Senior Staff Chief Engineer – Triton Payload Productions

3M HEALTHCARE; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 184,100 - 276,100; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plan

Savings plan

Paid time off

Education assistance

Training and development

9/80 schedule

Job summary

Northrop Grumman in Linthicum, MD, seeks a Senior Staff Chief Engineer for the Triton Payload program to provide technical direction across all engineering activities, including design, development, integration, testing, delivery, and sustainment of payload products.

The role requires DoD clearance, leadership of technical teams through LRIP, and proven RCCA experience in RF/power/vehicle-sensor systems, with opportunities for growth and impact on critical national defense programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 14 years of experience, Master’s with 12 years, or Ph.D. with 10 years in STEM fields; 4 additional years may substitute for one degree level.
• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Current active DoD Secret clearance; ability to obtain SAP clearance.
• Experience leading technical teams in Integration and Test through LRIP.
• Experience troubleshooting RCCA in RF, Power, or vehicle/sensor processing systems.
• Proven ability to influence internal and external technical contributors and management.
• Strong technical leadership, decisiveness, and sound judgment with limited information.
• Experience leading proposal responses for DoD programs.
• Experience controlling cost and schedule using Earned Value Management.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the program technical team for a LRIP payload program.
• Ensure adherence to engineering processes, company policies, and quality standards across development, production, test, and sustainment.
• Drive process development, continuous improvement, and affordability initiatives.
• Act as liaison between engineering teams, program management, manufacturing, operations, and customers.
• Integrate the technical plan into the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) and monitor technical quality and performance.
• Identify, own, and manage risks and opportunities; create engineering labor forecasting inputs for staffing.
• Resolve engineering conflicts between product teams and coordinate with System Architect, SEIT Lead, and customer.
• Lead proposal responses and change requests, including BOE generation and written volumes.
• Support business capture and growth through concept development and technical volumes.

Skills

Technical leadership

Program management

Proposal experience

Earned Value Management

RF/Power/vehicle-sensor processing

Risk management

People leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in STEM

Master’s degree in STEM

Ph.D. in STEM

Job description

Location: Linthicum, MD

Relocation, Clearance, and Travel

Relocation assistance may be available. Clearance required: Secret. Travel: Yes, 10% of the time.

Overview

The Surveillance Platforms Operating Unit, part of the Global Mission Solutions Business Unit, seeks a Senior Staff Chief Engineer for the Triton Payload program. The role is responsible for the technical direction and execution across all engineering activities, including design, development, implementation, integration, testing, delivery, and sustainment of payload products.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the program technical team for a Low‑Rate Initial Production (LRIP) payload program.
• Ensure adherence to engineering processes, company policies, and quality standards throughout development, production, test, and sustainment.
• Drive process development, continuous improvement, and affordability initiatives within the program.
• Act as liaison between engineering teams, program management, manufacturing, operations, and customers.
• Integrate the overall technical plan into the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) and monitor technical quality and performance of deliverables.
• Identify, own, and manage risks and opportunities; create engineering labor forecasting inputs for staffing allocation.
• Resolve engineering conflicts between product teams and coordinate with System Architect, SEIT Lead, Product Team Leads, and the customer to maintain the program technical baseline.
• Lead proposal responses and change requests, including architecture definition, bill of engineering (BOE) generation, and written volume creation.
• Support business capture and growth through concept development, white papers, technical volumes, and engineering estimates.
• Perform additional duties assigned by the engineering functional and program management leaders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 14 years of experience, Master’s with 12 years, or Ph.D. with 10 years in STEM fields; 4 additional years may substitute for one degree level.
• U.S. Citizenship required.
• Current active DoD Secret clearance.
• Ability to obtain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
• Experience leading technical teams in Integration and Test phases through LRIP.
• Experience troubleshooting and performing root cause and corrective action (RCCA) in RF systems, Power systems, or Vehicle/Sensor Processing systems.
• Proven influence over internal and external technical contributors and management.
• Strong technical leadership, decisiveness, and sound judgment with limited information.
• Experience leading proposal responses for DoD programs.
• Experience controlling cost and schedule using Earned Value Management.

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics.
• Current active DoD Top Secret clearance or higher.
• Background as Systems Engineer, Project Engineer, or Technical Program Manager.
• Experience with FCC or FCC‑-approved root cause analysis across RF, Power, and vehicle/sensor compute systems.
• Complete system life‑cycle experience (PDR, LRIP, End‑of‑Life).
• Field failure analysis, part obsolescence management, and enhancement request disposition.
• Experience on U.S. Navy ISR programs such as Global Hawk or Triton.
• Experience with Piloted/Remote‑Piloted ISR platforms.

Benefits

Health plan, savings plan, paid time off, education assistance, training and development, and flexible work schedules. Additional benefits include a 9/80 work schedule (where available) and other options tailored to individual needs.

Salary Range

Primary level: $184,100.00 – $276,100.00. Salary may vary based on scope, experience, education, skills, and market conditions. Overtime, shift differential, and discretionary bonuses may apply.

Equal Opportunity and 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 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.