Principal Test Engineer

Northrop Grumman; Jacksonville (FL); On-site; USD 86,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off (PTO)

Discretionary bonus

Job summary

Northrop Grumman is hiring a Principal Air Vehicle System Test Engineer for their location in Naval Air Station Mayport, FL. This role involves working closely with US Navy units, providing essential training on system operations and troubleshooting.

Candidates should have a Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant experience, or 3 years with a Master’s degree. This position requires a DoD Secret clearance and entails approximately 25% travel for training and support duties.

Qualifications

• 5 years of relevant experience or 3 years with a Master’s in a STEM field.
• DoD Secret clearance that is in-scope or willing to obtain Top-Secret/SCI clearance.
• Willingness to travel 25% domestic and OCONUS.

Responsibilities

• Interface with customer Flight Engineers and US Navy service members.
• Conduct static ground tests and maintain aircraft systems.
• Provide training and support to sailors in the unit.

Skills

Aircraft Ground Test Operations

Electrical troubleshooting

Interpersonal skills

MS Office proficiency

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field

Tools

Multimeter

Network/Spectrum Analyzer

Oscilloscope

Job description

Relocation Assistance

Relocation assistance may be available.

Clearance Required for Start

Yes.

Clearance Type

Secret.

Travel

Yes, 25% 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.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal Air Vehicle System Test Engineer— Engineering Field Service Representative (FSR) to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within the Test & Evaluation organization. This role is located in Naval Air Station Mayport, FL.

This position requires 6+ months of training on a Domestic Assignment to Pax River, MD and Rancho Bernardo, CA to be completed prior to employment in Naval Air Station Mayport, FL. 25% Domestic and OCONUS travel expected to support business needs.

The FSR will be embedded with a US Navy unit and be the system subject matter expert, providing training on the system hardware and software, as well as supporting the sailors in the unit with system operations, troubleshooting, and routine maintenance. The Navy’s intent is for sailors to be the primary operators and maintainers of the system, with the FSR providing training/assistance as needed to keep the system fully mission capable. The FSR will have reach‑back/liaison support from Northrop Grumman Responsible Engineering/Development/Test Engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Interfacing with NGC and customer Flight Engineers, aircraft maintenance Technicians, US Navy service members, and Subsystem SMEs to sustain operations.
• Primary interface between maintenance, design and flight test engineering.
• Vehicle and Payload Test Controller (VTC/PTC) operations during aircraft start‑up/shut down for launch and recovery, conduct static ground tests, and troubleshooting.
• 25% Domestic and OCONUS travel expected.

Essential Functions

• Responsible for providing inputs to update Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMS).
• Reviews/provides inputs during engineering development and executes Detailed Test Requirements, Acceptance Test Procedures, and Ground Test Plans.
• Installs, operates, troubleshoot, maintains, repairs, and modifies equipment, in accordance with IETMS and/or other engineering directives (TDs/ECRs/TEIs/AMRs/MAFs).
• Perform a variety of Organizational/Depot‑level maintenance and technical support on products such as equipment, integrated systems and subsystems, and software at customer and/or field locations.
• Develop general knowledge of all aircraft systems, VTC/PTC, Engineering Design and software. Perform field integration, troubleshooting, and repair of air vehicle systems at the customer location including operations on a flightline, or in a hangar.
• Ability to interpret and trace electrical and Aircraft schematics. Perform essential electrical and RF troubleshooting using equipment such as but not limited to: Multimeter, Network/Spectrum Analyzer, Oscilloscope, Time‑Domain Reflectometer (TDR), etc.
• Able to perform/support review and analysis of engineering schematics, supplier design data, support of functional test requirements including acceptance, qualification, and system integration on the Air Vehicle.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field with 5 years of relevant experience or 3 years with a Master’s in a STEM field.
• Must have a DoD Secret clearance that is in‑scope or currently enrolled in CE, with the ability to obtain a Top‑Secret/SCI clearance within a reasonable amount of time to meet business needs.
• Experience with Aircraft Ground Test Operations.
• Willingness and ability to successfully complete required training in Pax River, MD and Rancho Bernardo, CA.
• Possess the capability and readiness to travel effectively supporting customer needs, management reviews, and demonstrating leadership as a technical expert on support trips worldwide.
• Willingness and ability to support 25% domestic and OCONUS travel to Japan, United Arab Emirates, or Guam.
• Ability to pass a new hire physical if determined necessary by Company, based on international travel selected.
• Must have working knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel & PowerPoint) and the ability to effectively communicate with various levels of leadership.
• Strong interpersonal skills with excellent communications skills, including the ability to brief test results to senior leadership.
• Ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR) within a reasonable amount of time for business needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active in‑scope Top Secret/SCI DoD security clearance at time of application, with eligibility/willingness to submit to a counterintelligence polygraph if/when needed.
• Previous Unmanned Air Vehicle system test or maintenance experience is highly desired. MQ‑4 Vehicle Test Controller or Triton BETTIE operator experience is preferred.
• Aircraft Test or Lab Test experience is highly desired.
• Experience with equipment to test and troubleshoot aircraft systems.
• Experience with loading data and configuration files to aircraft assemblies.

Primary Level Salary Range: $86,000.00 - $130,000.00

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.