Principal/Senior Principal Manufacturing Engineer – Plating

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 Mission Systems is seeking a Principal or Senior Principal Manufacturing Process Engineer for the Advanced Interconnects and Multilayer Solutions (AIMS) manufacturing cell.

AIMS is committed to the rapid development, manufacture and delivery of leading-edge discriminating products, utilizing advances in organic materials, technology and processing to meet or exceed customer expectations.

The Manufacturing Process Engineer will provide manufacturing technical expertise and direction to fabricate printed wiring boards, manifolds, and backplanes for next generation RF hardware. This position will be responsible for multiple imaging/chemical/wet processes in AIMS.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the tasks outlined below:

Process Development

• Developing new and maintaining or improving existing manufacturing processes with a focus on affordability

• Creating and managing to project plans (tasks, resources, schedules) for process development activities

• Providing ROI justification for process improvements

• Specifying, identifying and procuring new manufacturing equipment for production readiness and preparing equipment for production

• Developing and optimizing process parameters

• Developing/revising process documentation and work instruction

Factory Support

• Monitoring process yields, cost, and process stability and capability

• Recommending and implementing quality improvements based on the above metrics

• Creating, validating and maintaining automatic equipment programs

• Solving of manufacturing problems (related to materials, designs, equipment, people) in a timely manner

• Assisting with the training of new personnel and participating in the design of operator training materials

• Supporting factory maintenance personnel with the troubleshooting and repair of process equipment

Design Support

• Recommending product design improvements required to produce advanced microelectronics products

• Documenting state-of-the-art process capabilities and guidelines for product designers

• Participating in design producibility reviews for new products

The chosen candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills; be able to multi-task in a fast-paced, dynamic, and high visibility environment; and work well as part of a team.

This job may be filled as a Principal Engineer or a Senior Principal Engineer, based on the qualifications below. 

Basic Qualifications for a Principal Engineer:

• Bachelor of Science degree or higher in Engineering or related STEM area with 5 years of relevant experience (or 3 years with a MS or 0 years with a PhD); candidates with a High School diploma/GED and 9 years of relevant experience or 7 years with an Associate's degree will also be considered.

• Process Engineering experience

• Familiarity with Design of Experiment (DOE), Statistical Process Control (SPC), 6 sigma concepts for process development, and control

• Knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)

• Fluency in MS Office software applications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a US Secret Security Clearance (US Citizenship is required.)

Basic Qualifications for a Senior Principal Engineer:

• Bachelor of Science degree or higher in Engineering or related STEM area with 9 years of relevant experience (or 7 years with a MS or 4 years with a PhD); candidates with a High School diploma/GED and 13 years of relevant experience or 11 years with an Associate's degree will also be considered

• Process Engineering experience

• Familiarity with Design of Experiment (DOE), Statistical Process Control (SPC), 6 sigma concepts for process development, and control

• Knowledge of Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)

• Fluency in MS Office software applications

• Ability to obtain and maintain a US Secret Security Clearance (US Citizenship is required.)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working with high-end PWB imaging and chemical processing to include photolithography, developing, etching, stripping, electroless copper and electrolytic copper plating, electroless nickel gold plating, tin and tin/lead plating, blind, through and microvias

• Knowledge of IPC Class 3 substrate fabrication requirements

• Experience using TrueChem analysis software

• Familiarity with the following plating processes: ENIG (electroless nickel immersion gold); Electrolytic Gold Plating (cyanide based); Electrolytic Sulfamate Nickel Plating; Electrolytic Tin/Lead Plating; Matte Tin, 90-10 Tin Lead, 95-5 Tin Lead, and 63/37 Eutectic Tin Lead; Electroless Copper Plating; Electrolytic Copper Plating

• Familiarity with Plating Specs, particularly: ASTM B488, AMS QQ-N-290, AMS 2404, AMS 2403

• Candidate should be able to troubleshoot plating defect root causes (nodules, spongy plating, “burnt” plating, skip plating, shadow plating etc.)

• Candidate should be familiar with tank maintenance for plating processes.

• Pump replacement, troubleshooting low temperature/ high temperature issues, interlock failures, rectifier performance issues, a knowledge of general plumbing is a plus.

Salary Range: $90,600 USD - $136,000 USD

Salary Range 2: $112,300 USD - $168,500 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.