Staff Engineer Systems

Relocation assistance may be available. Active Top Secret clearance required for start. Travel required: 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. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage, and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future.

Northrop Grumman in Azusa, CA specializes in Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) space programs that deliver timely, reliable, and accurate missile warning and infrared surveillance information. The programs enhance global missile launch detection, support the nation's missile defense system, expand technical intelligence gathering, and bolster situational awareness for warfighters.

We need qualified system engineers with an emphasis in applied math to fill Line-of-Sight (LOS), guidance, navigation and control (GNC), image processing, and data exploitation algorithms development, testing, and tuning needs on OPIR programs. Work may include payload design, payload and space vehicle integration and test, analyzing LOS calibration system performance for on-orbit payloads, and supporting flight readiness test activities for payload and ground systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop, test, and tune algorithms for LOS, GNC, image processing, and data exploitation.
• Analyze LOS calibration system performance for on-orbit payloads and support flight readiness test activities.
• Work on payload design and space vehicle integration and test.
• Apply technical understanding of LOS calibration techniques, including mechanical and optical misalignment compensation in a space environment.
• Address calibration errors associated with gyros, IMUs, and optical encoders.
• Utilize knowledge of orbital mechanics, orbital reference frames, and time systems.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a STEM field plus 12+ years of relevant work experience, OR a Master’s degree in a STEM field with 10+ years of experience, OR a PhD in a STEM field with 8+ years of relevant experience.
• Active U.S. Government Secret and SCI Clearance or higher at time of application.
• Professional or coursework experience in applied math.
• Excellent written, oral, and presentation communication skills.
• Experience with electro-optical pointing hardware such as encoders, resolvers, inertial measurement units, and motors.
• Basic understanding of MATLAB.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with pointing and control flight software constructs (e.g., onboard attitude propagation, calibration, motor control, anomaly resolution).
• Professional experience with applied mathematics for embedded systems and numerical error analysis.
• Technical understanding of LOS calibration techniques and working knowledge of Kalman filtering and least squares estimation.
• Proficiency in MATLAB and object-oriented programming.
• Understanding of payload operations in relation to OPIR.
• Familiarity with tools in MS Windows and Unix environments.

Pay

Primary salary range: $177,000 – $265,600. The range represents a general guideline; base salary offers consider the scope and responsibilities of the position, as well as the candidate’s experience, education, skills, and current market conditions. Depending on the position, employees may also be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses reward individual contributions and 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 and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.