Senior Principal Airborne Systems Operator

About the role

• RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
• CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
• CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret
• TRAVEL: Yes, 50% 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 Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Senior Principal Airborne Systems Operator to join the team of qualified individuals on our Test and Evaluation organization. This role is located onsite in Patuxent River, MD.

In this role, the successful candidate will conduct Mission System and Air Vehicle ground and flight tests, as a crewmember or non-crewmember, to support the System Specification verification process, Production Verification, and follow on testing. Defines plans, organizes and executes complex flight profiles and flight test events.

Conducts briefings, debriefings, coordinates with maintenance personnel, engineers, and test directors to analyze and correct discrepancies. Act as engineering and data analysis liaison for Future Development Insertion for the System. Write technical reports for ground and flight test events.

Attend Air Vehicle and Mission System Technical Interchange Meetings, Preliminary Design Reviews, Critical Design Reviews, and Flight Readiness Reviews. Support engineering with development of test plans, procedures, and test cards.

When designated as Test Conductor, be responsible for overall conduct of test, act as engineering and data analysis liaison for test conducted, and write technical reports for ground and flight test events. May conduct demonstration flights with customers, government officials, or other personnel to exhibit aircraft performance, flying qualities and system capabilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Directly support the E-2D ITT at VX-20 including future air vehicle development programs, Mission System Software upgrade development testing, and future mission systems development programs.
• Conduct E-2D Mission System and Air Vehicle ground and flight tests, as aircrew, to support Weapon System Specification verification process and Mission Based Testing for developmental flight test and act as engineering and data analysis liaison for Future Development Insertion for the E-2D Weapons System
• Participate in Air Vehicle and Mission System Technical Interchange Meetings, Preliminary Design Reviews, Critical Design Reviews, and Flight Readiness Reviews.
• Write ground and flight test plans, procedures, training for other aircrew, and update NATOPS procedures when applicable.
• Brief other test aircrew and the fleet on new hardware and software capabilities.
• When designated as Test Conductor, be responsible for overall conduct of test and provide technical feedback to engineering in support of potential software and/or hardware modifications.
• Author and review potential Problem Reports and Discrepancy Reports.
• Candidate shall display professionalism, leadership, have a strong work ethic, work well with others, and be able to function as member of the E-2D ITT.
• Some travel will be required, to include detachments lasting several weeks.
• Provide oversight for development of test plans / test cards to ensure safety and efficiency
• Assist Systems Engineering in development of Weapon System Specification
• Work with the Software integration Lab (SIL) to determine WSS compliance
• Write Discrepancy Reports on new software and hardware functionality and work with engineering to determine potential corrections
• Based on new system capability, write NATOPS changes and brief other aircrew on new system requirements and functionality
• Work alongside Navy Test aircrew to ground and flight test new system hardware and software
• Write post-flight summaries and debrief engineers on success of flight and test points conducted as defined in the test plan
• Lead pre-flight briefs to efficiently coordinate complex testing with large team of aircrew and engineers.
• Lead post-flight debriefs to collect relevant test data and ensure lessons learned are captured for future testing
• Coordinate group training events to encourage continued learning within the test team
• Mentor other aircrew and Flight Test Engineers
• Incorporate “lessons learned” and process improvements to maintain / improve safety and efficiency within the team

Additional information

We offer phenomenal learning opportunities, exposure to a wide variety of projects and customers, and a very friendly team environment. We are looking for self-motivated, proactive, and goal-oriented people to help us grow our services and become even better at what we do.

Basic Qualifications

• Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) discipline AND 8 years of related professional/military experience OR a Master of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 6 years of related professional/military experience, OR a STEM Ph.D. AND 4 years of related professional/military experience
• Must have an active US Government Top Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 6 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation.
• Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs
• Must be able to pass FAA Class II physical or Military Flying Class as a condition of employment
• Must be willing to obtain and maintain the appropriate medical clearance(s), as defined per the customer’s contracting requirements, for the duration of your employment.
• Must be willing to obtain and maintain all training qualifications, as needed per the customer’s contracting requirements, for the duration of your employment.
• Must have E-2D Weapons System Operator experience
• Must have current or former E-2D NATOPS qualification
• Must have experience generating technical documents and working with various software/data processing tools such as MS Word, MS Excel, PowerPoint, and/or other various programming languages
• Must be willing and able to work extended shifts, other shifts, weekends, and holidays as required by the company to meet program schedule and objectives.
• Must have the willingness and ability to support domestic and international travel based on business needs - to include customer locations and shipboard assignments

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math) discipline
• Test Pilot School graduate

Primary 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.