Principal or Sr. Principal Aeronautical Engineer- Air Vehicle Configuration Design and Integration

Northrop Grumman • San Diego, CA

3d • $114,000 - $213,400 • Onsite

About The Position

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact people's lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our pioneering and inventive spirit has enabled us to be at the forefront of many technological advancements in our nation's history - from the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean, to stealth bombers, to landing on the moon. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future, and have fun along the way. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity and bringing your whole self to work — and we have an insatiable drive to do what others think is impossible. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.
Northrop Grumman’s Aeronautics Systems – Research & Advanced Design (R&AD) transforms breakthrough ideas into mission-ready capabilities through intelligent anticipation. We’re the front-end design engine, defining what comes next. From developing cutting-edge next-generation future aircraft to trailblazing collaborative autonomous platforms, we push the boundaries of technology and forge industry-leading partnerships that set new standards for what’s possible.
Our team owns the full lifecycle of advanced concept creation, from visionary early-stage designs and rapid prototyping to high-impact demonstrations and solving the toughest technical challenges in survivability, autonomy, and battle management. We seek curious, adaptable people who thrive on turning intuition into breakthrough solutions. If you’re driven to invent the future, build what’s next, and shape the landscape of national security, this is where you belong.
Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal or Sr. Principal Aeronautical Engineer, Air Vehicle Configuration Design and Integration to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This position will be located in El Segundo, CA or Rancho Bernardo, CA.
The ideal candidate will possess a strong background in the design of air vehicles with practical experience in the development of new vehicle concepts, including experience/knowledge relating to conceptual vehicle layout/design, air vehicle integration, parametric modeling for Multi-Disciplinary Optimization, aerodynamic performance analysis, vehicle performance analysis, and surface design / loft. To be successful, the selected individual shall have exposure to the fields of aerodynamics, aircraft performance and sizing, propulsion, CFD, structural design, and mass properties analysis. In addition, the selected individual will have an understanding of the air vehicle maturation process as a design transitions from concept through manufacturing and flight test.
The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, and collaborative/team settings across all levels.

Requirements

• Principal: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 5 years of STEM related engineering experience, or a Master's Degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years of experience or STEM PhD with 1 year of experience.
• Sr. Principal: Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline from an accredited university and 8 years of STEM related engineering experience, or a Master's Degree in a STEM discipline and 6 years of experience or STEM PhD with 4 years of experience.
• Demonstrated proficiency with an industry standard design tool such as Siemens NX, CATIA V5, or ProE CAD.
• Demonstrated proficiency with an aerodynamic analysis industry standard tools such as MSES, CFD++, FUN3D, and XFOIL.
• Current active in-scope US Government Secret security clearance or higher, with the ability to obtain Special Program Access (SAP). This SAP must be obtained prior to commencement of employment.

Nice To Haves

• 3 years of experience supporting the design and modeling of advanced air vehicle concepts
• Knowledge of historical aircraft designs
• Participate in knowledge transfer and training for junior teammates
• Ability to lead a configuration design team, provide staffing planning and estimation
• Demonstrated knowledge relating to design principles used on Low Observable vehicles
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and the ability to interface with all levels of employees and management.
• Demonstrated proficiency in MS Office with good technical writing skills and the ability to communicate and present technical material to various stakeholders.
• Ability to collaborate and coordinate across multiple engineering disciplines

Responsibilities

• Support the Configuration Design and Integration team through the development and design of multiple advanced air vehicles concepts.
• Develop parametric CAD models (primarily in Siemens NX) in support of conceptual vehicle sizing studies for advanced Air Vehicles
• Support vehicle design configuration trade study tasks in conjunction with multiple disciplines including aerodynamics, propulsion, mass properties, performance, survivability, airframe and other groups to solve complex vehicle design challenges across all vehicle design stages

Benefits

• Relocation assistance may be available
• health insurance coverage
• life and disability insurance
• savings plan
• Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business
• overtime
• shift differential
• discretionary bonus

What This Job Offers

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