Director Engineering 2

Northrop Grumman • Chandler, AZ

4d • $209,000 - $313,600 • Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Space Systems is seeking a Director 2 – Vehicle and Mechanical Engineering (VME) Discipline Lead, based in Chandler, Arizona. The position reports to the Vice President, Central Region Engineering and leads a growing engineering organization across Chandler, Arizona; Boulder, Aurora, and Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Huntsville, Alabama. The organization spans Mechanical, Electrical, and Aerospace Engineering disciplines supporting the development and operation of launch vehicle, missile, and ground hardware systems.

The Director provides strategic leadership, people management, and day-to-day engineering operational oversight. The role aligns technical capabilities with program requirements, long-range sector priorities, and corporate objectives, drawing on expertise in systems engineering, hardware development and qualification, manufacturing, operations, and test. The position also leads a large, complex organization and supports engineering work throughout the lifecycle, including development, qualification, manufacturing, integration, test, and flight operations.

The role requires a current, active Secret security clearance and the ability to obtain TS/SCI at the time of application. Travel is required up to 25% of the time. Relocation assistance may be available.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and 20 or more years of professional experience, including people management experience; or a Master’s degree and 18 or more years of professional experience, including people management experience.
• Twelve years of engineering, project management, and/or functional management experience.
• Current, active Secret security clearance and ability to obtain a TS/SCI at the time of application.
• Demonstrated experience in hardware design, analysis, and qualification.
• Experience leading large systems-of-systems teams.
• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing teams and collaborate across organizations to achieve shared objectives.
• Ability to travel 25%.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in Engineering or another STEM field.
• Fifteen years of experience in engineering, project management, and/or functional management roles.
• Significant experience leading a large functional or program organization, on the order of 1,000 or more personnel, and successfully implementing strategic goals.
• Current, active TS/SCI clearance.
• Exceptional oral and written communication skills, including experience preparing and delivering executive-level presentations and briefings.
• Ability to foster ethical conduct, balanced results, partner satisfaction, employee growth, collaborative teams, customer trust, and a culture of excellence while embracing change.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical and people leadership, strategic direction, and oversight of major disciplines and functions within the Vehicle and Mechanical Engineering organization.
• Lead long-range strategic planning and align the organization with sector goals, program needs, future technology requirements, and critical skill and infrastructure development.
• Optimize people, processes, and tools to support captures and program execution across development, qualification, manufacturing, integration, test, and flight operations.
• Own the people, processes, and tools supporting recruiting, employee development and engagement, skills development, NCTA efforts, staffing, and process and product development.
• Ensure sound engineering processes are applied during capture, conceptual design, design, qualification, manufacturing, integration, and test of Space Systems portfolio programs.
• Participate in program and project reviews, lead Independent Review Teams for customer milestones such as SRR, SDR, PDR, and CDR, and drive engineering process improvement plans, proposal review, and commitment authority for VME scope of work.
• Identify and diagnose program challenges across development, hardware/software integration, production, and test, and enable decisive resolution.
• Oversee proposal development, independent technical reviews, program standup reviews, anomaly resolution, and technical audits.
• Drive innovation and support advanced research and technology development aligned with long-range sector priorities and Space Systems strategic roadmaps.
• Champion risk, issue, and opportunity management strategies to support operational success and mitigate technical and execution risks.
• Manage and optimize direct, indirect, NCTA, and capital budgets and resources.
• Foster a high-performance, inclusive culture of continuous improvement and disciplined execution, emphasizing communication, collaboration, and employee engagement.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Savings plan
• Company-paid holidays
• Paid time off for vacation and/or personal business
• Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for long-term incentives.
• Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director