Staff Engineer Mission Assurance

Northrop Grumman; Oxnard (CA); On-site; USD 177,000 - 265,600; Full time

Job summary

Northrop Grumman in Oxnard, CA is seeking a Staff Engineer Mission Assurance – Level 5 to lead assurance activities across the program lifecycle. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure quality, compliance, and mission success for critical aerospace and defense programs.

The role requires extensive experience in process management, QMS, metrics, and hardware/software integration, with a focus on risk mitigation and continuous improvement. Travel around 10% may be involved.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 12 years of professional experience, or Master’s with 10 years, or PhD with 8 years.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance.
• Experience in process management and control for software/hardware development and production programs.
• Quality Management System (QMS) experience.
• Experience selecting and coordinating key metrics and presenting project data for review.
• Proven ability to drive risk mitigation, opportunity capture, and issue resolution across stakeholder disciplines throughout all phases of the product development lifecycle on fast-paced, dynamic, high-visibility programs.
• Experience with hardware and software integration, development, and production.
• U.S. Citizenship Required.

Responsibilities

• Lead mission assurance across the program lifecycle to ensure quality and mission success.
• Identify risks, drive continuous improvement, and align with contractual requirements.
• Provide objective risk assessments to Program Managers using quantitative data.
• Establish integrated mission assurance plans and adjust them through the lifecycle.
• Mentor other Quality Engineers in the department.
• Brief upper management on assessment results and evolving processes.

Skills

Process management

QMS experience

Risk mitigation

Metrics presentation

Hardware integration

Software integration

U.S. Citizenship

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Master’s degree

PhD

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: None

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% 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.

If forging a secure future excites you, look no further! Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector provides an arena where your passion for innovation and quest for exploration are welcome. As a Staff Engineer Mission Assurance – Level 5 your role at Oxnard, CA will be pivotal in supporting missions critical to national and global security.

Ready to join forces with our visionary team? Lead mission assurance efforts across the program lifecycle to ensure quality, compliance, and mission success. Partner with cross‑functional teams to identify risks, improve processes, and drive continuous improvement for critical aerospace and defense programs.

This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.

In This Job, You Will

• Implement Mission Assurance principles across the program life cycle to ensure compliance with contractual, regulatory, and NG Space Systems requirements.
• Ensure critical process areas and roles identified through tailoring are effective for mission success and support robust QMS processes.
• Provide Program Managers with objective risk and opportunity identification and assessment, evaluating the efficacy of risk management approaches across the program life cycle.
• Communicate risks and opportunities to Program Managers based on credible knowledge, supported by quantitative and predictive analysis whenever possible.
• Establish integrated and executable mission assurance plans for programs, aligned with contractual requirements and stakeholder goals; maintain and adjust plans as needed throughout the program life cycle.
• Proactively identify, document, and drive closure of Corrective and Preventive Action Tracking System (CPATS) items.
• Ensure effective quality metrics are utilized across programs and MA engagement occurs from pre‑proposal phases.
• Advocate solutions to overcome roadblocks, elevating issues for management attention where required.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives and guide teams in identifying and executing tasks to enhance NG Space System processes.
• Investigate quality problems and failures, conducting thorough root cause investigation and implementing corrective actions.
• Evaluate Gate Review, CPATS, Intranet Program Review System (IPRS), Supplier Assessment Management System (SAMS), Quality Assessment Framework (QAF), and other QMS data to address systemic issues.
• Enhance effectiveness of CPATS and RTG actions, improving root cause evaluations.
• Establish yearly assessments for high‑risk program areas.
• Define and monitor implementation of QMS policies and procedures across program activities.
• Provide leadership and mentoring to other Quality Engineers in the department.
• Create Basis of Estimates (BOEs) for MA work on new proposals.
• Confidently brief upper management, and quickly learn, assess, and evaluate new processes/procedures with minimal supervision.
• Analyze and generate quantitative data.
• Other duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with 12 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 10 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 8 years of professional experience.
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance.
• Experience in process management and control as applied to software/hardware development, system integration, and production programs as a Program Mission Assurance Engineer or Manager.
• Quality Management System (QMS) experience.
• Experience selecting and coordinating key metrics and presenting meaningful project data for review.
• Proven ability to drive risk mitigation, opportunity capture, and issue resolution across stakeholder disciplines throughout all phases of the product development lifecycle on fast‑paced, dynamic, high‑visibility programs.
• Experience with hardware and software integration, development, and production.
• U.S. Citizenship Required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Black Belt/Green Belt Certified and/or CSSC Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
• Mission Assurance with Business Acquisition Process experience.
• Demonstrated Lean Manufacturing experience.
• Certified Cost Account Manager.
• Active Secret or Top Secret Clearance.
• SCI clearance (preferred).

Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.

Northrop Grumman Total Rewards

Primary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00

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.