Sr. Principal Airworthiness 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.

Join Northrop Grumman on our continued mission to push the boundaries of possible across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.  Enjoy a culture where your voice is valued and start contributing to our team of passionate professionals providing real-life solutions to our world’s biggest challenges.  We take pride in creating purposeful work and allowing our employees to grow and achieve their goals every day by Defining Possible.  With our competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, we have the right opportunities to fit your life and launch your career today.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Sr. Principal Airworthiness Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This role is located in San Diego, California.

The Sr. Principal Airworthiness Engineer 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.

Basic Qualifications: 

• 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
• Work experience with domestic and international UAS/RPAS airworthiness authorizations and type certifications
• Ability to obtain U.S. Government in-scope DoD Secret security clearance or higher.

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Military aircraft development or modification experience  

• A current active U.S. Government in-scope DoD Secret security clearance or higher and the ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR/SAP).
• DoD and Civil Airworthiness Experience

• Ability to initiate Airworthiness Certification process improvement initiatives
• Work experience and familiarity with UAS/RPAS
• 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 Range: $129,700 USD - $194,500 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.