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Engineer Propulsion - Lvl 1/2

Northrop Grumman

Elkton, MDJob$73–131K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$73–131K/yr
Location
Elkton, MD
Work Authorization
Citizenship required

Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Secret clearance, required

Job overview

Northrop Grumman seeks a Propulsion Engineer for its Elkton, Maryland facility, with hiring at Associate Engineer level 1 or Engineer level 2 based on education, experience, and demonstrated skills. The role supports design, development, analysis, and testing of solid-propellant propulsion systems for launch vehicles, missile systems, and space missions. Candidates must meet the selected level’s education and experience requirements, be U.S. citizens, and be able to obtain a DoD Secret clearance.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Engineering Design, requiredLaunch Vehicles, requiredPropulsion Systems, requiredSolid-Propellant Missiles, requiredRocketry, nice to haveSiemens Teamcenter, nice to haveMechanical Engineering, nice to haveEnergetics, nice to haveEngineering Principles, nice to haveMultidisciplinary Design, nice to haveGeometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, nice to have

Qualifications

Bachelor's in STEM or Master's in STEM, required1+ Years Solid Propelling Experience or Master's With 0 Years, required2+ Years Solid Propelling Experience or Master's With 0 Years, requiredU.S. Citizenship, requiredDoD Secret Clearance Eligibility, required

Benefits

Relocation Assistance
Medical Insurance
Paid Time Off

Full job description

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

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.

Northrop Grumman Propulsion Systems and Controls (PS&C) facility in Elkton, Maryland began solid-propellant rocket operations in 1948. Today, the Elkton PS&C facility designs, develops, and produces solid-propellant propulsion, ordnance and motion controls systems in programs professionally managed for a wide variety of Government and commercial customers. The facility also serves as the hub for offsite engineering and test facilities in Ronkonkoma, NY and Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Elkton, Maryland is located on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, midway between Philadelphia and Baltimore. Discover charming small towns, parks with miles of trails, specialty and antique shops, award winning restaurants, and inns. You can hike, bike, camp, bird watch, ride horseback, or drop a fishing line. Five rivers, Chesapeake Bay and the C&D Canal can be explored by boat or by land. Experience panoramic views from Turkey Point Lighthouse on a bluff overlooking the Bay, or from the banks of the C&D Canal where ships from around the globe cruise. https://www.ccgov.org/government/tourism

Northrop Grumman is in need of an experience Propulsion Engineer to work at its Elkton, Maryland facility. The position can be hired into either as an Associate Engineer level 1 or an Engineer level 2. The level selected will be determined upon education, experience, and demonstrated skills.

Job Responsibilities:

Perform analysis, design, or test of one or more moderately complex propulsion systems (including energetics), structural components, and control systems for propulsion systems. Apply engineering principles, industry standards, company standards and customer requirements to develop solid propellant propulsion systems for application in launch vehicles, missile systems, and space mission systems. Coordinate strategy for developing and leveraging multi-disciplinary design, optimization, and analysis processes to support mission requirements. Define and coordinate the conduct of testing required to evaluate design work.

Basic Requirements for level 1:

  • Must have a bachelors degree in STEM and at least 1 years of Solid Propelling experience. Will consider those with a Masters degree and 0 years of experience.

  • Experience with Engineering Design, Launch Vehicle, Propulsion Systems, Missiles with solid propellants

  • Must be a US citizen.

  • Must be able to obtain a DoD Secret Clearance.

Basic Requirements for level 2:

  • Must have a bachelors degree in STEM and at least 2 years of Solid Propelling experience. Will consider those with a Masters degree and 0 years of experience.

  • Experience with Engineering Design, Launch Vehicle, Propulsion Systems, Missiles with solid propellants

  • Must be a US citizen.

  • Must be able to obtain a DoD Secret Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

Familiarity with:

  • Rocketry

  • Siemens Teamcenter

  • Mechanical engineering

  • Energetics

  • Engineering principles

  • Multi-disciplinary design

  • Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T)

Primary Level Salary Range: $72,700.00 - $109,100.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $87,600.00 - $131,400.00

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.

Job Category: Engineering

How this job compares

Set against the 6,806 open Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 15, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$73–131K/yr
  • Maryland median$117–173K/yr99 salary ranges
  • US median$113–176K/yr3,648 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $102K, is 27% below the Maryland median midpoint ($139K) — in the lowest quarter of Engineering salary ranges in Maryland.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 142 open Engineering jobs in Maryland and 6,806 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Maryland
Experience
This posting asks for no prior experience — less than three in four Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 4,708 postings).
Education
3,331 of the 6,806 open Engineering jobs (49%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 15, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.

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