Staff Superconducting Electronics IC Design Engineer

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.

Are you interested in exploring a career in the cutting edge of IC circuit design? You'll leverage your current experience against our training and your team's wealth of knowledge with the goal of designing Reciprocal Quantum Logic (RQL) and superconducting devices in a highly collaborative team environment.

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) Advanced Capabilities division is a leader in the development and manufacture of next generation high-performance computing. Superconducting electronics form the core of our technology, with development thrusts in both quantum and classical logic. Our quantum computing activities include the development of superconducting devices for both quantum annealing and gate-model quantum computation. Our classical computing activities focus on energy-efficient computation using our patented superconducting digital logic technology, RQL. With a well-established impressive performance this technology is appealing for a variety of immediate applications and future research possibilities at a time when Moore’s law is dramatically slowing. You’ll work in a fast-paced team environment alongside a broad array of scientists and engineers to make these design solutions a reality.

We are seeking motivated Analog/Mixed Signal Integrated Circuit (IC) Design Engineers to join our team in design and layout of custom digital superconducting circuits. You will use your skills as a lead IC designer while learning about superconducting circuit design. Tasks will include schematic capture, circuit simulation, circuit layout, physical verification (LVS, DRC), and parasitic extraction for a variety of superconducting circuits. The right candidate will be comfortable in a dynamic environment with rapidly developing technologies and tools. The candidate must have experience in custom circuit design, preferably with Cadence Virtuoso. Experience with modeling circuit performance using Spice tools or ADE/Spectre, and/or experience with EM software such as HFSS, Momentum, Clarity or CST is highly desirable. Familiarity with quantum information is a plus. The candidate must be able to take a design from concept through modeling, layout and verification and create a test plan based on circuit requirements. Strong written and oral communication skills are required.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering or related field with 14 years of experience in either Analog, Digital or Mixed Signal Circuit design (12 years with MS or 9 years with a PhD)
• Solid understanding of circuit design theory; extensive hands-on custom circuit design experience
• Working knowledge of the IC design flow including schematic capture, simulation, layout and physical verification (DRC/LVS)
• Proficiency with modern IC design tools (preferably Cadence Virtuoso) for schematic capture, circuit simulation, and custom layout; physical verification using Assura or Calibre
• Ability to oversee all phases of IC design from specification, to design and tapeout
• Good understanding of IC manufacturing and testing processes
• Experience with product validation and testing
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills
• Ability to meet tight deadlines and milestones according to program schedule
• Excellent communication skills, able to efficiently disseminate information to leadership and respective working group
• Able to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance per business requirements. US Citizenship is a requirement for this.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Design chip lead with a proven record of successful tapeouts; ability to design sub-blocks and perform chip level integration
• Create and maintain chip design schedule, and meet tight deadlines in accordance with the overall program schedule
• Create test plans, supervise product testing, and collaborate with the test team
• Microwave engineering background; solid understanding of transmission line theory and impedance matching techniques
• Electromagnetic modeling background with commercial tools, such as HFSS, CST, Clarity
• Understanding of combinatorial and sequential logic; experience with custom logic gates, latches, flip-flops, clock synthesis and distribution and related issues
• Programming experience using an objected oriented language like Python or C++
• Scripting experience with SKILL
• Knowledge of Quantum Information or Quantum Mechanics
• Experience with low-temperature experimental measurements
• Familiar with the engineering product life cycle model
• Active TS/SCI Security Clearance

Salary Range: $153,600 USD - $230,400 USD

Employees may be eligible for a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The health and safety of our employees and their families is a top priority. The company encourages employees to remain up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. U.S. Northrop Grumman employees may be required, in the future, to be vaccinated or have an approved disability/medical or religious accommodation, pursuant to future court decisions and/or government action on the currently stayed federal contractor vaccine mandate under Executive Order 14042 https://www.saferfederalworkforce.gov/contractors/.

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 most positions.