4– Motion Controls and Avionics (Design Lead)

Northrop Grumman•Elkton, MD

12d•$98,900 - $185,000•Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Principal or Sr. Principal Mechanical Engineer to serve as the mechanical design lead for actuation and motion control hardware within their Propulsion Systems & Control (PS&C) business unit. This role is part of the Motion Controls team, which develops high-reliability, high-capability systems such as rocket motor nozzle vectoring mechanisms and controllers, flight surface actuators, cold and hot gas valve/thruster actuation, and other critical motion control systems for space and defense applications. The engineer will be the mechanical engineering lead, ensuring the design is technically sound, coordinating across disciplines (mechanical, electrical, systems, manufacturing), and driving execution to meet performance, cost, and schedule objectives. While a solid understanding of electric motors, gearboxes, and thermal constraints is required, the role emphasizes leading teams and managing mechanical scope across the program.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering and 5+ years of relevant experience (for Level 3) OR 8+ years of relevant experience (for Level 4); OR Master’s degree in Engineering and 3+ years of relevant experience (for Level 3) OR 6+ years of relevant experience (for Level 4); OR PhD in Engineering and 1+ year of relevant experience (for Level 3) OR 4+ years of relevant experience (for Level 4).
Ability to obtain a Secret Clearance (U.S. Citizenship required).
Ability and willingness to travel as required (10–25%).

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated leadership of mechanical design for complex electro-mechanical systems (actuators, mechanisms, motion control hardware) from concept through production.
Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams (mechanical, electrical, systems, manufacturing, test) to plan, design, fabricate, integrate, and install motion-control subsystems.
Strong experience collaborating with systems engineering to interpret and flow down requirements and to develop verification strategies.
Experience as a Cost Account Manager (CAM) or similar role, maintaining budgetary and schedule compliance while ensuring technical quality of the mechanical scope.
Familiarity with electric motor and gearbox design and application in motion-control systems, and with the associated thermal and duty cycle constraints.
Active Secret (or higher) Security Clearance.
Proficiency with Siemens NX and Siemens Teamcenter Unified Architecture for CAD and configuration management.
Experience with structured failure analysis and risk management techniques (e.g., FMECA, risk registers, RCCA).
Strong communication skills, with a track record of clear technical and programmatic presentations to internal leadership and customers.

Responsibilities

Provide technical leadership for the mechanical design and development of actuators, mechanisms, and motion control hardware from concept through qualification and production.
Define mechanical scope, work packages, objectives, and deliverables in collaboration with project engineering, systems, and functional leads.
Develop and maintain plans for mechanical tasks, including schedules, resource needs, budgets, and major technical milestones.
Serve as the primary mechanical point of contact for hardware with program management, customers, and internal stakeholders.
Ensure that considerations for electric motor/gearbox selection, thermal performance, and electrical integration are appropriately captured in mechanical requirements and design reviews.
Guide and review detailed mechanical design, CAD models, and drawings (Siemens NX), ensuring they meet requirements, standard work, and producibility expectations.
Coordinate MCAD/ECAD integration with electrical engineering – connector placement, interfaces, clearances, harness routing, and packaging of boards and sensors in housings.
Work closely with systems engineering to interpret system-level requirements, flow them down to mechanical requirements, and plan verification approaches.
Ensure electric motor and gearbox performance, environmental limits, and duty cycles are correctly accounted for in the mechanical design and requirements.
Support design trades and decision-making that balance technical performance, thermal constraints, cost, and schedule.
Identify technical and execution risks for mechanical scope (including motor/gearbox and thermal risks) and maintain risk entries, mitigation plans, and contingency options.
Lead or oversee FMEA/FMECA efforts and other proactive risk-management activities for mechanical and electromechanical hardware.
Lead root-cause and corrective action (RCCA) efforts for mechanical issues in development, test, or production, and drive closure of non-conformances and corrective actions.
Ensure quality standards are met via structured design reviews, peer reviews, test readiness reviews, and disciplined configuration management.
Support or act as Cost Account Manager (CAM) for mechanical scope: planning budgets, tracking actuals, and maintaining estimate-to-complete.
Monitor performance against mechanical scope plans, including progress to schedule, budget, and technical metrics; report status and variances to program leadership.
Drive decisions and trades that balance technical performance, schedule, and cost, and clearly communicate rationale and impacts.
Provide credible technical and programmatic inputs to proposals, change requests, and long-range planning for motion-control hardware.
Coordinate with procurement, suppliers, and manufacturing engineers to ensure hardware and materials are specified correctly, manufacturable, and delivered on time.
Support or lead build, integration, and test activities, ensuring issues are rapidly triaged, assigned, and resolved across the team.
Prepare and present clear technical and programmatic content for internal and customer design reviews throughout the design lifecycle.
Recommend and drive improvements to design practices, tools, and processes to increase reliability, reduce cycle time, and improve team effectiveness.