Hardware Manager 2 - Lab Manager

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret

TRAVEL: Yes, 10% 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 Space Systems seeks a Lab Manager who will also serve as the Functional Manager for Hardware (HW) and support our team in Boulder, CO. The role combines day-to-day laboratory operations with leadership of a HW engineering team (≈7-15 engineers). The incumbent will ensure a safe, efficient, and high-performing lab environment while driving HW development, program delivery, and cross-functional alignment.

Core Responsibilities

Lab Management & Operations

• Oversee maintenance, testing, and calibration of all lab equipment; maintain inventory of consumables, spare parts, and assets.
• Develop and own lab space plans, floor-plans, and long-term space requirements; coordinate with Facilities, EHS, and the Facilities Team for power, cooling, grounding, and 24/7 service level objectives.
• Schedule system downtime, preventive and corrective maintenance; manage tickets and coordinate outside contractors for classified spaces.
• Create, maintain, and enforce lab policies, SOPs, safety rules, and security/access controls; conduct self-inspections, audits, and incident investigations.
• Consolidate and provide input for annual operating plan (AOP) lab space requirements.
• Prepare activity, statistical, and status reports for leadership; present floor-plans and strategic vision to executives when required.
• Benchmark, monitor, and improve lab environment (5S, cleanliness, organization).

Functional HW Leadership

• Provide personnel, processes, and tools to meet current and future program needs.
• Set goals, conduct performance management, mentor engineers, and execute annual reviews
• Previous experience in Team leadership, namely in an engineering environment.
• Drives team success toward meeting cost, schedule, and technical performance for complex programs.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience; 6 years with a Masters; 4 years with a PhD
• Active Secret clearance required at time of application
• Experience serving in an official leadership capacity overseeing a team of people
• Proven functional-leadership of HW engineering teams (goal setting, performance management, budgeting).
• Familiarity with power, cooling, grounding, and specialized equipment installations; experience with calibration and asset tracking.
• Experience developing safety policies and conducting audits; training in 5S and OHS/HSE standards.
• Effective verbal and written skills; ability to present plans and reports to executives and cross-functional partners.
• Willingness to work flexible hours in support of program delivery milestones.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with data-center, telecom, or high-performance-computing environments.
• Background in lab support, makerspace management, or community-building programs.
• Demonstrated ability to influence technology direction and drive innovative change.
• Prior experience with security/access control, asset certification, and self-inspection processes.

Primary Level Salary Range: $146,600.00 - $219,800.00

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.