Principal Engineer Manufacturing
About The Position
Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is hiring a Principal Engineer Manufacturing based in Sunnyvale, California. The role leads site-wide continuous-improvement activities, including 5S implementation and audits, and the design and management of an I-Card (Improvement Idea) suggestion program. It facilitates evaluation and implementation of improvement ideas, integrates safety and compliance into improvement work, tracks performance measures, and supports a continuous-improvement culture across the site. The engineer partners with Production, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, and the continuous-improvement team; supports lean tools; coaches supervisors and lean champions; and maintains improvement procedures, records, dashboards, and executive reports. The role also maintains a centralized continuous-improvement repository and serves as a subject-matter expert for audit readiness. Travel is 10% of the time. No relocation assistance is available. The position requires the ability to obtain a U.S. Government Secret Clearance and U.S. citizenship.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering or a related engineering discipline, with at least five years of relevant experience.
- Experience with manufacturing and production improvement.
- Experience in capacity planning within a machine shop environment.
- Experience applying Lean Manufacturing principles, process capability analysis, and Six Sigma methodologies, including value-stream mapping and basic problem solving.
- Experience with data visualizations and reporting.
- Ability to obtain a U.S. Government Secret Clearance.
- U.S. citizenship required.
Nice To Haves
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field, preferably Mechanical Engineering.
- Operational experience in a test facility and/or power generation or chemical facility.
- Proficiency with design software such as AutoCAD, Creo, SolidWorks, or equivalent.
- Six Sigma Green Belt or Black Belt certification, or equivalent continuous-improvement certification.
- Active U.S. Government Secret Clearance.
Responsibilities
- Lead, track, execute, and audit site-wide 5S implementation; develop standards, conduct audits and visual reviews, report findings, and drive corrective actions.
- Train supervisors, team leads, and operators on 5S principles, tools, and practices; create work instructions and visual guides.
- Coordinate cross-functional 5S events, including kaizens, improvement blitzes, and quarterly cleanup days.
- Establish and manage the I-Card suggestion process, including submission, review, evaluation, implementation, feedback, templates, criteria, and turnaround targets.
- Track suggestions in a centralized database, report program performance, and recognize contributors through incentive programs.
- Prioritize improvement ideas; develop project charters, timelines, and resource plans; lead pilots, validate results, and scale successful changes across the site.
- Document lessons learned and update SOPs, work instructions, shop operating plans, and visual controls.
- Integrate occupational health and safety requirements into 5S and I-Card activities; conduct risk assessments and promote safety-focused improvements.
- Define and track KPIs for 5S and the suggestion program; produce dashboards and reports for management review and use feedback to drive improvement cycles.
- Partner with Production, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, and the continuous-improvement team; support other lean tools, including value-stream mapping, TPM, poka-yoke, and quality build-in-station.
- Coach supervisors and lean champions; conduct workshops and other sessions to sustain continuous-improvement practices.
- Maintain current 5S standards, I-Card procedures, improvement project records, and a centralized repository of improvement projects, methodologies, templates, SOPs, and lessons learned.
- Produce dashboards and quarterly reports on repository use, improvement trends, and ROI; train users and develop repository guides.
- Prepare executive summaries on cost-benefit analyses, safety impact, and strategic alignment; support audit readiness by providing access to documented evidence and traceability records.
Benefits
- Health Plan and health insurance coverage
- Savings Plan
- Paid Time Off (PTO)
- Education Assistance
- Training and Development
- 9/80 work schedule where available
- Life and disability insurance
- Company-paid holidays
- Potential overtime, shift differential, and discretionary bonus, depending on position
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
