Quality Engineer / Principal Quality Engineer 2/3

Northrop Grumman • Hanover, MD

2d • $79,600 - $148,300 • Onsite

About The Position

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems is hiring a Quality Engineer or Principal Quality Engineer to join its team at the Troy Hill facility in Elkridge, Maryland. The role develops, maintains, and applies quality evaluation and control systems for materials and finished products, collaborating with engineering, program, contracts, and manufacturing teams to ensure products meet company, customer, and regulatory standards. The position uses data and performance metrics to assess quality, identify trends, resolve non-conformances, and drive continuous improvement. It may also support design, incoming-material inspection, production control, product evaluation and reliability, inventory control, or research and development as related to product or process quality.

The Quality Engineer level requires a STEM bachelor's degree and at least two years of relevant experience, or a STEM master's degree. The Principal Quality Engineer level requires a STEM bachelor's degree and at least five years of relevant experience, or a STEM master's degree and at least three years of relevant experience. Both levels require U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance. Travel is 10% of the time; relocation assistance is not available.

The primary-level salary range is $79,600–$119,400, and the secondary-level salary range is $98,900–$148,300. Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus. Northrop Grumman also offers benefits including health insurance, life and disability insurance, a savings plan, company-paid holidays, and paid time off.

Requirements

• For Quality Engineer: Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 2 years of experience in Quality Assurance, failure investigation and root-cause identification, or a Manufacturing, Process, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering field performing technical job functions; alternatively, a master's degree in a STEM field.
• For Principal Quality Engineer: Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM field and at least 5 years of relevant experience in Quality Assurance, failure investigation and root-cause identification, or a Manufacturing, Process, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering field performing technical job functions; alternatively, a master's degree in a STEM field and at least 3 years of relevant experience in those areas.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret clearance.
• U.S. citizenship required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with ISO 9001 or AS9100 Quality Management Systems and AS9102 First Article Inspections (FAI).
• Green or Black Belt certification in Lean Six Sigma.
• Certification in Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.
• Certified auditor.
• SAP experience.
• SQL experience.
• Active U.S. Government Secret clearance.
• Experience using Microsoft Excel, Minitab, Tableau, or equivalent tools for statistical analysis.

Responsibilities

• Develop, modify, apply, and maintain quality evaluation and control systems and protocols for processing materials into partially finished or finished products.
• Collaborate with engineering, program, contracts, and manufacturing functions to establish quality standards.
• Participate at an introductory level in Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA), HQMS, and continuous-improvement activities.
• Maintain key performance metrics and charts, including SRR, FTTTY, FTTIY, and NDR, to identify trends and track process and quality performance.
• Work with Test Engineers on test-engineering software.
• 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 adherence to Prop, CADSTAR drawings, Quality Assurance Directives, and work instructions in support of program quality objectives.
• Support Functional and Physical Process Assessments; read basic blueprints and interpret drawings and MIL-STDs.
• Disposition hardware defects and non-conformances.
• Participate in resolving quality-requirement non-conformances, including standard repairs or exceptions such as MRB and DTO.
• Present program risks and opportunities within the cell.
• Devise and implement methods and procedures for inspecting, testing, and evaluating the precision and accuracy of products and production equipment.
• Design and analyze inspection and testing processes, mechanisms, and equipment.
• Assess costs and determine responsibility for products or materials that fail to meet required standards and specifications.
• Audit quality systems, identify deficiencies, and track corrective actions.
• Initiate Corrective Action Plans and work with suppliers, manufacturing, and engineering personnel to identify root causes and implement robust corrective actions.
• Ensure corrective measures meet acceptable reliability standards and documentation complies with requirements.
• Use engineering drawings, diagrams, customer specifications, inspection instructions, and checklists to verify items meet required specifications and quality standards.
• Lead and implement continuous-improvement actions to reduce manufacturing-floor defects.
• May participate in design, incoming-material inspection, production control, product evaluation and reliability, inventory control, or research and development as they relate to product or process quality.

Benefits

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

What This Job Offers

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