Chief Engineer - Level 5

Company: Northrop Grumman
Location: Aurora
Posted on: April 6, 2026

Job Description:

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: Top Secret TRAVEL: Yes, 25% 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 Space Superiority Division within the Northrop Grumman Space Systems pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, 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. Central Systems Engineering is looking for you to join us as Chief Engineer located in Aurora, CO. This role will serve as the definitive technical authority for all aspects of engineering on all program elements (systems engineering/hardware/software/support/test) and leads a multi-disciplined engineering team managing the technical performance of the program meeting cost and schedule requirements including subcontracted elements. Responsible for the technical development and direction of all engineering aspects on the program, including design, development, implementation, testing, and delivery of products to the customer. Serves as an independent advisor to the program manager and the technical point of contact to the customer Maintains cognizance over technical activities within program Mission and Product Areas and ensures horizontal integration of the best engineering practices. Provides expert input on risks, issues, and opportunities that may affect system-level requirements, baselines, or engineering integration. Evaluates technical implications of identified risks, issues, and opportunities, and offers recommendations for mitigation strategies. Reviews and validates the impact of risks, issues, and opportunities on ongoing product and system development Provides technical leadership, direction and mentoring to other technical employees in the application of systems engineering principles, tools, and techniques to achieve practical end results. Regularly takes a leadership role in providing insight and knowledge transfer to others on internal and external technical solutions to solve complex problems. Develops and present technical solutions to senior leadership. Advocate and lead efforts in Digital Transformation initiatives. Provides oversight and customer engagement for the execution of Agile planning and execution. Serves as the interface for the program to NCTA activities. Basic Qualifications: Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) discipline and 12 years of experience; 10 years with master’s degree; 8 years with PhD Minimum of 5 years of experience formally leading engineering teams/and or organizations to achieve a common goal. Must have US Citizenship with an Active Top Secret/SCI clearance at time of application Be able and willing to travel up to 25% as a part of the role. Must have familiarity with supporting large technical proposals and the ability to lead the customer through reviews of technical performance. Strong collaboration skills with experience working across BUs, divisions, sectors within NG as well as with industry partners and customer community, as well as strong communication skills. Ability to motivate and guide teams and activities without having formal “ownership” of the staff supporting those activities. Must have RF and Hardware design, integration and deployment/demonstration experience Prior experience as a SEIT lead Preferred Qualifications: Demonstrated background of successfully applying NG Systems Engineering Principles and Operating Practices to guide program technical design, development, and deployment of systems architectures. Ten or more years of experience in remote sensing applications across multiple operating domains (air, land, sea, space, cyber) Five or more years of experience supporting development of mission-level campaign concepts of operations and Enterprise scale systems architectures. General knowledge of data exploitation, AI/ML techniques, and Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) Experience integrating multiple engineering specialties and stakeholders across multiple Teams and Suppliers Experience leading design, production, and integration of complex systems Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) experience Experience leading the performance of technical tasks on schedule, at cost and achieving all requirements as either a chief engineer or technical lead. Demonstrated effectiveness in achieving results through managing people and understanding and management of internal processes and customer/supplier relationships. Strong understanding and broad application of complex engineering systems (engineering standards, configuration management, material review board, process control, tooling, facilities, software, etc.) Ability to collaborate and achieve consensus when dealing with groups from diverse organizations and backgrounds. Demonstrated experience in making sound decisions in uncertain and difficult situations. Demonstrated experience with industrial or government construction projects. Breadth of technical background (all domain physical, security, phenomenology) Primary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00 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. 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.

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