Principal Quality Engineer

Northrop Grumman • Baltimore, MD

6d • $98,900 - $148,300 • Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems Sector is seeking a Principal Quality Engineer 3 to join its team in Baltimore, Maryland. The role develops, modifies, applies, and maintains quality evaluation and control systems and protocols for processing materials into partially finished or finished products. It collaborates with contracts, inspection, manufacturing operations, shipping, engineering, and manufacturing functions to ensure quality standards are established and met.

The position supports root cause corrective action and continuous improvement activities, tracks key performance metrics and trends, reviews product non-conformances, and uses data to inform quality decisions. It implements work instructions aligned with program quality objectives, supports functional and physical process assessments, and presents quality or manufacturing status at program meetings, including Corrective Action Board meetings. It also develops inspection, testing, and evaluation methods; audits quality systems; verifies corrective measures and documentation; and leads continuous improvements to reduce defects.

An active U.S. Government Secret clearance and U.S. citizenship are required. Travel is expected approximately 10% of the time. Relocation assistance is not available.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of engineering experience in Quality Assurance, including failure investigation and root-cause identification, or in Manufacturing, Process, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering performing technical job functions; alternatively, a master's degree in a STEM field and at least 3 years of such engineering experience.
• Active U.S. Government Secret clearance.
• U.S. citizenship.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with ISO 9001 or AS9100 Quality Management Systems and AS9102 First Article Inspections.
• Green Belt or Black Belt certification in Lean Six Sigma.
• Certification in Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
• Ability to acquire U.S. Government Special Access clearance.
• Experience using Microsoft Excel, Minitab, or equivalent tools for statistical analysis.

Responsibilities

• Develop, modify, apply, and maintain quality evaluation and control systems and protocols.
• Collaborate with contracts, inspection, manufacturing operations, shipping, engineering, and manufacturing functions.
• Support root cause corrective action and continuous improvement activities.
• Maintain key performance metrics and charts to identify trends and track process and quality performance.
• Ensure products conform to established company and regulatory standards.
• Identify and review product non-conformances and use data to make quality decisions.
• Implement and enforce work instructions aligned with program quality objectives.
• Support functional and physical process assessments.
• Present quality or manufacturing status at program meetings, including Corrective Action Board meetings.
• Develop methods and procedures for inspecting, testing, and evaluating the precision and accuracy of products and production equipment.
• Audit quality systems to identify deficiencies and ensure their correction.
• Ensure corrective measures meet acceptable reliability standards and documentation complies with requirements.
• Lead and implement continuous improvements to reduce defect counts.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Savings plan.
• Company-paid holidays.
• Paid time off for vacation and/or personal business.
• Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus.

What This Job Offers

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