Northrop Grumman

AMDWS Chief Engineer

Northrop Grumman • $135K — $203K *
Aerospace & Defense
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in STEM; Master's or PhD preferred for senior roles.
  • 5-7 years of relevant engineering experience; 8-12 for senior role depending on education level.
  • Experience leading multi-disciplinary technical teams and ensuring engineering compliance.
  • Proven track record in managing risk and optimizing engineering performance.
  • Strong background in systems engineering processes, particularly in defense contexts.

Responsibilities

  • Lead System Engineering, Software Engineering/Product Development, and Integration and Test teams.
  • Monitor technical performance metrics and ensure adherence to engineering processes.
  • Serve as engineering liaison with Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) to facilitate customer communication.
  • Identify and mitigate technical risks while managing required documentation.
  • Conduct technical reviews and promote continuous improvement initiatives among teams.
  • Provide mentorship and growth opportunities for engineers in the program.
  • Support Program Manager in strategic program planning and execution.

Benefits

  • Health insurance coverage including life and disability insurance.
  • Savings plan along with paid holidays and time off (PTO).
  • Potential eligibility for overtime and discretionary bonuses.
Full Job Description
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the TimeDescription

Northrop Grumman Defense Systems seeks a Chief Engineer for the Air and Missile Defense Workstation (AMDWS) program in Huntsville, AL.  The Chief Engineer will serve as the technical authority for AMDWS, a U.S. Army Air and Missile Defense (AMD) proponent providing planning & situational awareness capabilities and the AMD conduit for Interoperability with Joint, Interagency and Multinational Forces. The AMDWS Fires Gateway is the bridge between Army Air Defense (including Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS)) and Army Mission Command.   


All work must be performed on-site in Huntsville, AL, with occasional travel required

Candidate must possess and be able to maintain an active Secret clearance throughout the performance of the role


This requisition may be filled at the Sr. Principal Chief Engineer or Staff Chief Engineer level

  • Sr. Principal Chief Engineer - Bachelor's degree in STEM with 8 years of relevant experience; 6 years of with Master’s, 4 years with PhD
  • Staff Chief Engineer - Bachelor's degree in STEM with 12 years of relevant experience; 10 years with Master’s, 8 years with PhD

As the technical design authority on the Air and Missile Defense Workstation (AMDWS) program, the Chief Engineer establishes, and is accountable for the technical baseline; coordinates engineering teams, disciplines, and activities across the program; leads engineering rigor adhering to sound engineering processes; serves as an independent advisor to program management; interfaces as the technical liaison to the customer; reports and analyzes monthly engineering execution metrics; maintains the technical content in the program risk and opportunity register; and oversees Root Cause Corrective Action (RCCA) processes when needed.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The AMDWS Chief Engineer’s responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Serves as the primary technical authority for the program, leading the System Engineering, Software Engineering/Product Development, and Integration and Test teams and ensuring all technical efforts align with program objectives. Serves as design authority for the program and drives engineering rigor.
  • Ensures that the program is adhering to sound engineering processes and best practices throughout the product lifecycle in the development, production, test, and sustainment of products for our customers, and ensures the program is in compliance with company policies, procedures, and quality standards.
  • Monitors and reports technical performance metrics.
  • Acts as an engineering liaison with Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) as part of the Fires Gateway Services product team. Acts as a technical point of contact for customers, facilitating effective communication and resolving technical inquiries to maintain customer satisfaction.
  • Identifies, assesses, manages, and mitigates technical risks and opportunities throughout the project, employing effective risk management strategies in collaboration with program management. Holds responsibility for Risk and Opportunity Register technical content.
  • Conducts technical reviews to evaluate engineering solutions, ensuring compliance with quality standards and promoting continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Provides leadership in failure/anomaly investigations and presents findings to both internal and external review boards to inform decision-making. Holds technical responsibility for program Root Cause Corrective Actions (RCCA).
  • Collaborates across various engineering teams and disciplines, ensuring adherence to company policies and practices and ensuring horizontal integration of the best engineering practices across the company. Reaches to others in the engineering community for knowledge where needed.
  • Provides engineering expertise to support Program Manager in program planning, including schedule milestones, staffing, and future planning.
  • Mentors and fosters growth for program engineers.

