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Principal / Senior Principal Engineer Systems Test

Northrop Grumman | San Diego, CA

Posted Date 4/08/2025
Description RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be availableCLEARANCE TYPE: SecretTRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

Description

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 Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal System Test Engineer or Senior Principal System Test Engineer to join the team of qualified, diverse individuals in support of the MQ-4C Triton program test activities. This position will be in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego, CA.

In this role, you will support the Triton Test & Evaluation IPT in the development and publication of Integrated Test Plans, detailed test plans, test schedules, and test procedures for System Level (SYSIII) testing. You will also provide essential laboratory support for integration testing and facilitate test planning working groups.

Key Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

  • Synthesizes customer contractual needs and requirements into system test solutions that acknowledges technical, schedule and cost constraints
  • Develops and directs preparation and execution of comprehensive test plans, procedures and schedules for completing systems.
  • Performs technical analysis of complete systems and prepares comprehensive system level evaluations.
  • Coordinates integrated testing activities.
  • Provides laboratory support for integration testing activities.
  • Organizes and leads test planning working groups.
  • Collaborates with design and analysis teams to define test configurations and data requirements.
  • Reviews and evaluates test requirements to ensure the completeness of the test program.
  • Supports test readiness reviews and conduct pre/post-test briefings.
  • Conducts and contributes to pre- and post-test data analyses to support anomaly identification and resolution.
  • Maintains metrics on testing status and constraints.
     

What We’re Looking For:

  • Strong written and interpersonal communication abilities.
  • A collaborative mindset with the ability to act as a subject matter expert, liaising effectively between maintenance, design engineering, and test site teams (both contractor and customer).
  • Capability to work with minimal supervision and develop effective approaches to problem-solving.
  • Self-motivated with a strong attention to detail and thoroughness.
  • Willingness to learning additional engineering disciplines.
     

Basic Qualifications:

This requisition may be filled at a Principal System Test Engineer (Level 3)  OR Senior Principal System Test Engineer (Level 4)  level based on the qualifications below.

Principal System Test Engineer

  • Must have a Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 5 years of related professional/military experience; OR a Master’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 3 years of related professional/military experience; OR a Ph.D. in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 1 year of related professional/military experience.
  • Must have an active DoD Secret Clearance or higher (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation) and the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance within a reasonable time as determined by the business.
  • Professional experience decomposing system requirements into test requirements
  • Professional experience creating, editing and executing test procedures
  • Ability to support extended work hours, weekend availability, and shift rotations.

Senior Principal System Test Engineer

  • Must have a Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 8 years of related professional/military experience; OR a Master’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 6 years of related professional/military experience; OR a Ph.D. in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline and 4 years of related professional/military experience.
  • Must have an active DoD Secret Clearance or higher (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation) and the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance within a reasonable time as determined by the business.
  • Professional experience decomposing system requirements into test requirements
  • Professional experience creating, editing and executing test procedures
  • Ability to support extended work hours, weekend availability, and shift rotations.

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Previous experience with System Level Lab Test Execution, test planning and coordination of events
  • Understanding of air vehicle systems architectures
  • Familiarity with air vehicle systems and subsystems
  • Experience developing and executing System level test procedures
  • Previous hot bench and lab operations support
  • Understanding of Agile Test methodology
  • Experience with IBM Rational tool suite (DOORS and Jazz)
  • Experience with Atlassian tool suite (JIRA, Git, Confluence)
Salary Range: $100,300.00 - $150,500.00Salary Range 2: $124,900.00 - $187,300.00The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and 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 application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity 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 and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.
Salary100,300.00 - 150,500.00 Annual

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