Principal Atomic Physicist

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 a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security.  Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter.  Come be a part of our mission!

We are looking for you to join our team as a Atomic Physicist/Scientist based out of Woodland Hills, CA. As a Atomic Physicist/Scientist at Northrop Grumman you will have a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be a part of our Enterprise-wide digital transformation. Through the use of Model-based Engineering, DevSecOps and Agile practices we continue to evolve how we deliver critical national defense products and capabilities for the warfighter.  Our success is grounded in our ability to embrace change, move quickly and continuously drive innovation.  The successful candidate will be collaborative, open, transparent, and team-oriented with a focus on team empowerment & shared responsibility, flexibility, continuous learning, and a culture of automation.

What You’ll get to Do:

The Future Position, Navigation, and Timing Systems (FPNTS) team at Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) is looking for you to join our team as an Atomic Physicist/Scientist based out of Woodland Hills, CA. The Physicist/Scientist will join an active research and development group focused on applications in atomic and quantum sensing of geophysical phenomena. Applications of interest include accelerometers, clocks, electrometers, gravity gradiometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers, RF sensors, and acoustic sensors. They will collaborate on current sensor development projects and help develop new concepts and approaches for future investigations, working closely with a team of engineers and technicians and coordinate their efforts to insure that the system design and implementation is appropriate for the physics of the system. With expectations to work on efforts ranging in maturity from fundamental basic research, often coordinating with a university research group, and proof of principle demonstrations through to middle and late stage research and development, and support transition to production.

• Collaborate in a team environment and be able to fill the principal investigator role on both internal and contract funded research efforts.
• Utilize strong public speaking skill and communicate complex technical information to both subject matter experts and laymen.
• Be able to train and mentor other team members in the specific technical details of new and inventive sensing systems, and translate developing sensor physics into meaningful specifications and requirements for the mechanical, electrical, and systems designs.
• Attend and actively support scientific and technical conferences, symposia, workshops, working team meetings and other venues for presentations of results and development of collaborative research relationships and business development.
• Atomic sensor development program execution.
• New concept and program pursuits.
• Sensor development planning and road mapping.
• Team development and mentoring.
• Collaboration and support on related as well as outside of expertise projects.
• Lead both internal and contract research and development efforts.
• Present research and results to customers and the scientific community through conferences, technical interchange meetings, and journal publications.

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Basic Qualifications:

• BS in Physics or equivalent STEM field with 5 years of relevant experience; MS in Physics or equivalent STEM field with 3 years of relevant experience; Ph.D. in Physics or equivalent STEM field with 0 years of relevant experience.
• Must possess a demonstrated track record of innovation and accomplishment in atomic/quantum system and/or sensor development.
• Knowledge of atomic sensing principles.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills Self-motivated, capable of working independently and leading a team.
• US Citizenship is required in order to obtain and maintain security clearance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working Government-funded R&D programs.
• Proficiency with Mathematica, LabView, Solidworks, Comsol, C/C++, Python, MATLAB/Simulink, VHDL.
• Knowledge of principles of navigation, including inertial navigation and aided navigation.
• Experience with atomic clocks, magnetometers, gyroscopes, and/or accelerometers.
• Experience with spin polarized atomic systems and vapor cell based sensor physics.
• Experience with cold/ultra-cold (BEC) systems and atom interferometry based measurements and sensors.
• Experience with lasers, optics, and photonics.
• Experience designing, modifying, or tuning analog/digital electronics.
• Experience with finite element analysis.
• Experience with mechanical design, fabrication/machining, additive manufacturing, and component assembly.
• Experience with ultra-high vacuum systems.

Salary Range: $104,600 USD - $157,000 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.