Continuous Improvement Manager

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.

Job Description

Space Systems is searching for an experienced Continuous Improvement Manager to support the implementation of DevOps and Agile at our Launch Vehicles (LV) Business Unit located in Chandler, AZ.

The primary focus of this job will be to leverage DevOps principles to help our engineering and support teams improve our Design, Analytic, and Business Processes by making our work more visible and expediting knowledge transfer across our Engineering and Support teams. The successful candidate will lead the integration of our standardized LV Jira framework across multiple programs to allow our organizations to track tasks, identify dependencies, and enable dashboard creation. You will be challenged to solve complex cross-functional business problems and develop strategic recommendations that reduce costs, increase profitability, enhance performance, and transform operations. The selected candidate will be responsible for a team of Industrial Engineers, Agile Coaches, and Scrum Masters that support all aspects of the portfolio and are required to collaborate across the entire business unit leadership team.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's of Science degree in STEM field & 9+ years of relevant experience (7+ w/Master’s; 5+ with a PhD)
• Proven track record leading large cross-functional teams to achieve reductions in cost, schedule and cycle time
• Experience in leadership, project management, facilitation teaching, mentoring, and coaching
• Experience working with Agile teams
• Experience in Root Cause Corrective Action/Problem Solving with quantifiable improvement results
• Strong analytical skills
• Experience creating a culture of engagement, inclusion, and continuous improvement
• Ability to obtain and maintain a DoD Secret Clearance per business requirements (US citizenship required)

Preferred Qualifications:

• Hands-on experience utilizing Lean, Six Sigma, and other Industrial Engineering methodologies for continuous improvement
• Certified in Lean and Six Sigma (ex: Black Belt/Master Black Belt/Lean Expert/Lean Master)
• Agile certifications (Scrum Master, Product Owner, Coach, etc.)
• Experience implementing the Scaled Agile Framework
• Experienced with Jira and Confluence
• Active DoD Secret Security Clearance

Salary Range: $138,400 USD - $207,600 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.