Staff Engineer Systems - Modernization SEI Lead

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

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems in CA is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer (level 05) to serve as Technical Lead and SEI IPT lead. This is an on-site role with up to 10% travel, supporting multiple CA locations including Rancho Bernardo, El Segundo, or Palmdale.

The role requires a TS clearance and deep Systems Engineering experience across lifecycle stages, with leadership of 20+ engineers and cross-functional coordination with internal teams and the customer.

Qualifications

• Requires active U.S. Government Top Secret Clearance or higher with recent background investigation.

Responsibilities

• Provide day-to-day leadership to a cross functional team of 20+ engineers with strong collaboration and accountability.
• Lead the Systems Engineering effort on the program including requirements and verification, IFC integration, cyber security analysis and architecture.
• Ensure integrity of engineering processes and timely development of core engineering work products.
• Serve as CAM for the SEI IPT with cost and schedule management.
• Interface with the Program Manager, Chief Engineer, System Architect, engineering leads, and the customer.
• Lead technical management and execution of the engineering team and plan program reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR).
• Coordinate between technical leads, program manager, and customer to ensure the program baseline integrity.

Skills

Leadership

Systems engineering

Cross-functional collaboration

Requirements management

Risk management

Education

BS in STEM with 12+ years experience

MS in STEM with 10+ years experience

PhD in STEM with 8+ years experience

Tools

Control Account Management (CAM)

Earned Value Management (EVM)

System life cycle management

Job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret

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 are making history.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking a Staff Systems Engineer (level 05) to serve as the Technical Lead and Systems Engineering and Integration Lead within the Systems Engineering Organization in Rancho Bernardo, CA, El Segundo, CA, or Palmdale, CA.

This is a full time, on site position; no remote, hybrid, or telework is available. Up to 10% travel may be required.

Roles And Responsibilities Will Include

• Provide day to day leadership to a cross functional team of 20+ engineers, fostering collaboration, accountability, high performance and ensure horizontal and vertical integration across all engineering elements of the program.
• Lead the Systems Engineering effort on the program to include: requirements and verification (R&V), Integrated Functional Capability (IFC) integration, cyber security analysis and practices, specialty engineering, and architecture.
• Ensures the integrity of engineering processes and timely development of core engineering work products.
• Serve as Control Account Manager (CAM) responsibilities for the SEI IPT, which comprises cost and schedule management for the SEI work scope.
• Interfaces with the Program Manager, Chief Engineer, System Architect, engineering team leads, and the customer.
• Serve as technical authority for program execution
• Plan and execute the core functions and ensure the project team has qualified staff to execute the program core functions.
• Lead technical management and execution of the engineering team.
• Plan, execute, and close out program reviews and milestones (e.g., SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, etc.)
• Ensure system technical compliance with the program Statement of Work (SOW), system requirements, and manage scope control of technical team.
• Manage the vertical and horizontal technical integration throughout the product teams and program life cycle.
• Oversee configuration management of the overall Program Baseline
• Serve as the technical interface with the customer.
• Collect, manage, and report the program metrics and Technical Performance Measures (TPMs).
• Manage risk and opportunity and the production of core engineering work products and track the work products and associated program dependencies in the program schedule.
• Oversee the establishment and execution of the program lifecycle and work products.
• Coordinate between the technical leads, program manager, and customer to ensure the integrity and executability of the program technical baseline.
• Act as primary technical working group lead and interface with external parties; managing contractor giver-receivers, track actions, and manage technical team interactions.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) discipline with 12 years of relevant military/professional experience; OR Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline with 10 years of relevant military/professional experience; OR PhD with 8 years of relevant military/professional experience.
• Must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret Clearance or higher (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation)
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.
• Experience supporting Systems Engineering Milestones SRR, PDR and CDR.
• Experience in full lifecycle of Systems Engineering, including requirements decomposition, test planning, requirements verification and requirements management.
• Experience leading cross functional technical teams of 10 or more individuals.

Preferred Qualifications

• Current, applicable SAP/SAR access.
• Experience working with external and geographically distributed teams to meet program objectives.
• Demonstrated ability to operate across multiple organizations, build alignment, and make timely decisions.
• Experience being the primary technical interface to the customer
• Proven use of metrics to track performance to plan and manage recovery where needed.
• Experience leading multiple teams through technically complex, integrated deliveries (e.g., test events, major reviews, or system‑level integrations).
• Experience with project/program management practices, including:
• Control Account Management (CAM) and Earned Value Management (EVM)
• Risks–Issues–Opportunities (RIO) management
• Project planning, scheduling, staffing, and coordination of technical work.

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.