Principal Engineer Hardware

Northrop Grumman • San Diego, CA

1d • $103,600 - $155,400 • Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is hiring a Principal Hardware Engineer (Level 3) for its Manufacturing Engineering team, within the San Diego Operations Test Engineering Department. The department supports the Communication Systems and Secure Processing and Networking business units. The role is based full-time onsite at the Rancho Carmel campus in San Diego, California, and may also support the Spectrum campus. It reports to the Test Engineering Manager in San Diego. Scheduled telework days may be approved at the manager’s discretion, and travel of up to 10% is required.

The engineer designs, develops, and implements testing methods and equipment; troubleshoots and supports RF and digital hardware; and supports first-time-through-test yield and hardware deliveries. The role analyzes test data and trends, recommends changes to test equipment and procedures or manufacturing processes, and collaborates with design engineering on hardware improvements. It also supports and trains technicians, monitors product yields against program targets, and participates in program meetings to investigate yield issues and develop and report root causes and corrective actions. The engineer interfaces with manufacturing management, technicians, production and design engineers, systems engineers, program management, and program support teams.

Candidates need a qualifying engineering or STEM degree and relevant experience, or equivalent experience in lieu of a degree. The position requires U.S. citizenship. An active clearance is not required to start; the preferred candidate has an active DoD Secret or higher clearance and can obtain and maintain a DoD Top Secret clearance. The stated primary salary range is $103,600–$155,400. Northrop Grumman offers a comprehensive benefits package, with specific benefits including health coverage, a savings plan, paid time off, education assistance, training and development, and company-paid holidays.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant experience; or a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related STEM field and at least 3 years of experience. In lieu of a degree, 4 additional years of relevant experience may be considered.
• Experience leading technicians through complex troubleshooting.
• Experience communicating effectively to delegate troubleshooting tasks and obtain results.
• Experience working with classified and unclassified networks, network storage devices, security appliances, and government external interfaces.
• Working knowledge of engineering principles, processes, and software/hardware integration.
• Experience performing essential electrical and RF troubleshooting using equipment such as multimeters, network/spectrum analyzers, and oscilloscopes.
• Experience reading and interpreting specifications, schematics, and block diagrams.
• Experience measuring test equipment effectiveness, including availability, performance, and quality.
• Understanding of power amplifiers.
• Hands-on troubleshooting of electrical and electromechanical hardware.
• Demonstrated analytical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Experience compiling data and defining changes to testing equipment, testing procedures, manufacturing processes, or testing requirements.
• Must be a U.S. citizen.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field, specializing in RF.
• Experience with C, C++, LabVIEW, or other scripting languages.
• Experience with power amplifiers and advanced troubleshooting techniques.
• Active DoD Secret or higher clearance, with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrollment in Continuous Evaluation, and the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Top Secret clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement testing methods and equipment.
• Troubleshoot and support RF and digital hardware.
• Support First Time Through Test Yield (FTTTY) and hardware deliveries.
• Analyze test data and identify early trends.
• Compile data and define changes needed in test equipment, testing procedures, manufacturing processes, or testing requirements.
• Collaborate with design engineering to develop and implement hardware improvements and solutions.
• Support technicians with troubleshooting and training.
• Monitor product yields and work to maintain program yield targets.
• Support program meetings in developing root-cause analyses and corrective actions.
• Attend program meetings to report yield issues, investigation findings, and corrective actions.
• Interface with manufacturing management, test technicians, production engineers, design engineers, systems engineers, program management, and program support teams.
• Travel up to 10% of the time.

Benefits

• Health Plan and health insurance coverage.
• Savings Plan.
• Paid Time Off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.
• Education Assistance.
• Training and Development.
• Company-paid holidays.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Potential eligibility for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus, depending on the position.
• 9/80 work schedule where available.

What This Job Offers

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