Secret clearance with additional customer‑specified clearance prior to start.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering with a minimum of 10 years of digital electronics design experience.
• Working knowledge of Electronic Warfare systems.
• Experience in Aerospace and/or Defense industries.
• Recent circuit card design experience utilizing tools such as Cadence Concept, Allegro, and/or Mentor Designer, Expedition.
• Working experience with ClearCase/ClearQuest and DOORS; Current Secret or Top‑Secret Security Clearance.
• Proven skills in team leadership, mentoring, communication with all levels of an organization, adaptability, creativity, collaboration, and independent problem‑solving.

Primary Level Salary Range: $108,800.00 - $163,200.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $135,800.00 - $203,600.00

Employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, discretionary bonus, and long‑term incentives depending on position. Benefits include health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, company‑paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

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.