Department Manager Engineering 3 - F-35 Product Support: Field S

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the TimeDescription

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.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is seeking a Department Manager, Engineering M3 to lead the F-35 Product Support organization. This role reports to the Engineering Integration & Execution (EI&E) leader on the F-35 program. This leadership role is located on-site, based at one of the following locations: El Segundo, CA, Ft Worth, TX, Eglin AFB, FL, and/or Hill AFB, UT.

The Department Manager is accountable for the performance, development, and engagement of a large engineering organization consisting of section managers and individual contributors. The role balances people leadership, technical oversight, and operational execution in a complex, program-driven environment.

This leader plays a critical role in aligning functional capabilities with program needs, enabling successful execution across cost, schedule, quality, and technical performance.

Key Responsibilities

People Leadership & Talent Management

• Lead all aspects of personnel management, including workforce planning, hiring, retention, engagement, redeployment, and succession planning.
• Partner closely with program leadership, HR, and functional peers to align talent to current and future program needs.
• Support staffing for section manager and senior technical roles, including requisition development, interview facilitation, onboarding, and mentoring.
• Foster a culture of engagement, collaboration, accountability/ownership, and belonging by modeling Northrop Grumman leadership behaviors: Sets a vision, builds a high performing team, takes ownership, leads with courage, responds to challenges with resilience and acts with speed
• Conduct performance management activities, including goal setting, quarterly connections, leadership development, and knowledge sharing activities.

Execution & Operational Leadership

• Drive day-to-day execution of departmental activities in support of program objectives.
• Serve as Delegation of Authority (DOA) in the absence of the Department Manager and/or EI&E leadership, as required.
• Ensure consistent application of functional engineering processes, tools, and best practices in alignment with the Center of Technical Excellence.
• Partner across functions to support cross-discipline and intra-discipline integration activities, data analysis, metrics development, and performance reporting in coordination with Strategy, Integration, and Operations.

Technical & Program Oversight

• Provide engineering leadership oversight for technical execution activities, including:
  
  • Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations
  • System Engineering Technical Reviews (SETRs), such as System Requirements Review (SRR), Preliminary Design Review (PDR), Critical Design Review (CDR), Test Readiness Reviews (TRRs);Flight Readiness Reviews (FRR).
  • Process audits and Independent Review Team (IRT) engagements

• Support long-range strategic planning efforts and execute special assignments as required.

Our Leaders at Northrop Grumman live our values daily and encourage our teams to do the same. We do the right thing: upholding the highest ethical standards and facilitating a safe and respectful environment that attracts, retains, and inspires a diverse and engaged team. We do what we promise: holding yourself and others accountable to meet predictable and balanced results. We commit to shared success: operating as OneNG and removing barriers for our teams. Finally, We pioneer: setting a vision that shapes the future and inspires others.

Basic Qualifications:

• Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 9 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master's degree in a STEM discipline and 7 years of related engineering experience.
• Minimum 5 years of previous technical or functional management experience leading a team in Product Support Disciplines such as, but not limited to, Reliability & Maintainability (R&M), Support Equipment Engineering (SSE) and/or Serviceable Low Observables (SLO) , Aircraft Modifications, Training & Tech Data, Field Services Engineering Support (FSE), and Supply Hardware (SH).
• Experience in leading, mentoring, and developing multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver complex technical solutions, within cost and schedule constraints, across the various phases of the engineering lifecycle.
• Demonstrated capability in workforce and resource planning, including allocating resources across programs, managing workloads and priorities, forecasting staffing needs, and executing end-to-end hiring decisions.
• Strong leadership, interpersonal, and written/oral communication skills, enabling effective engagement with cross-functional stakeholders and customers.
• Must possess an active DoD Secret Clearance with recent investigation (within 6 years) to start with ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (SAP) within a reasonable time to meet business needs.
• Relevant experience in logistics support elements such as Reliability Maintainability & Testability (RMT), Logistics Support Analysis (LSA) & Maintenance Planning, Modeling & Simulation (ModSim), Support Equipment Engineering (SEE), Prognostics & Health Management (PHM), Supportable Low Observables (SLO), Obsolescence Management, Training & Training Systems, Technical Data, Support Hardware, Fleet & Field Support, and Product Support Management.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's or Ph.D. in Engineering or a related field.
• Prior people leadership experience of large teams (75+).
• Demonstrated experience applying performance management process and HR policies, including goal setting, performance feedback, development planning, and addressing performance concerns in accordance with company policy.
• Experience with Earned Value Management Techniques (EVMS) / Control Account Management (CAM), Integrated Master Schedules (IMS), Basis of Estimates (BOEs) and cost-schedule-risk trade off management.
• Experience with the System Engineering Technical Review process (SRR, PDR, CDR and TRR)
• Experience identifying, developing, and managing performance metrics to support program and technical execution monitoring and control.
• Proven expertise in technical planning, risk & opportunity management, and driving project performance across cost, schedule, and technical quality.
• Experience with digital transformation-based initiatives, like Model Based Sustainment, in the area of product support including interfacing with government systems.
• Experience engaging with the DoD Logistics; Sustainment; Maintenance, Repair, and Operations (MRO) customer community and/or supporting military aircraft missions.

Primary Level Salary Range: $151,500.00 - $263,200.00

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.