Chief Engineer - Level 6

Northrop Grumman•Aurora, CO

1d•$192,800 - $289,200•Hybrid

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Space Systems is seeking a Chief Engineer - Level 6 to join their team in Aurora, CO. This role will serve as the technical authority for all aspects of software and systems engineering by leading a multi-disciplined engineering team to successfully deliver technical performance within cost and schedule. You’ll be joining an existing on-contract program supporting a critical national security mission that is both in Operations and continuing development. The program team of approximately 40 members is geographically dispersed across the US, centered around Aurora, CO. The team is composed of software developers organized into agile scrum teams focused on development based on priorities provided by the customer. The program utilizes new commercial technologies to solve the DoD’s problems and executes in a modern agile framework. The program’s culture is agile, fast-paced, high performing, proactive, collaborative, and welcoming of new ideas, technology, and tools that could benefit the mission or help the team be more productive or produce a higher quality product. A Chief Engineer at a Senior Staff (06) level is expected to quickly gain mission and system domain knowledge coupling that with prior experience to mentor and influence others as well as contribute to advancing the program forward through their job. The program appreciates team members that identify and propose improvement ideas in technology, process, architecture, or tooling and are fast-learners.

Requirements

Must have an active U.S. Government Top Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope, at time of application with the ability to obtain and maintain Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) approval/access prior to start
Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline with 14 years of relevant experience – OR – Master’s degree with 12 years of relevant experience – OR – PhD with 14 years of relevant experience
Minimum of 8 years of experience formally leading engineering teams/and or organizations to achieve a common goal.
Experience leading a diverse software engineering team in a fast paced agile development cycle
Ability to perform people management and ensure staffing for the program is correct
Strong software background with the ability to evaluate technical solutions and provide guidance on the best way to execute work
Strong process management background with a deep understanding of useful metrics in software development
Risk and opportunity management
Experience building rigor into agile teams without impacting speed and flexibility of delivery
Strong communications skills and ability to bridge complex technical topics with business objectives
Ability to travel up to 10% as a part of the role

Nice To Haves

Prior engineering experience within the US Space Industry with understanding of space command and control and battle management
Experience leading teams in microservice architecture
Experience with leading technical proposals with the ability to lead the customer through reviews of technical performance
Ability to collaborate and achieve consensus when dealing with groups from diverse organizations and a multi-site structure.
Prior experience as a Chief Engineer, Chief Architect or experience in other Agile servant leadership roles, such as Scrum Master or Product Owner
Excellent presentation, communication, technical writing, and organization skills
Experience sharing knowledge via mentoring, coaching, or training
Experience in any of the following: JAVA, Docker, Kubernetes, Relational Databases (RDMS), Kafka

Responsibilities

Be an advisor and/or technical liaison between Chief Product Owner, Chief Scrum Master, Chief Architect, and the Program Manager.
Be a technical leader for the engineering team
Be responsible for developing and sharing program strategic and mission path forward, vision, and objectives with program
Be the technical authority for all aspects of engineering on the program
Inform the PM on technical direction affecting scope and issues that warrant Government customer notification and/or decision
Coordinate across leadership to define strategic technical roadmap in the 1 year, 2 year, and 5 year timeframes
Ensure technical solutions align with customer mission objectives (i.e. connect mission and technical product roadmap) – Are we building the right thing?
Collaborate with customers and stakeholders to understand business needs and align technical solutions
Ensure the solution meets the overall mission needs in conjunction with other contracted program partners
Support Risk and Opportunity Management process by identifying and owning applicable risks
Review and ensure system technical compliance with the program’s Operating Model
Provide oversight for software architecture and design
Oversee the development process in implementing technical solutions
Resolve technical challenges and guide the team in implementing solutions
Ensure focus on technical solution quality
Manage technical resources (e.g. involvement with interviews and program staffing)
Represent Northrop Grumman on technical aspects of the program at customer and contracted partner meetings
Ensure the technical team is thoroughly prepared for Government engagement activities and technical approaches that require Government decisions
Manage the execution of software engineering processes
Be accountable for system technical performance (Service Level Agreements, Service Level Interfaces)
Ensure Mission Engineering (ME) is informed and jointly conduct technical solution analysis with Chief Architect and ME

Benefits

Relocation assistance may be available
health insurance coverage
life and disability insurance
savings plan
Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business
overtime
shift differential
a discretionary bonus
Annual bonuses
Long Term Incentives (for VP or Director positions)