Description

Northrop Grumman Fellows are recognized experts who tackle the hardest technical problems and ensure we retain the hard‑won insights needed to perform complex missions successfully. They define possible in our most critical capability areas while identifying and cultivating the people, processes, and tools required for enduring technical advantage. Fellows are deployed against our most important programs and captures, aligned to top business priorities, and advance our products and solutions to meet customers’ missions every day.

Northrop Grumman Space Systems is seeking an NG Fellow 1 - Missile Systems Engineering to play an instrumental role in developing, evolving, and leading the technology and systems engineering strategy that will enable our business to achieve our top priorities. This position is located in Chandler, Arizona.

The ideal candidate will set and drive strategy for a broad set of missile and weapon system technical initiatives and will be empowered to make decisions that significantly impact the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), Long‑Range Strategic Plan (LRSP) outcomes, and the Technology Roadmap. The Fellow is expected to provide scientific, technical, and intellectual leadership, along with analytical support that directly contributes to the achievement of our growth and capture goals.

This leader must have a strong grasp of campaign execution and networking strategy, and possess the skills, drive, and judgment to successfully interface with senior leaders and technologists across Northrop Grumman and the customer community (including U.S. Government stakeholders and weapon system user communities).

Key Responsibilities

Strategic & Technical Leadership

• Serve as a sector‑level technical authority for missile and weapon systems, shaping architectures and design approaches that position the business as an enduring missile prime.
• Define and influence long‑term technical roadmaps for missile systems, including propulsion, guidance, navigation and control, lethality, survivability, and mission assurance.
• Drive technical strategy, trades, and risk‑reduction plans across the missile product lifecycle-from concept exploration through design, development, test, production, deployment, and sustainment.
• Provide technical leadership on critical programs and captures, including proposal strategy, solution development, and customer/partner engagement.
• Establish and champion best practices in systems engineering, model‑based systems engineering (MBSE), requirements development and verification, and design assurance.

Organizational & People Leadership

• Lead through influence across multiple programs and organizations, aligning technical direction with sector and business unit strategy and growth objectives.
• Build and sustain high‑performing, cross‑functional engineering teams; support recruitment, performance management, and professional development of senior technical talent.
• Mentor chief engineers, IPT leads, and junior engineers, fostering a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Drive adoption of new tools, methods, and engineering practices (e.g., MBSE, digital engineering, Agile) to improve quality, schedule, and affordability.
• Engage regularly with senior leadership and customers to present concepts, architectures, risks, mitigations, and recommendations in a clear and compelling manner.

Technical Skills and Core Competencies

• Deep experience in weapon and missile systems, including design, operation, and production.
• Broad systems engineering and technical oversight experience across complex, multi‑discipline systems.
• Demonstrated experience developing system and subsystem requirements, verification and validation strategies, and negotiating these with customer and user communities.
• Experience designing, researching, and developing highly advanced new applications that result in differentiated product and business opportunities.
• Proficiency in the development of architectures and requirements for missile systems, including end‑to‑end kill chain considerations.
• Experience and proficiency with Agile principles, processes, and tools; Model‑Based Systems Engineering (MBSE); and requirements/architecture tools such as DOORS, Cameo, or comparable toolsets.
• Working knowledge of airworthiness certification criteria (e.g., MIL‑HDBK‑516C, RTCA DO‑178C, DO‑254) and nuclear surety standards/requirements (e.g., AFMAN 91‑119).

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or a related field with 20+ years of related experience; 18+ years with a Master’s degree; or 15+ years with a PhD.
• Active U.S. Government US Government Top Secret security clearance at time of application (current and in scope), with the ability to obtain and maintain SCI approval/access.
• Demonstrated experience with the missile system life cycle, from conceptual design through fielding and support.
• Experience working closely with IPT Leads, Chief Engineers, and program leadership on complex development efforts.
• Ability to travel up to 25%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with multiple launch platforms and interceptor types (e.g., ground, sea, air, and/or space‑enabled architectures).
• Prior supervisory or management responsibilities for projects engaged in research and/or product development involving more than one engineering discipline.
• Demonstrated experience engaging directly with U.S. Government customers (e.g., DoD, service program offices, test ranges, user communities) on missile/weapon system programs.
• Track record of contributing to or leading successful captures and proposals for missile or weapon system programs.

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