Principal Airworthiness Engineer / Senior Principal Airworthiness Engineer - Aircraft Certification

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal Airworthiness Engineer / Senior Principal Airworthiness Engineer - Aircraft Certification to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within the Office of Independent Airworthiness (OIAW). This position is based in San Diego, CA with a hybrid work arrangement. This position may be filled in any continental US State and is remote based, the preferred location is commutable distance to San Diego, CA. Some travel to San Diego, CA will be required for this role (approximately 25%). 

The Principal Airworthiness Engineer / Senior Principal Airworthiness Engineer - Aircraft Certification will be working within the Airworthiness Engineering Directorate supporting certification efforts on various air vehicle platforms. The selected candidate will ensure the logical and systematic realization of customer airworthiness certification objectives into system solutions to meet program needs throughout the product lifecycle (e.g. Flight Releases, Type Certification, continued airworthiness, and operation of airspace integration).

Essential Duties: 

• Performs technical airworthiness planning and verification support including development and negotiation of airworthiness plans, bases of certification, means of compliance, and other certification activities for complex total systems with IPT/REs as well as customer counterparts.
• Reviews and coordinates with other airworthiness engineers as well as internal engineering disciplines performed across the total system to include design, fabrication, test, installation, operation, maintenance and disposal.
• Performs functional and process analyses, requirements allocation and definition studies to translate customer requirements into criteria and derived requirements.
• Ensures the logical and systematic realization of customer airworthiness certification objectives into system solutions to meet program needs throughout the product lifecycle (e.g. Flight releases, Type certification, continued airworthiness, operations, and airspace integration).
• Responsible for managing and maintaining Type Design Data and airworthiness evidence in support of a Military Type Certification and Air System Continued & Continuing Airworthiness as a member of the technical AW staff in a System Design Responsible company.

The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, collaborative/team settings across all levels.

Position may be filled as either a Principal Airworthiness Engineer (Aircraft Certification) OR Senior Principal Airworthiness Engineer (Aircraft Certification) depending on the qualifications below.

Basic Qualifications for Principal Airworthiness Engineer (Aircraft Certification): 

• Bachelors in STEM discipline with 5 or more years of engineering experience, OR Master's with 3 or more years of engineering experience, OR PhD with 0 or more years of engineering experience
• Familiarity of MIL-HDBK-516B Expanded and-516C.
• Work experience leading the development of Airworthiness plans, a Basis of Certification, and related activities.
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.

Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal Airworthiness Engineer (Aircraft Certification): 

• Bachelors in STEM discipline with 9 or more years of engineering experience, OR Master's with 7 or more years of engineering experience, OR PhD with 4 or more years of engineering experience
• Familiarity of MIL-HDBK-516B Expanded and-516C.
• Work experience leading the development of Airworthiness plans, a Basis of Certification, and related activities.
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret clearance
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Military aircraft development or modification experience  
• A current active U.S. Government in-scope DoD Secret security clearance or higher
• DoD and Civil Airworthiness Experience
• Ability to initiate Airworthiness Certification process improvement initiatives
• Work experience with domestic and international UAS/RPAS airworthiness authorizations and type certifications
• Design and Systems Engineering experience in one or more of the following areas: Structures, Flight Technology, Air Vehicle Subsystems, Avionics, Mission Payload Integration, System Safety, Flight Test, Configuration Management
• Experience with USAF Airworthiness Policy Directives, Instructions, and Airworthiness Bulletins (AWB)
• Control Account Management (CAM) and Earned Value Management System (EVMS) experience including Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) planning and tracking, Earned Value reporting, variance analysis, and Estimate at Complete (EAC) forecasting.
• Experience in a System Design Responsible (SDR) organization per international regulations with signature authority 
• Interactions with airworthiness authorities US DoD, MoD International, or civil authorities 
• Familiarity of European Military Aviation Regulations (EMARs)
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and SharePoint

Salary ranges will be dependent upon where the position is based and follows our company geographic salary bands aligned with position. Specific salary offer for candidate selected will be commensurate with experience.

Northrop Grumman is committed to hiring and retaining a diverse workforce. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO/AA and Pay Transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.