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Director of Engineering Strategy

Northrop Grumman

Posted today
Secret
$194,600 - $292,000
Unspecified
Management
San Diego, CA (On-Site/Office)

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE TYPE: 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 Sector Engineering organization (formerly Strategy & Engineering Excellence [S&EE]) enables continuously improving engineering execution and deploys strategy in close partnership with division-aligned engineering teams. We are a trusted partner in Engineering Discipline Execution, Technology Leadership, Engineering Strategy, Technical Talent, and Advanced Analytics. We create and deliver on initiatives that need a broad sector approach and scale outcomes achieved within a division to the sector. We define and enable commonality in tools and processes. We merge insights across engineering and other functional areas, unify the broad engineering team, and act on near-, mid-, and long-term plans to achieve our strategy.

The Director of Engineering Strategy is responsible for leading strategy development in line with the Engineering & Sciences (E&S) and Mission Systems sector's strategic objectives. This critical role requires extensive collaboration across a diverse group of sectors, division, internal stakeholders and external industry partners and is responsible for identifying and driving innovation to prepare E&S for the future. The preferred candidate will have a solid technical background, strategic mindset and ability to influence multiple levels of leadership and customers to drive cost, performance, schedule and improvement to innovate and execute engineering activities.

Specific Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

Strategy Development & Initiatives

• Drive E&S long term strategy by completing market assessments, technology roadmaps, and identification of opportunities in support of market strategy to support growth and profitability. Maintain 10-year pipeline roadmap, including emerging market opportunities and upcoming tool/system integration
  • Leads collaborative partnership endeavors with stakeholders across the Sector and company to understand key drivers to business success and enhance the probability of meeting E&S longer-term goals.
  • Defines, in strong collaboration with other groups, our engineering strategy including near-, mid-, and long-term actions necessary to achieve that strategy.
  • Develops coordinated efforts for new and emerging markets and collaborates with strategic investment to ensure the strategic plan has appropriate funding in place to support E&S and Mission System's goals.
  • Partners and collaborates with Strategy and Mission Solutions organizations to understand technical product roadmaps, customer mission needs, and other customer feedback to define and employ strategy
  • Partner with other industries and academia to understand current & future ways of doing business, performing engineering, and skillset development to inform our strategy


Technology Integration

• Partner with Chief Information and Digital Office (CIDO) to execute E&S Strategy, integrations and future technologies to build out engineering ecosystem

o Implementing Mission Product Lifecycle Management (MPLM) infrastructure to enable digital thread

o Prioritize Digital Transformation and AI Assistance to improve productivity and cycle times and for realized results
  • Develop plans (including targeted investment) for new tools and reduction of tools in our engineering lifecycle based on commonality, market research, collaboration with cross-sector organizations, and the needs of our organization.
  • Collaborate with CIDO on employment of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for business, engineering, and mission applications.


Innovation and Execution
  • Support impact and growth in engineeringfor informed cost and performance decisions, ensuring seamless, data-driven optimization for scalable delivery across environments.

• Provide leadership for the team's sector-wide strategic actions to improve engineering competitiveness and sustained growth through strong internal and external partners, aligned roadmaps and cross-functional partnerships, with reusable engineering assets and workflows enhancing efficiency and agility and cost.
  • Collaborate with CIDO on employment of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for business, engineering, and mission applications.


Talent Strategy and Future Critical Skills
  • Identify future skills needed that strengthen E&S ability to be competitive, evolve technical skills and establish role-based development tracks aligned to the mission needs
  • Create & deploy targeted training & development aligned to critical skills and technical leadership needs
  • Ensure workforce is developing to execute engineering strategy and prepared for innovation


Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with minimum of 10 years of experience, or a Master's degree with minimum 8 years of experience, or a PhD with minimum 6 years of experience in STEM related technical fields

• A minimum of 5 years demonstrated success leading and managing diverse technical teams that work on large and/or complex systems with mechanical, electrical, and software elements.

• Prior experience in strategy and/or market development

• Experience working across multiple lines of business and functional disciplines (e.g. manufacturing, supply chain, business management, strategy & business development)

• Experience with internal (internal to the corporation) projects

• Technical experience in any combination of Systems, Software, Hardware, or Cybersecurity engineering with understanding of engineering processes

• Demonstrated knowledge of engineering processes, engineering metrics, hiring, staffing, tools and training resources

• Demonstrated ability to innovate and implement change while challenging traditional ways of doing business

• Ability to operate independently based on strategic objectives, work in a team environment, and collaborate across the corporation as required to accomplish team goals

• A broad skill set that is balanced between technical, interpersonal, and business capabilities

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• U.S. Citizenship is required.

• A current/active DoW Secret Clearance is required; OR DoE Equivalent

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree(s) in STEM technical fields

• Active DoW Top-Secret Clearance or higher and the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI and Special Access Clearance; OR DoE Equivalent

• Program management experience, with profit and loss accountability - preferably leading large or complex programs

• Prior experience in strategy and/or market development and driving engineering partnerships required

• Technical experience in any combination of Systems, Software, Hardware, or Cybersecurity engineering within the defense or aerospace industries

• Solid understanding of engineering process with execution experience, including working familiarity with ISO 9001, AS9100, and CMMI

• Demonstrated ability to partner with other stakeholders to achieve an optimum balance between project-level execution and enterprise-level efficiencies that improve overall sector performance and competitiveness

• Demonstrated success in championing change within the organization to achieve competitive advantage for the business

• Experience leading geographically dispersed functional teams, including team members working remotely

• Experience engaging with and briefing all levels of management - from CEO, to front-line leadership

• Proven success in creating and executing affordability initiatives

Primary Level Salary Range: $194,600.00 - $292,000.00

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.
group id: 10122071

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About Us
Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever-evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees are Defining Possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services. Northrop Grumman careers and internships are as varied as your interests, with a lifetime of potential that will allow you to work together with people from many backgrounds, personal passions and disciplines. © 2025 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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Job Category
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Secret