Principal/Sr Principal Flight Test Engineer - Loads & Dynamics

0090 CORP-Corporate Office; United States; On-site; USD 103,600 - 193,900; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Northrop Grumman at Edwards AFB, CA is seeking a Principal/Senior Principal engineer to lead test and evaluation programs for air vehicle systems. This on-site role requires active Secret clearance and experience in test planning, data analysis, and cross‑disciplinary coordination.

You will develop test plans, safety procedures, and coordinate with maintenance, design, contractors, and customers while delivering timely, accurate system evaluations and briefings to senior leadership.

Qualifications

• Active U.S. Government Secret clearance required (or within CE).
• Experience with aircraft structure, flight/ground loads, and aerodynamic flutter.
• Ability to obtain SAP clearance in a timely manner.
• Strong communication skills and ability to work with cross‑disciplinary teams.

Responsibilities

• Interface with design and analysis teams to define test configurations and data requirements.
• Review and evaluate test requirements for completeness of the test program.
• Develop test plans, safety plans, test schedules and procedures for developmental testing.
• Provide control room support and real-time decisions on safety and efficiency.
• Coordinate with maintenance, design engineers, contractors, and customers as focal point.

Skills

MATLAB

IADS

Education

Bachelor of Science in STEM

Master of Science in STEM

Tools

MATLAB

IADS

Job description

Relocation Assistance

Relocation assistance may be available.

Security Clearance

Clearance required: Yes. Clearance type: Secret.

Travel: Yes, 25% of the time.

Location

This position will be 100% on-site at Edwards AFB, CA.

Responsibilities

• Interface with design and analysis teams to define test configuration and data requirements.
• Review and evaluate test requirements to ensure completeness of the test program.
• Support and host test planning working groups across multiple disciplines.
• Perform technical analysis of complete systems and prepare comprehensive system-level evaluations.
• Develop detailed test plans, safety plans, test schedules, and test procedures for developmental testing.
• Support test-card development and review cycles with other engineering disciplines and test operations.
• Support test readiness reviews, pre/post-test briefings, and other reviews for senior leadership.
• Provide control‑room support and make real‑time decisions regarding safety, effectiveness, and efficiency.
• Conduct and contribute to pre/post-test data analyses to support anomaly identification and resolution.
• Maintain metrics on status of testing and issues constraining test.
• Demonstrate outstanding written and oral communication skills.
• Serve as subject‑matter focal point between maintenance, design engineering, contractors, and customers.
• Work under general direction to determine and develop approaches to solutions.
• Work both within a team environment and independently.
• Be self‑motivated, thorough, detailed, and willing to learn additional engineering discipline areas.
• Be proficient in Microsoft Office and Integrated Analysis & Data System (IADS).
• Work overtime, odd shifts, and weekend work occasionally.

Basic Qualifications for Principal

• Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 5 years of related professional/military experience, or a Master’s degree AND 3 years of related professional/military experience.
• Must have an active U.S. Government Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
• Experience in aircraft structure, flight/ground loads, and aerodynamic flutter.

Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal

• Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 8 years of related professional/military experience, or a Master’s degree AND 6 years of related professional/military experience.
• Must have an active U.S. Government Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
• Experience in aircraft structure, flight/ground loads, and aerodynamic flutter.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in vibroacoustics.
• Experience in flight or ground test.
• Experience in control‑room monitoring.
• Proficiency in MATLAB.
• Proficiency in IADS.

Salary and Benefits

Primary Level Salary Range: $103,600.00 – $155,400.00.

Secondary Level Salary Range: $129,300.00 – $193,900.00.

In addition to base pay, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, discretionary bonuses, long‑term incentives, health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, company‑paid holidays, and paid time off for vacation and/or personal business.

EEO Statement

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 the full EEO and pay transparency statement, visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO.

Citizenship Requirement

U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.