Chief Engineer – Propulsion Tanks - Level 5

About the role

The successful candidate will serve as Chief Engineer for the Commerce Propulsion Tank Product Line, owning the technical baseline and guiding design, development, integration, test, and production support. They will act as the primary technical interface to customers, Commerce site leadership, and key functional and business partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead root cause and corrective action (RCCA) and nonconformance resolution, driving closure of complex technical issues that impact performance, yield, and schedule.
• Apply deep expertise in metallurgy and materials, GD&T, precision machining, and production tooling to improve producibility and manufacturing robustness.
• Partner closely with Operations, Manufacturing Engineering, Tooling, and Quality to address manufacturability, variability, and cost drivers.
• Build and mentor a high performing engineering team in a small, growing organization: coach engineers, set clear technical standards, and raise the level of technical rigor.
• Take on a high impact build and transform charter: strengthen a small team, improve technical discipline, and help shape the culture of the Commerce propulsion tank organization.
• Champion a positive, inclusive culture by modeling Northrop Grumman’s leadership behaviors: setting a vision, taking ownership, leading with courage, responding with resilience, and acting with speed.
• Maintain strong awareness of the propulsion tank market and architectures, including PMD designs, COPV tanks, diaphragm tanks, and titanium forging constraints.
• Support new business and proposals with technical strategy, risk assessment, and requirements compliance, clearly articulating our technical value to customers.
• Lead development of technical roadmaps, including evaluating emerging technologies such as additive manufacturing and defining transitions away from forging constrained approaches to meet higher demand under tighter timelines.
• Work closely with site leadership, Operating Unit and Business Unit leaders, and enterprise functional leadership, providing a strong platform for future technical and organizational leadership opportunities.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) field with 12 years of technical experience in aerospace, space, or closely related propulsion/pressure vessel domains.
• Experience in propulsion tank design and manufacturing (e.g., pressure vessels, PMDs, COPVs, diaphragm tanks).
• Deep technical proficiency in metallurgy and materials (including titanium and high performance alloys).
• Experience with GD&T, precision machining, and production tooling for complex hardware.
• Demonstrated experience with additive manufacturing or other advanced manufacturing methods for structural/pressure vessel hardware, and the ability to incorporate these into technical and technology roadmap decisions.
• Demonstrated success leading RCCA/non-conformance resolution and closing persistent technical issues that impact cost, schedule, and performance.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to explain complex technical topics to diverse stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in a STEM discipline (Aerospace, Mechanical, or Materials Engineering preferred).
• Broad familiarity with propulsion tank architectures, customer expectations, and market trends, including PMD designs, COPV and diaphragm tanks, and forging supply chain constraints.
• Experience developing technology transition plans that leverage additive and other advanced processes to mitigate forging/supply constraints and support higher demand.
• Prior experience as a Chief Engineer, IPT Lead, or equivalent senior technical leadership role on mission-critical hardware.

Skills

• Strong leadership and mentoring skills.
• Ability to navigate complex technical challenges and lead problem-solving efforts.
• Expertise in metallurgy, materials science, and manufacturing processes.
• Experience with GD&T and precision machining techniques.
• Knowledge of advanced manufacturing technologies like additive manufacturing.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Benefits

Northrop Grumman offers a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. This includes health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

Pay

Primary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00

Schedule

TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time