Principal Program Operations Engineer

Northrop Grumman•Chantilly, VA

3d•$103,600 - $155,400•Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is hiring an operations engineer in Chantilly, Virginia. This customer-facing role coordinates with end users, Integrated Product Team members, and program leadership to address technical needs and concerns. The engineer supports technical troubleshooting from start to finish and assists with data analysis and integration among end users, field teams, and engineering teams. The role serves as a local on-site customer representative and helps ensure overall system performance through lower-level functions and subsystems. Work may include non-traditional hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays, as directed by the customer. Travel is 10% of the time, and relocation assistance may be available. An active Top Secret or higher clearance is required to start, and the employee must be able to obtain and maintain SAP clearance. The primary level salary range is $103,600 to $155,400. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus. The company also provides health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, a savings plan, company-paid holidays, and paid time off for vacation and/or personal business.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in a STEM discipline and 5 years of related engineering experience; or a master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years of related engineering experience; or a Ph.D. in a STEM discipline and 1 year of related engineering experience.
Active U.S. Government Top Secret or higher clearance, with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or current enrollment in Continuous Evaluation.
Ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company.
Ability to work non-traditional hours, including nights, weekends, and holidays, as directed by the customer.
Strong communication skills, ability to work as a self-directed technical performer, demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary technical trades, and ability to develop and execute a strategy.

Nice To Haves

Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.
Familiarity with coding languages such as MATLAB, Python, or Java.
Experience with air vehicles, ground segments, sensor payloads, and support equipment.
Experience supporting fielded aircraft systems.
Experience with DoD or government customers.
Experience across multiple Systems Engineering disciplines, including requirements, integration, and technical configuration management or technical baseline.
Experience with root-cause investigations, fielded-issue investigation, and operational missions.
Experience performing operational utility assessments to evaluate operations, data flow, mission performance, and technical risk to inform requirements and design concept development.
Experience collecting and analyzing operational mission data to evaluate mission effectiveness and recommend improvements to system design, architecture, and system operations concepts.

Responsibilities

Troubleshoot systems and resolve complex issues by coordinating with responsible subsystem engineers.
Serve as an interface between the operations and engineering organizations.
Act as the local on-site representative to the customer organization.
Ensure overall system performance is met and maintained through lower-level functions and subsystems.
Document issues and coordinate field replacements or upgrades of impacted parts.
Contribute to improvements in processes, design, and future operations efforts.
Lead multidisciplinary technical trades and develop and execute a technical strategy.
Support technical troubleshooting from cradle to grave and assist with data analysis and integration among end users, field teams, and engineering teams.