Sr. Principal Embedded Payload Electronics Engineer

0090 CORP-Corporate Office; United States; On-site; USD 142,000 - 213,000; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems is seeking a Sr. Principal Embedded Payload Electronics Engineer to join the team in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo) or Palmdale, CA. The role focuses on payload system requirements management, integration, and verification across development and testing phases.

The candidate will lead trades, modeling, lab procedures, and complex RF/network testbeds, ensuring rigorous system performance and cross-functional collaboration in a high-security environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline with 8+ years of related engineering experience.
• Master’s degree in a STEM discipline with 6+ years of related engineering experience.
• PhD in a STEM discipline with 4+ years of related engineering experience.
• Experience with payload systems requirements management and integration.
• Familiarity with DOORS and requirements traceability.
• Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools such as DOORS, Cameo, MagicDraw.

Responsibilities

• Requirements management, system integration, test plan development, and test execution of a payload system throughout development, demonstration, and test phases.
• Develop statements of work, specifications and interface control documents; monitor schedules and participate in design reviews.
• Provide technical guidance to cross-functional teams and support lab readiness and configuration management.
• Perform subsystem trades, analysis of alternatives, modeling, and simulation for mission effects and interfaces.
• Develop, execute, and document lab test procedures and validation plans and capture test results and anomalies.
• Configure and operate RF and network testbeds to reproduce operational environments.
• Troubleshoot hardware/software integration issues across RF front end, digital baseband, modem stacks, and network interfaces.

Skills

Requirements management

System integration

Test planning

Test execution

DOORS

Cameo

MagicDraw

MBSE

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in STEM

Master’s degree in STEM

PhD in STEM

Tools

DOORS

Cameo

MagicDraw

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time

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 Aerospace Systems has an opening for a Sr. Principal Embedded Payload Electronics Engineer to join our team in San Diego (Rancho Bernardo), CA or Palmdale, CA. This position will be in our Avionics Integration Organization.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Requirements management, system integration, test plan development, and test execution of a payload system throughout the entire development, demonstration, and test phases.
• Understand all system requirements, develop statements of work, specifications and interface control documents, prepare, monitor and update program schedules, conduct and participate in all related design reviews, and provide technical guidance to the cross-functional team.
• Perform subsystem trades, analysis of alternatives, modeling, and simulation for mission effects, data, or capabilities (including air vehicles, payloads, ground segments, mission planning, CONOPS, DRM, system security, and interfaces).
• Develop, execute, and document lab test procedures and validation plans (including signal chaining, link budgets, interference checks, and pass/fail criteria) and capture test results and anomalies.
• Configure and operate RF and network testbeds/emulators (including channel emulators, attenuators, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, and protocol/network simulators) to reproduce operational environments.
• Troubleshoot hardware/software integration issues across RF front end, digital baseband, modem stacks, and network interfaces.
• Support configuration management and lab readiness: maintain test fixtures, instrumentation calibration records, test scripts, version control for test artifacts, and produce concise technical reports for stakeholders.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 8 years of related engineering experience;
• OR a Master’s degree in a relevant STEM discipline and 6 years of related engineering experience;
• OR a PhD in a relevant STEM discipline and 4 years of related engineering experience.

• Practical experience working with integrating payload systems Requirements management, system integration, test plan development, and test execution of a payload system.
• Generation and update of specifications in DOORS, including requirements traceability and dxl script development.
• Familiarity with Systems Engineering tools and MBSE applications (e.g. DOORs, Cameo, Magicdraw, etc.).
• Must have an active US Government Top-Secret Clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).
• Ability to obtain and maintain US Government SCI clearance.
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
• Presenting analysis that shapes the system design and obtaining end-customer buy-in.
• Creating and refining Model Based System Engineering products (System behavioral models, Use Case realizations, State Machines, etc.).
• Capability assessments to predict requirement compliance.
• Generating and reporting system Technical Performance Measures.
• Interface development and documentation.

Salary

Primary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00 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.

Benefits

• 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.
• Health insurance coverage.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Savings plan.
• Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

Application Period

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.

Equal Opportunity Employment & 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.

Citizenship Requirement

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

Company Culture & Careers

We are a pioneering company. With careers across all areas: air, cyber, land, sea and space – our 90,000 employees work as one to defend and define the future. Northrop Grumman careers and internships are as varied as your interests, with a lifetime of potential that will give you every opportunity to do your best work. Working together with people from many backgrounds, personal passions and disciplines, we share a drive to push the boundaries of science, technology and engineering to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide.