Advanced Programs Sr. Principal Guidance Navigation and Control Engineer

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% of the Time

Description

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.

The Strategic Deterrent Systems Division’s Advanced Programs organization within the Northrop Grumman Defense Systems pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills and innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission.

Northrop Grumman is looking for you to join the Advanced Program Team  as a Sr. Principal Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer this position can be in Huntsville, Alabama or Roy, Utah and may offer a competitive relocation package

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We are seeking an experienced Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) engineer to work on a team to develop, integrate, and test GNC systems for an experimental hypersonic vehicle program. This role requires expertise in aerodynamics, flight dynamics, and control systems to ensure precision guidance and stability in extreme flight conditions. The ideal candidate will work well in a cross-functional team and collaborate closely with avionics, propulsion, and mission systems teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Design, analysis, and implementation of GNC algorithms for hypersonic flight applications.
• Develop and refine guidance strategies, including trajectory optimization and autonomous flight controls.
• Design and integrate navigation systems, including GPS-denied and inertial navigation solutions.
• Conduct six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) simulations to model vehicle performance and validate control architectures.
• Perform control law development and system tuning to optimize stability and performance in extreme aerodynamic conditions.
• Collaborate with avionics and sensor teams to integrate IMUs, GPS, star trackers, and Kalman filters for enhanced navigation accuracy.
• Contribute to hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) testing, flight software verification, and real-time simulations.
• Support flight test planning, execution, and post-mission analysis.
• Ensure compliance with classified program security requirements and DoD safety standards.
• Coordinate across multi-disciplinary teams to achieve program milestones.

Basic Qualifications:

• 8 years of experience with a Bachelor’s degree; 6 years of experience with a Master’s degree or 4 years of experience with PhD. An additional 4 years of experience can be considered in ‘lieu of’ a degree.
• Must be a US Citizen with an active DoD Secret Clearance with an investigation date within the last 6 years
• Must be able to be successfully screened for Enhanced Security Clearances, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs
• 8+ years of experience in GNC system development for aerospace or defense applications.
• 5+ proficiency in MATLAB/Simulink, C/C++, Python, and/or simulation tools for GNC development.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s or Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
•  DoD Top Secret Clearance.
•  Expertise in trajectory optimization, nonlinear control, and adaptive/autonomous flight control systems.
•  Experience with sensor fusion techniques, including Kalman filtering and GPS-denied navigation.
•  Demonstrated knowledge of aerodynamic modeling, flight mechanics, and hypersonic vehicle dynamics.
•  Hands-on experience with HWIL testing, embedded control systems, and real-time software integration.
•  Experience in hypersonic vehicle programs, reentry vehicles, or missile guidance systems.
•  Familiarity with DoD flight test processes, telemetry analysis, and range safety requirements.
•  Knowledge of machine learning applications for adaptive flight controls.
• Understanding of RF and optical navigation aids for enhanced guidance solutions.

Position Benefits:

As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman, you are eligible for our robust benefits package including

• Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
• Educational Assistance
• Life Insurance
• Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
• Paid Time Off
• Health & Wellness Resources
• Employee Discounts

This positions standard work schedule is a 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off. This role may offer a competitive relocation assistance package.

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Salary Range: $118,600.00 - $178,000.00

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.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.