Staff Engineer Systems

Northrop Grumman; United States; On-site; USD 177,000 - 266,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Savings plan

Paid holidays

PTO

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Space Systems in McLean, Virginia, is seeking an experienced Space Systems Engineer to lead system test plans for verification and validation across multiple engineering disciplines and facilities.

The role emphasizes spacecraft and payload integration, mission-readiness activities, and technical briefings for leadership and customers, with requirements management, trade studies, and MBSE methods.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field with substantial related experience; advanced degrees preferred.
• Experience supporting design, development, integration, test, or operation of spacecraft or space missions.
• Experience with systems engineering functions: requirements management, architecture, verification, and test.

Responsibilities

• Develop system test plans and artifacts across disciplines and test facilities.
• Support spacecraft/payload integration, test, and mission-readiness activities.
• Contribute to technical reviews, briefings, and customer communications.
• Prepare system engineering artifacts and technical reports.
• Coordinate with CAMs to ensure baseline scope and manage changes.

Skills

System Test Plans

Spacecraft

Python

MATLAB

STK

MBSE

Documentation

Education

Bachelor’s degree in STEM

12+ years relevant experience

Master’s or PhD in STEM (preferred)

Tools

Python

MATLAB

STK

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. Northrop Grumman Space Systems in McLean, Virginia, is seeking an experienced Space Systems Engineer to support a program within the Launch and Exploration Division. The selected candidate will join a cross-disciplinary team developing advanced spacecraft, payloads, and mission capabilities for civil space missions. The ideal candidate will bring substantial experience or demonstrated technical depth in spacecraft and payload engineering and systems test and apply that expertise to the civil space domain. The Space Systems Engineer will lead the planning, execution, and reporting of System Test plans for verification and validation activities in conjunction with Assembly, Integration & Test and Requirements & Verification teams.

Primary responsibilities may include:

• Developing test plans and other artifacts at the system and lower levels to facilitate a verified product. This includes coordination across engineering disciplines, test facilities, and stakeholders to ensure test completeness, traceability to requirements, and timely closure of discrepancies.
• Supporting spacecraft and payload integration and test, mission-readiness activities, launch preparation, commissioning, and on-orbit execution.
• Supporting major program milestones, technical reviews, and mission-readiness reviews by developing technical content and translating complex engineering information into clear assessments and briefings for customers, program leadership, and other key stakeholders.
• Authoring and contributing to systems engineering artifacts, technical reports, and other critical program deliverables.
• Partner with CAMs to ensure proper execution of baseline scope and manage change control.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field with 12 years of relevant experience; master’s degree in a STEM field with 10 years of relevant experience; or PhD in a STEM field with 8 years of relevant experience.
• Must have U.S. citizenship with the ability to obtain a Top Secret Clearance.
• Demonstrated experience supporting the design, development, integration, test, or operation of spacecraft, payloads, space-based systems, or space missions more broadly.
• Demonstrated experience performing one or more systems-engineering functions, such as requirements development and management, interface definition and control, system architecture definition, concept of operations development, technical trade studies, systems test, or system verification and validation.
• Experience collaborating across multiple engineering disciplines to resolve technical issues and develop integrated spacecraft or mission solutions.
• Experience developing technical documentation and communicating complex engineering information to technical teams, program leadership, customers, or mission partners.
• Experience with Earned Value Management (EVM)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Lead the planning, execution, and reporting of System Test plans for verification and validation activities in conjunction with AI&T and R&V teams. This includes coordination across engineering disciplines, test facilities, and stakeholders to ensure test completeness, traceability to requirements, and timely closure of discrepancies.
• Experience developing spacecraft or space-mission architectures, concepts of operations (CONOPS), design reference missions, or operational scenarios.
• Experience performing mission analyses, performance analyses, or technical trade studies involving spacecraft and space missions.
• Experience supporting multiple phases of the spacecraft lifecycle, including design, integration, test, launch, commissioning, and on-orbit operations.
• Experience developing analytical, modeling, or automation tools using Python, MATLAB, Systems Tool Kit (STK), or comparable tools.
• Experience with model-based systems engineering (MBSE) methods and tools.
• Experience with spacecraft integration and test, mission-readiness activities, anomaly resolution, or on-orbit mission support.
• Experience supporting U.S. Government civil space programs.
• Demonstrated ability to synthesize complex technical information into clear recommendations and briefings for senior technical, program, customer, or executive stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to lead a team.

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 that 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.

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.