Chief Engineer For The Aircraft & Missiles Product Line / Value Stream
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. 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's Payload and Ground Systems (PGS) division, Mission Enabling Products (MEP) Business Unit is a leading designer, producer, and supplier of products including spacecraft panels, lasers, spacecraft bus structures, precision optical structures, deployable structural systems and mechanisms, solar arrays, antenna reflectors, aircraft and missile components. Our products have applications in air, naval, weapons, laser, and space products that power and enable satellites of all classes and have been on virtually every U.S. satellite built in the last 20 years. The Structures Operating Unit within the MEP Business Unit designs, manufactures, and tests composite structures for air and space products and is seeking an experienced, highly motivated Chief Engineer for the Aircraft & Missiles Product Line / Value Stream to join our team.
The representative candidate will have demonstrated strong and successful leadership abilities. This position is required to be onsite with a primary office location in San Diego, CA (Miramar).
Roles and Responsibilities (What You'll Get to Do): The chief engineer is responsible for the technical direction and execution of all aspects of engineering on a program including design, development, implementation, integration, testing, and delivery of product to the customer. The chief engineer is the senior technical leader for the program engineering team, and also serves as technical advisor and delegate to the program manager. The chief engineer ensures that all engineering teams adhere to sound engineering processes, in accordance with company policies, procedures, and quality standards. This includes maintaining cognizance over technical activities within the program's Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) and ensuring horizontal integration of the best engineering practices across the company. The chief engineer may also perform systems engineering and program management roles as necessary.
Essential Skills:
- Technical Subject Matter Expertise
- Systems Thinking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Program Performance
- Leadership
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in a STEM field and 14+ years of related technical experience, or Master's degree in a STEM field and 12+ years of related technical experience
- Experience as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), Technical Lead, IPT Lead, Chief Engineer, or similar leadership role demonstrating team building and organizational skills
- Broad experience across multiple engineering disciplines (design, analysis, materials, manufacturing, testing)
- Experience in designing, building, testing, and deploying mission-critical systems through LRIP, IOC, and FRP
- Technical proficiency in materials testing, metals, composites, failure mechanisms, manufacturing, and applications
- Experience with discrepancy resolution, RCCA, MRB, and FRB
- Experience with FAA, FAR, and DoD requirements and programs
- Experience with aircraft structural/mechanical systems design and analysis
- Familiarity with RF electrical properties, analysis, and testing techniques
- Experience with R&D programs, including IRAD or CRAD
- Proposal development experience
- Ability to mentor, provide feedback, and coach
- Decision-making skills impacting operations and performance
- Willingness to travel up to 25%
Preferred Qualifications:
- Bachelor's or Master's in Aerospace or Mechanical Engineering
- Familiarity with ceramics and high-temperature materials
- Experience with FEMAP, NASTRAN, NX, Teamcenter, LS Dyna
- Experience with CAM
- Active DoD Secret clearance (recent background check) required; ability to obtain Top-Secret and SCI clearances
- Experience with FMS and foreign customers
- Ability to leverage enterprise expertise to resolve issues and attract new business