Physicist - Level 5

Northrop Grumman • Chandler, AZ

1d • $122,800 - $184,200 • Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector is seeking a Level 5 Physicist to join its team in Chandler, Arizona. The position serves as a test and project engineering lead for rain erosion and direct-effects lightning testing on aerospace materials and structures, working with senior survivability leadership to align test activities with vehicle-level hardening strategies.

The role involves designing, planning, and executing material response tests at internal and external facilities; synthesizing test results into technical conclusions; and translating findings into survivability assessments and material or design recommendations. Strong materials science fundamentals and experience with extreme military launch vehicle flight environments are important to understanding and explaining test outcomes. The successful candidate will lead multidisciplinary contributors, keep complex efforts aligned with objectives, schedules, and program priorities, and produce documentation that can be understood and used in future work.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree with 12 years of experience, master’s degree with 10 years of experience, or Ph.D. with 10 years of experience in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or a related technical field.
• U.S. citizenship.
• Ability to obtain a U.S. Government Secret security clearance.
• Hands-on experience with test campaigns, including planning, sample fabrication, execution, data review, and reporting; analysis or paper studies alone do not meet this requirement.
• Strong project engineering skills, with multiple examples of driving technical projects to completion.
• Ability to build rapport and confidence with leadership, peers, and support staff to accomplish project goals.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain technical rigor under aggressive schedule pressure.
• Highly structured, focused, methodical approach and strong organizational skills.
• Background in materials science, especially structural or thermal aerospace materials.
• Basic understanding of material response in military launch vehicle flight environments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate in team environments.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in physics, electrical engineering, materials science, or mechanical engineering.
• Active Secret or Top Secret security clearance.
• Familiarity with MIL-HDBK-310, MIL-STD-464, SAE-ARP-5412/5414, NASA-STD-4003, and RTCA DO-160, including interpreting standards to develop test levels.
• Experience planning and executing subsonic and supersonic rain erosion material response tests, such as SuRE or HHSTT, including material selection, specimen design, test matrix development, and post-test damage assessment.
• Experience planning and executing direct-effects lightning material response tests for arc entry and conducted current, including grounding, fixturing, pre-test damage predictions, and post-test damage analysis or classification.
• Experience with rain erosion and/or lightning detonation impulse modeling, especially hydrocode and/or G-law modeling, and comparing model predictions critically with test observations and adjusting assumptions.
• Experience with high heat flux material response testing at low and high shear, such as LHMEL or AEDC.
• Experience with dynamic material response characterization testing using a gas gun and/or electron beam, particularly specimen design, instrumentation, and data interpretation.
• Experience with particle and fiber-reinforced matrix materials, refractory metals, and ceramic coatings, and ability to relate microstructure and other fundamentals to macroscopic response in extreme flight environments.
• Working knowledge of shock physics, especially shock Hugoniot and/or stress wave propagation in shocked materials.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate materials for extreme aerospace environments, including lightning, flight heating, and supersonic or hypersonic rain.
• Design, plan, execute, and report on rain erosion and direct-effects lightning tests.
• Work with external test facilities and suppliers to define scope, develop or review procedures, witness tests as needed, and resolve issues.
• Synthesize test results into clear technical conclusions and communicate them to non-specialist stakeholders, including program leadership, systems engineering, and suppliers.
• Lead a team of junior engineers and scientists as well as senior- and Fellow-level contributors, maintaining focus on objectives while encouraging technical input.
• Prevent scope creep, keep complex efforts on task, and ensure tests and analyses align with program schedules and priorities.
• Produce clear, consistent documentation that others can understand and build upon in the future.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage
• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Savings plan
• Company-paid holidays
• Paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business
• Potential eligibility for overtime, shift differential, and discretionary bonus, depending on position

What This Job Offers

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