Principal Quality Engineer/Sr Principal Quality Engineer

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. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage, and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future. Our culture thrives on intellectual curiosity, cognitive diversity, and bringing your whole self to work. Our employees are not only part of history, they're making history.

At the heart of Defining Possible is our commitment to missions. In rapidly changing global security environments, Northrop Grumman brings informed insights and software-secure technology to enable strategic planning. We are looking for innovators who can help us keep building on our wide portfolio of secure, affordable, integrated, and multi-domain systems and technologies that fuel those missions.

About the role

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) is seeking a Principal Quality Engineer or Sr Principal Quality Engineer to join our team in Sykesville, MD. This position can be filled as a Level 3 or Level 4.

• Develop, modify, apply, and maintain quality evaluation, control systems, and protocols for processing materials into semi-finished or finished products.
• Partner with engineering and manufacturing to establish and uphold quality standards.
• Design, analyze, and implement inspection and testing processes and equipment; conduct quality assurance tests, perform statistical analyses to determine cost and responsibility for non-conforming parts.
• Audit quality systems, identify deficiencies, and drive corrective actions that meet reliability and documentation requirements; plan, conduct, report, and follow-up on audits to ensure compliance and continual process improvement.
• Identify and remove barriers to quality improvement through root-cause analysis and corrective-action planning.
• Review contracts, SOWs, and drawings to evaluate, interpret, and apply company policies, ISO 9000, AS9102, MIL, IPC, and other standards applicable to designs and processes.
• Interface with production-floor roles (inspection, assembly, operations) and communicate clearly with all stakeholders.
• Define, classify, and control quality characteristics for products, processes, and services; develop and validate control plans and work-instruction updates.
• Manage nonconformances across the facility; lead cross-functional containments to ensure product compliance.
• Create, use, and interpret quality-control tools (flowcharts, Pareto, control charts) and construct/interpret FMEAs.
• Interpret technical drawings and specifications, including GD&T symbols, to verify compliance with design requirements.
• Apply benchmarking techniques to drive system-wide quality improvements.
• Facilitate team collaboration with brainstorming, conflict-resolution, and other facilitation tools.
• Specialize as needed in design, incoming material, production control, product evaluation, reliability, inventory control, or R&D as they apply to product or process quality.

Requirements

Basic Qualifications for Level 3:

• Bachelor of Science Degree in a STEM field with a minimum of 5 years of engineering experience in Quality Assurance (including investigating failures and identifying root causes) or in Manufacturing, Process, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering; OR
• Minimum of 3 years of such experience with a Master’s Degree in a STEM field; OR
• Minimum of 1 year of such experience with a PhD in a STEM field.
• Experience with Data Analytics and Statistical Analysis methods and techniques.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret Clearance.
• U.S. Citizenship required.

Basic Qualifications for Level 4:

• Bachelor of Science Degree in a STEM field with a minimum of 8 years of engineering experience in Quality Assurance (including investigating failures and identifying root causes) or in Manufacturing, Process, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering; OR
• Minimum of 6 years of such experience with a Master’s Degree in a STEM field; OR
• Minimum of 4 years of such experience with a PhD in a STEM field.
• Experience with Data Analytics and Statistical Analysis methods and techniques.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Government Secret Clearance.
• U.S. Citizenship required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in at least one of the following standards: IPC, J-Std, MIL-STD.
• Experience with ISO9001 or AS9100 Quality Management System and AS9102 First Article Inspections (FAI).
• Green/Black Belt Certified in Lean Six Sigma.
• Certified in Lean and Six-Sigma methodologies.
• Certified auditor.
• Experience facilitating RCCAs with technical groups.
• SAP Experience.
• Active U.S. Government Secret Clearance.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams to resolve problems or issues.
• Experience using Microsoft Excel, Minitab, or equivalent tools for statistical analysis.
• Knowledge of modern skillsets such as Artificial Intelligence, SQL, Power BI to aid in data analysis and data visualization.
• Experience with FMEAs, CARs, and audit processes.
• ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE).
• Certified IPC Specialist (CIS) – IPC-A-610 or IPC/WHMA-A-620.
• Experience mentoring employees.

Pay

Primary Level Salary Range: $98,900.00 - $148,300.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $123,400.00 - $185,000.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; Northrop Grumman considers factors such as scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's experience, education, skills, and current market conditions when determining base salary offers. 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.

Benefits

• Health insurance coverage.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Savings plan.
• Company-paid holidays.
• Paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.