Principal OR Senior Principal Navigation Engineer
- Location
- United States-California-El Segundo · On-site
- Job type
- Full-time
- Level
- Director
- Experience
- 5+ years
- Education
- Bachelor's degree
- Listed
- 5 days ago
Skills & highlights for this role
- General understanding of GPS system
- General understanding of inertial sensors
- Navigation subsystem testing
- Systems engineering
Also useful
- Flight test support
- Navigation solution simulation integration
- Avionics and GNC system design
- Supplier management
About the role
- RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
- CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No
- CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret
- TRAVEL: Yes, 25% 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's Aeronautics Systems - Research & Advanced Design (R&AD) transforms breakthrough ideas into mission-ready capabilities through intelligent anticipation. We're the front-end design engine, defining what comes next. From developing cutting-edge next-generation future aircraft to trailblazing collaborative autonomous platforms, we push the boundaries of technology and forge industry-leading partnerships that set new standards for what's possible.
Our team owns the full lifecycle of advanced concept creation, from visionary early-stage designs and rapid prototyping to high-impact demonstrations and solving the toughest technical challenges in survivability, autonomy, and battle management. We seek curious, adaptable people who thrive on turning intuition into breakthrough solutions. If you're driven to invent the future, build what's next, and shape the landscape of national security, this is where you belong.
Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal OR Senior Principal Navigation Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our South Bay Research and Advanced Design (R&AD) Vehicle Engineering organization. This position is located at El Segundo, CA.
This is a dynamic organization involved in deploying forward-leaning avionics, guidance, navigation, and control systems for developmental concepts for air vehicles, weapons, and many more platforms. This includes:
- Performing technical planning, system integration, verification and validation, cost and risk analysis, and supportability and effectiveness analyses for total systems.
- Ensuring the logical and systematic conversion of customer or product requirements into total systems solutions that acknowledge technical, schedule, and cost constraints.
- Performing functional analysis, timeline analysis, detailed trade studies, requirements allocation and interface definition studies to translate customer requirements into hardware and software specifications.
General Duties for the Principal/Sr. Principal Navigation Engineer Include:
- Perform lab testing of the navigation subsystem
- Support flight test
- Resolve anomalies
- Facilitate, support, and perform navigation subsystem solution trades
- Interface with various suppliers
- Navigation solution simulation integration.
This position may be filled at either the Principal Navigation Engineer level or the Senior Principal Navigation Engineer level, depending upon the qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications for Senior Principal Navigation Engineer
- Bachelor's Degree in a relevant Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) discipline and 8 years of related experience; OR a Master's Degree in a relevant STEM with 6 years of related experience; OR a PhD in a relevant STEM discipline with 4 years of related experience
Preferred Qualifications for both levels
- A current active in-scope US Government Secret security clearance or higher, with the ability to obtain Special Program Access (SAP).
- Experience with flight test and nav data post flight analysis
- Experience managing suppliers
- Good understanding of the GPS system, the GPS Signal in Space characteristics, DGPS systems, inertial sensors, GPS/INS tightly coupled Kalman filters, GPS receiver design
- Familiarity with navigation solution requirements development
- Experience with requirements verification test development and implementation
- Proficiency with test equipment (oscilloscopes, signal generators, signal analyzers, multi-meters)
Primary Level Salary Range
$114,000.00 - $171,000.00
Secondary Level Salary Range
$142,200.00 - $213,400.00
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.
Equal opportunity and legal notices
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. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.
From Ngc's careers page, first listed on Rolev.ai on November 7, 2026. Rolev.ai is not the employer.
How Rolev.ai helps with this application
Rolev.ai is a job search and application tool for US job seekers. For this Principal OR Senior Principal Navigation Engineer role at Ngc, it shows how your resume fits, tailors your resume to the posting, and prepares the application for you to review.
See how you fit
Openings from employer career sites are ranked against your whole resume—and searchable inside Claude, ChatGPT, and Cursor via Rolev.ai MCP.
Tailor without inventing
Every change to your resume is checked against your original. New experience goes in only with your yes—zero fabricated claims.
Draft the full kit
Tailored and Full Match resumes, role-specific cover letters, and answers to employer screening questions are prepared in seconds.
1-Click Extension Autofill
The Chrome extension fills the employer's Greenhouse, Workday, Lever, or Ashby form in 1 click. You review it and press Submit.
Common questions
Where is the Principal OR Senior Principal Navigation Engineer job at Ngc located?
This Principal OR Senior Principal Navigation Engineer position at Ngc is located in United States-California-El Segundo (On-site). Always check Ngc's application page for specific state eligibility or relocation policies.
What qualifications are required for Principal OR Senior Principal Navigation Engineer at Ngc?
For the Principal OR Senior Principal Navigation Engineer role, Ngc highlights 5+ years of relevant experience; a bachelor's degree; experience with General understanding of GPS system, General understanding of inertial sensors, Navigation subsystem testing, Systems engineering. Rolev.ai can score your existing resume against these requirements and show any skill gaps before you apply.
How do I apply for the Principal OR Senior Principal Navigation Engineer position at Ngc?
This listing links directly to Ngc's Workday application page. You can apply directly on Ngc's site, or use Rolev.ai to check your resume fit, generate a zero-hallucination tailored resume and cover letter for this posting, and autofill the Workday application form in 1 click with the Rolev.ai Chrome extension. You always review the form and press Submit yourself.