Sr. Director of Engineering and Chief Engineer

The preferred location for this role is Palmdale, CA. This role may also be based in El Segundo, CA or Rancho Bernardo, CA, with regular travel to Palmdale required.
The individual selected for this position will be responsible for leading over 700 engineers in the development of requirements and associated testing of critical capabilities through design and integration of multiple hardware/software-based products. They will work to fulfill requirements for multiple customers across the life cycle of the products from advanced development to sustainment. This individual will oversee Deputy Chief Engineers and Systems Architects supporting multiple operating units (OUs), as well as Configuration Data Management and Systems Safety teams. They will implement common processes and procedures to develop effective and affordable solutions for the warfighter.
The position duties and responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:

Collaborate with the Program Management team to meet program commitments for cost, schedule, and quality
Provide strategic and operational leadership for definition, development, and verification of products and capabilities
Responsibility for the identification and implementation of engineering people, processes, and tools that support the OUs within the organization to achieve their objectives
Work in partnership with customers and suppliers to develop subsystem requirements, develop products, and integrate across subsystems to support testing and verification of requirements
Responsibility for configuration management of systems in production and under test
Accountability for recruiting, staffing, training, and retaining engineering talent to deliver on the objectives
The ideal candidate will demonstrate strong organizational leadership characteristics, a commitment to ethics and integrity, exemplify strong employee engagement and accountability, and foster a culture of diversity and inclusion. He or she will inspire innovation and engineering process excellence while challenging the traditional way of doing business.
Basic Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) discipline and 14 years of engineering experience OR a master's degree in STEM and 12 years of engineering experience.
Demonstrated experience in at least two of the following disciplines: software development, avionics integration, systems engineering including (requirements analysis, modeling and simulation, and verification at subsystem and system level), integration and test in both laboratory and flight test environments, air vehicle design (structures and subsystems), cybersecurity, low observables and/or product support
Experience in a technical leadership and technical management roles - inclusive of technical baseline management (including product support), leading and ensuring major technical reviews (SRR, SFR, PDR, CDR, TRR, FRR), safety of flight and airworthiness approval, and technical risk, TPMs, and opportunity management
Experience in large technical effort-based proposals including estimating, price-to-win, design-to-cost, business clearance position, and execution risk assessment
Experience with working directly with DoD customers
Current active DoD Top Secret clearance and ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program clearance
Preferred Qualifications:

Demonstrated experience leading large organizations of over 200 people, experience developing highly performing teams, managing, and prioritizing across multiple stakeholders
Experience in successfully developing and integrating software and hardware solutions for defense applications
Experience with the software development best practices including Agile in conjunction with Model Based System Engineering
Experience in subsystem architecture development including supplier management and qualification testing
Experience in system modeling, simulation, and architecture development with Model Based System Engineering
Experience in System Integration Laboratory (SIL) definition and management
Experience in test planning and execution, data reduction, and data analysis
Experience in air vehicle development including structural design/analysis, loads and dynamics, performance, hydraulics, ECS, propulsion, fuel systems, landing gear, and flight controls. Includes supplier management for procured subsystems.
Experience and understanding of best practices in program management, configuration data management, manufacturing, and product support
Experience implementing action plans based on metrics and/or root cause/corrective actions
* Current program access
Primary Level Salary Range: $235,000.00 - $352,600.00The 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.

Client-provided location(s): Palmdale, CA

Job ID: NorthropGrumman-R10208533

Employment Type: OTHER

Posted: 2025-09-25T20:11:17