Chief 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 – Xetron, part of the Mission Systems sector, focused on the development of new capabilities for our military and intelligence customers around the globe. At Xetron, we design systems that science fiction writers can only dream up; they’re just that cool!

Northrop Grumman Xetron is an Operating Unit within the larger Northrop Grumman Corporation that is located in Cincinnati Ohio. Xetron is a rare example of an organization with a small business culture that is operating collaboratively with its larger business parent entity. You’ll get the opportunity to wrestle with the next big problems in an atmosphere of collaboration and cooperation, sharing your expertise while also learning from other highly gifted and experienced engineers. Remember when you were excited about getting to work because the challenge of the problem, the importance of the solution and the fun you had with your team?  Xetron is that kind of place!

We are seeking a Chief Engineer to focus on the technical direction across the entire Xetron Operating Unit.  We are looking for a cleared or clearable professional who want to solve the puzzles that make a difference to our nation’s security with a focus on RF Design and an emphasis on low Size, Weight and Power (SWAP), SIGINT sensor systems and Electronic Warfare.

The Chief Engineer would be the technical authority for all aspects of engineering across the operating unit including hardware/software/support/test elements and technically leading multi-disciplined engineering teams to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems.  The role includes 1) IRAD Management, 2) Technology liaison across the corporation, and 3) Technical business development/customer relationships and 4) Program mentorship

IRAD Management includes the development and coordination of technical roadmaps/architectures aligned with business strategies, interfacing to division leadership, and interacting with Northrop’s Emerging Capabilities Division on advance concepts & technologies. 

The Chief Engineer will be the technology liaison to work across the corporation and sectors for Cyber, Non-kinetic effects and techniques, low SWAP sensor technologies, signal processing, electronic attack techniques, and special comms/waveforms.

A key component of the position includes technical business development and developing customer relationships.  These include identifying technology enablers to solve the mission, the ability to present in large groups of unfamiliar people, the ability to develop relationships with customer leaders and technical directors along with generating white papers and proposals. 

For program related work, the chief engineer would be an advisor and SME to programs, mentor junior engineering staff, and be an independent reviewer of program milestones. 

Mission is everything to our program teams.  Our customers come to us because we have proven time and again, we can meet their challenging requirements and quickly.  Our Chief Engineer will be responsible for communicating with our customers and end users to understand their requirements then ultimately turn those requirements into a product that can be fielded in their challenging environments within an aggressive mission date.  Our products must survive harsh environments including terrestrial, airborne, and space.  Therefore, a demonstrated track record from the candidate of developing hardware solutions and implementing them with ingenuity and creativity is expected.

Besides utilizing the exciting technologies and solving the unique challenges of our customers to meet their missions, what makes being the Chief Engineer at Xetron great?  One, since our program teams are typically small (i.e. 5-20 engineers), our Chief Engineer will be able to guide these small teams through all lifecycle phases of our programs including requirements, design, implementation, test and delivery.  Two, again because our teams our small, our Chief Engineer does don’t live in the paperwork instead are required to get their “hands dirty” having direct involvement from concept through mission success of these novel hardware systems including hands on development and test of custom electronics and mechanical enclosures.  Three, since our program durations are short, our Chief Engineer will get the opportunity to go through the entire program lifecycle again and again meeting new people and designing new systems often instead of working on one program for 10 years.   Four, being able to find novel solutions for challenging missions to support our nation are second to none.

Basic Qualifications:

• 14 years’ engineering experience with Bachelors in Electrical Engineering, Science or related discipline OR 12 years’ engineering experience with Masters in Electrical Engineering, Science or related discipline OR 9 years’ engineering experience with PhD in Electrical Engineering, Science or related discipline

• This position requires significant experience in two or more of the following:

  • Systems Architecture of RF systems – full system to circuit card level

  • RF Performance Modeling and simulation

  • Electronics design of RF Systems

  • Experience in hardware design (RF and/or Digital)

  • Novel RF/DSP waveform design

•   US Citizenship and an active Top Secret Clearance is required to start

• Must be able to accommodate  up to 25% travel

Preferred Qualifications:

• Active Top Secret Clearance

• Master’s / PhD in a relevant field

• RF domain experience covering VHF through microwave frequencies

• Significant technical contribution in RF hardware (receivers and transmitters), DSP design, RF communication, signal collection, and/or EW programs

• Experience in designing complex system architectures

• Experience with the challenges in designing hardware systems to survive in harsh environments including terrestrial, airborne, and space

• Experience in SWAP design challenges

• Requirements derivation & flow down

• Systems integration testing

• Verification and Validation

• Leading system and/or subsystem design with direct involvement

This position offers the option of a 9/80 work schedule. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work nine-hour days Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off.

Salary Range: $162,500 USD - $243,700 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.