The AMDWS Chief Engineer must have the ability to analyze complex situations and develop effective software solutions operating in near real-time in the context of Command and Control (C2) for the US Department of War's active environments. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams in the development of defense software systems, with a focus on delivering innovative, mission-critical solutions. This position requires excellent verbal and written communication skills for interacting with various teams and stakeholders, including potentially drafting and presenting to corporate leadership and customers.


Basic Qualifications:

  • 3 years of experience leading multi-disciplinary technical teams or serving in a chief engineer role to ensure team’s compliance with defined engineering processes for development, production, integration, test, and sustainment of a system, in accordance with company policies, processes, and quality standards, and utilizing Agile methodology.
  • 3 years of experience effectively interfacing program leadership, senior engineering technical leaders/management, internal functional counterparts (i.e. QMA, GSC, Business Management, CM, etc.), and external customers.
  • 3 years of experience managing technical development and providing technical direction for all aspects of engineering on a program including design, development, implementation, integration, test, technical debt collection, and acceptance & delivery of product to the customer.
  • 4 years of experience developing and decomposing requirements applying engineering rigor to ensure requirements clarity, consistency, verifiability, testability, consistency, and completeness from a technical engineering perspective.
  • 4 years of experience with demonstrated ability in leading technical teams in identifying, owning, and mitigating risks and identifying and realizing opportunities associated with engineering execution and system performance.

 

Preferred Qualifications

  • 5 years of experience supporting Command and Control (C2) Systems and capabilities such as Force Operations (FO), Call for Fire, (CFF), Military Messaging, Planning, and Terrain Analysis, Link-16 and Military Messaging (USMTF, VMF, ADATP-3) and/or software programs supporting C2 efforts such as AMDWS, Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD), and IBCS.
  • 5 years of experience representing a project/program as the prime technical point of contact interacting with senior external personnel on significant technical matters and supporting coordination between organizations and Air and Missile Defense customers.
  • 2 years of experience achieving Export Control requirements for delivery of systems through Foreign Military Sales.
  • 4 years of experience with specialized tools for design engineering, virtualization, containerization, workforce management, RSKOM, and simulations (e.g. Cameo, VMWare, Podman/Kubernetes, Java, Workload Forecast (WLF) tool, TRiO Risk and Opportunity Management tool, and the ITEX simulation tool), data fabric technologies (e.g. Lattice Mesh and Maven).
  • Within the last 5 years has obtained or completed one or more of the following Systems Engineering Certifications or NG Programs, or ability and willingness to do so within the next year:

-          INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP) or Expert (ESEP)

-          INCOSE Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP)

-          SAFe® Architect (ARCH) Certification

-          NG Architect Apprentice Program

-          Embedded Systems Engineering Coaching Cohort

  • Within the last 5 years has authored or updated organizational Processes or Operating Practices to guide and/or drive execution consistency, efficiency and improvement of programs.
  • 2 years of experience serving as engineering lead on proposal efforts to include BOE and Task Description development and during contract negotiations and contract modifications.

Primary Level Salary Range: $135,800.00 - $203,600.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $169,000.00 - $253,600.00

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.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman is a security company that provides systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding, and technical services to government and commercial customers. They design, develop, and build everything from aircraft and spacecraft to cyber security systems. The company is involved in a wide range of defense and technology projects, including the development of aircraft, space systems, cybersecurity solutions, and advanced electronics.

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Join the elite team at Northrop Grumman, a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products, and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. There has never been a more exciting time to advance your career with Northrop Grumman.

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Learn more about Northrop Grumman
Size
88,000 employees
Market Cap
$82.7 billion
Industry
Net Income
$3.1 billion
Founded
1939
5 Year Trend
+7.6%
Revenue
$36.7 billion
NASDAQ

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