Engineering Technician 2

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.

The development of smart armament systems, designed to increase the competitive advantage of our armed forces, is accelerating. This has increased the need for a metallurgical lab technician who has a passion for materials science, paired with demonstrated expertise in laboratory testing. This team member will drive to continually outperform the competition and exceed customer expectations while acting with integrity, loyalty, and respect.

As a metallurgical lab technician the candidate will responsible for a number of lab functions.  The everyday tasks included mechanical testing of specimens for hardness, stress and strain and other physical attributes, metallographic sample prep and imaging of grain structures and the heat treatment of specimens and small components.  The candidate must possess excellent communication skills as the candidate will be responsible for both written documentation of test results as well as oral explanation of test results. 

In addition to daily lab material testing the candidate will have the opportunity to participate in failure analysis activities.  The failure analysis process uses small teams of engineers and technicians who must determine the reasons behind the failure of prototypes or production products.  The team then may recommend a design change to lower the probability of future issues.  Material testing is often at the heart of the Failure Analysis activity. 

Experience with metallic materials and conventional molded plastic materials is required but knowledge of molded and wound fiber reinforced plastics and their fabrication and evaluation would be desired. The testing of reinforced plastic with application to printed circuit boards a plus.
 

Responsibilities:

• Work with our Subject Matter Experts to determine the proper test procedures to be used to characterize both routine and unusual materials.
• Support innovation by applying the most effective testing technology to new smart munition product development.
• Become part of the product team and form close working relationships by understanding the whole system function and presenting solutions to the design community in an insightful and timely manner.
• Be an innovative problem solver who tackles non-standard material test problems in support of mechanical or electrical designs which push the limits of material performance.

 Required Skills:

• High School Diploma or equivalent and 2 years additional education and/or related experience
• Previous experience conducting tensile and compressive tests using our MTS load frame.  This includes the daily testing of production material.  These tests may be prescribed by ASTM or other standards or they may be unique test procedures derived by the technician by themselves or through collaboration with the engineering team.
• Prior experience conducting metallography which includes sample preparation, imaging and the review of the results as well as completion of the required documentation.
• Experience conducting heat treatment of small components for characterization testing as well as for parts built in our prototype fabrication lab.  Common materials include carbon steels, high carbon stainless steels and precipitation hardenable stainless steels.

Desired Skills:

• Basic manual machine shop skills sufficient to support metallurgical sample prep and possible small fixture design and build.
• Produce Engineering Test Reports as well as other documentation that clearly provides cogent conclusions to a variety of material concerns.
• Familiarity with basic chemistry sufficient to prepare the necessary etchants used in our lab.
• Familiarity with Lab View software for data reduction/preparation.
• Associates degree in Metallurgical Sciences.

Salary Range: $49,400 USD - $82,400 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.