Sr Staff Engineer Electronics

Northrop Grumman•Melbourne, FL

2d•$166,500 - $249,700•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 Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Sr. Staff EO/IR Engineer to join the team of qualified individuals on our Avionics Organization. This role is located onsite in Melbourne, Florida. The successful lead engineer will be responsible for and contribute to the overall development of EO/IR sensor subsystems, including Concept Development, Technology Trade Studies, Requirements Development and Derivation, Algorithm Development, Performance Analysis, Data Analysis, build and test of hardware prototypes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering, Optics, Lasers, Material Science, Chemistry, Physics or closely related STEM major with 14 years of relevant experience; 12 years with an MS; 10 years with PhD;
Extensive work experience (Mastery) with one of the following areas related to EOIR systems: lasers, LiDAR, Sensing, surveillance, reconnaissance, electronic protection, ID, or adaptive technique
Demonstrated deep technical experience with sensor development, IR payloads, fiber optics
Extensive background in EO/IR and laser technology and system design for airborne or space platforms
Extensive experience with EO/IR sensor component design and performance analysis
Experience in the modeling of EO/IR systems to assess performance
Regularly takes a leadership role in providing insight and knowledge transfer to others on internal and external technical solutions to solve complex problems
Knowledge of system engineering design methods, including requirements analysis and flow-down, specification derivation and interface control documentation
Serve as organization spokesperson on multiple advanced projects and/or programs that have a direct impact on the sector (both technical and non-technical)
An active in-scope U.S. Government DoD Top Secret security clearance is required to start
Ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR/SAP) prior to start

Nice To Haves

Master’s or PhD in Engineering, Optics, Lasers, Material Science, Chemistry, Physics, or closely related STEM discipline
Extensive experience in airborne EO/IR sensor systems, including end to end subsystem design, integration, and performance assessment on platform
Deep experience with high fidelity, physics based EO/IR performance models and optical modeling/design tools (e.g., Zemax/OpticStudio, Code V, FRED or equivalent)
Experience performing concept development and technology trade studies balancing performance, cost, schedule, and mission objectives
Background in algorithm development for EO/IR applications (e.g., detection, tracking, image processing, calibration) and associated performance analysis.
Demonstrated experience leading multidisciplinary EO/IR teams through full lifecycle activities (requirements, design, integration, test, and verification/validation)
Strong experience in laboratory characterization and data analysis of EO/IR components and subsystems, including test planning and data reduction
Use of optical metrology to measure parameters such as laser power, wavelength, pulse width, divergence and beam quality

Responsibilities

Lead the design, development, and integration of EO/IR sensor subsystems and components to meet platform mission objectives and guides development into a final product that has a direct impact on the sector
Develop, analyze, mature, implement, and translate customer requirements into hardware and software specifications
Lead and leverage industry experience to implement new and existing high fidelity, physics-based EOIR system performance models and optical modeling
Modeling/Developing / analyzing sensor performance, predicting performance as installed on an airborne platform
Solicit input from various stakeholders, synthesize data, and communicate results with demonstrated ability to formally present technical solutions to senior leadership.
Collaborates with and contributes to CoTE EO/IR discipline and other programs on best practices, problem solving, knowledge sharing.
Ensure performance capabilities of new systems traded against cost and mission requirements and assess operational effectiveness of existing and emerging systems and capabilities in representative operational environments.
Leads the EO/IR team through development/implementation activities.
Ability to build and test hardware prototypes in a laboratory environment as well as perform characterization of EO/IR subsystems and component level parts