Principal Quality Engineer

Northrop Grumman • Plymouth, MN

1d • $98,900 - $148,300 • Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman is seeking a Principal Quality Engineer to join its Mission Assurance team supporting Medium Caliber ammunition production in Plymouth, Minnesota. The role provides Quality Engineering and Mission Assurance support to production programs, including production-line support at multiple locations, supplier inspection and monitoring, translating contractual quality requirements into plans and procedures, drawing reviews, customer interface and reporting, and review of product acceptance data. The position supports products intended for warfighters and national security and requires travel up to 25% domestically and internationally, sometimes on short notice.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering or a relevant STEM discipline.
• At least 5 years of experience in quality planning, quality tools, and analysis in a manufacturing environment, or at least 5 years in applied engineering.
• Experience in the aerospace and defense industry supporting highly regulated products or systems.
• U.S. citizenship.
• Manufacturing background with familiarity in metals and electronics production.
• Strong background in inspection equipment and techniques, with general knowledge of metrology and calibration.
• Solid understanding of engineering drawings and GD&T.
• Proficiency with quality tools such as statistics, DOE, FMEA, and MSA.
• Experience working in a highly regulated environment, such as defense, aerospace, or a similar industry.
• Strong technical knowledge in mechanical manufacturing, tools, gages, and calibration.
• Proficiency with standard computer and data analysis tools.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with internal and external customers.
• Willingness to travel up to 25% domestically and internationally, sometimes on short notice.

Nice To Haves

• ASQ certifications such as CQA, CQE, CQM, or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with contract quality requirements and AS9100 / ISO 9001 Quality Management System processes on development and production programs.
• Identify contractual quality requirements and translate them into quality program plans, inspection procedures, and quality requirement flow-down to suppliers.
• Provide expertise and guidance to program teams and suppliers on quality assurance, quality systems, tools, training, problem solving, statistical analysis, and continuous improvement.
• Lead and support cross-functional investigations involving internal teams, suppliers, and customers.
• Conduct technical diagnosis and root cause analysis for customer complaints, field failures, and internal escapes.
• Drive corrective and preventive actions to eliminate recurrence and reduce risk.
• Work with Operations to initiate containment, investigations, and countermeasures that prevent defects from reaching customers.
• Provide production-line support at multiple locations, including on-site monitoring of manufacturing lines and supplier processes.
• Assess suppliers’ capabilities and conformance to their Quality Systems, including process controls and inspection methods.
• Evaluate manufacturing methods and inspection capabilities; identify key characteristics and appropriate inspection strategies.
• Develop and implement product inspection plans and incoming inspection procedures.
• Initiate and support Material Review Board actions, resolve nonconforming material issues, and facilitate corrective actions.
• Review drawings for inspection capability and conformance to Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing standards.
• Perform statistical analysis, including yield, SPC, and key-characteristic analysis, and use Lean/Six Sigma tools to drive process improvements.
• Prepare and manage quality documentation, including quality code requisitions, CDRL deliverables, and customer submittals.
• Review inspection and acceptance data to assess process capability and product compliance.
• Report quality and mission assurance status to program management, quality leadership, and customers.

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

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