Principal Engineer Quality

About the role

• RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available
• CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No
• CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret
• TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

About the role

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 is seeking an experienced Quality Engineer to support our Armament Systems site in Plymouth, MN.

This site develops and produces medium- and large-caliber ammunition as well as precision capabilities for direct and indirect fire systems. Leading the industry, this team successfully completes lifecycle support for medium-caliber cannons, develops miniature, precision strike weapons for airborne platforms, creates survivability solutions for soldiers and the next generation tactical ammunition for a variety of combat platforms

Job Responsibilities

This position will provide Quality Engineering and Mission Assurance support to programs within the Combat Systems Portfolio of the Armament Systems Business Unit. This may include production line support at multiple locations, supplier inspection and monitoring, identifying contractual Quality requirements, preparing quality program plans, inspection procedures and quality requirements flow-down, supplier process monitoring, application of quality tools, drawing reviews, customer interface/reports/submittals and reviewing product acceptance data.

Travel: Position may require travel up to 25% time.

Job Duties

• Ensure compliance to contract quality requirements and AS9100 / ISO9001 Quality System processes on development and production programs.
• Prepare documentation including: coding quality flow down requirements on requisitions for procuring material, documenting and maintaining incoming inspection procedures, and creation and maintenance of Contract Data Requirement List (CDRL) data requirements.
• Manage Contract Quality deliverable timeline requirements to ensure all contractually required Quality documentation is submitted on time.
• Provide expertise and guidance to program teams and suppliers on quality assurance, quality systems, tools, training, problem solving, statistical analysis and continuous improvement. Application of quality tools for analysis and improvement activities.
• Support and lead investigations between internal functions, suppliers (in conjunction with the Supplier Quality team) and customers. Provide assistance with technical diagnosis of root cause analysis and implementation of corrective actions with resolution of customer complaints or field failures. Develop solutions as appropriate to eliminate the recurrence of the issue.
• Work with the Operations and Manufacturing Engineering teams to initiate effective containment, investigation, and countermeasure activities to prevent defect outflow both in-house and to Customers.
• Plan and implement quality activities including writing product inspection plans, initiating material review board actions, resolving nonconforming material issues, and facilitating corrective actions.
• Perform on-site monitoring of manufacturing lines and supplier production processes as needed. In conjunction with the Supplier Quality team, perform assessments of suppliers' capabilities and conformance to their Quality System as needed.
• Review drawings for inspection capability and conformance Geometric Dimensions and Tolerances standards.
• Evaluate manufacturing methods and inspection capabilities used by suppliers. Provide quality input for evaluating manufacturing processes including inspection and determining key characteristics.
• Perform statistical analysis on product yield/SPC/key characteristics data.
• Report status on tasks to program management, quality management and customers.
• Review inspection and acceptance data to assess process capability and product compliance.

Technical skills needed for success in the role

• Excellent verbal and written communications skills with internal / external customers
• Efficient in computer skills
• Strong technical knowledge (mechanical manufacturing, tools, gages, calibration)
• Meticulous and thorough individual possessing high attention to detail
• Driven self-starter with high initiative and motivated self-learner
• Experienced with Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) / Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA)

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline
• 5 years of experience in quality engineering; or master's degree plus 3 yrs of quality engineering experience; or PhD plus 1 year of relevant experience
• Experience in a Manufacturing environment.
• Experience with inspection equipment, techniques and general knowledge of Metrology and Calibration
• Understanding of Drawings and Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
• Experience with using Quality Tools (Statistics, DOE, FMEA, MSA)
• Experience in a highly-regulated environment
• Willingness to travel domestically as required (sometimes on short notice)
• US Citizenship is required
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree is highly desired
• Manufacturing experience with metals and electronics production.
• Six Sigma Green or Black Belt formal certification
• Experience in a Defense contract environment
• Familiarity with AS9100 Quality Management Systems.
• ASQ Quality Engineer Certification (CQE) or equivalent
• Experience with TIPQA

Primary Level Salary Range

$98,900.00 - $148,300.00

The 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.