
Principal/ Senior Principal Mechanical Design Engineer
Los Angeles, CAJobSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today
See where you stand before you apply. No sign-up to start.
You apply on the posting's application page, with no Olive account needed.
Watch jobs like this. New roles like this one near Los Angeles, CA, by email.
Don't just apply. Show up ready.
Olive works from this exact posting.
At a glance
Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.
Requirements
Credentials this posting asks for.
Job overview
Northrop Grumman seeks a Mechanical Design Engineer for its Mission Systems team, supporting inertial navigation systems and military avionics for the Sentinel program. The role supports senior engineers and contributes across the design lifecycle, from CAD modeling and drawings through procurement, testing, and maintenance. The position is 100% on-site in Woodland Hills, California, or Salt Lake City, Utah, and may offer relocation assistance.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes
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 Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization 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!
We are looking for you to join our team as a Mechanical Design Engineer based out of Woodland Hills, CA or Salt Lake City, UT. As a Mechanical Design Engineer at Northrop Grumman, you will have a challenging and rewarding opportunity to be a part of our Enterprise-wide digital transformation. Through the use of model-based engineering and agile practices, we continue to evolve how we deliver critical national defense products and capabilities for the warfighter. Our success is grounded in our ability to embrace change, move quickly and continuously drive innovation. The successful candidate will be collaborative, open, transparent, and team-oriented with a focus on team empowerment & shared responsibility, flexibility, continuous learning, and a culture of automation.
This position will support senior mechanical engineers in the design of military avionics including inertial navigation and measurement systems and mission computers for the Sentinel program. This position is not eligible for remote work. This position will be 100% on-site at either our Woodland Hills, Ca or Salt lake City, Ut facility. This role may offer a competitive relocation assistance package.
Responsibilities:
-
Primary role is to serve as a mechanical designer on a major Northrop Grumman Mission Systems program supporting inertial navigation systems
-
Research, plan, design, and develop CAD models and 3D model based drawings using Siemens NX and Teamcenter
-
Support all phases of the design lifecycle including modeling, drawings, procurement, test, and maintenance
-
Preparation and presentation of reports, briefings, design documents (drawings and specifications)
-
Support for engineering changes and problem reports
-
Support for root cause analysis and quick resolution of manufacturing line stops and other critical production activities
-
Collaborative work with other engineering organizations, program management, factory operations, global supply chain and mission assurance
This requisition may be filled at a Principal or Senior Principal Mechanical Design Engineer based on the qualifications below.
Basic Qualifications for a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer:
-
Bachelor's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) discipline with five or more years applicable experience; OR a Master's degree in a STEM discipline with three or more years applicable experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline with 1 year of applicable experience
-
Expertise with mechanical CAD software (Siemens NX preferred)
-
Experience with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), drawing creation, tolerance stack-up analysis, etc.
-
Good presentation and writing/communication skills
-
Experience mentoring junior level engineers
-
Must have an Active US Government Secret or higher clearance with US Citizenship
Basic Qualifications for a Senior Principal Mechanical Design Engineer:
-
Bachelor's degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) discipline with eight or more years applicable experience; OR a Master's degree in a STEM discipline with six or more years applicable experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline with four years of applicable experience
-
Expertise with mechanical CAD software (Siemens NX preferred)
-
Experience with Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T), drawing creation, tolerance stack-up analysis, etc.
-
Good presentation and writing/communication skills
-
Experience mentoring junior level engineers
-
Must have an Active US Government Secret or higher clearance with US Citizenship
Preferred Qualifications for a Principal Mechanical Design Engineer:
-
Demonstrated proficiency with Siemens NX CAD software and Teamcenter PLM software
-
Expert-level proficiency with GD&T per ASME Y14.5
-
Familiarity with ASME and MIL standards
-
Basic understanding of stress principles and component sizing
-
Engineering lab experience including leak rate and vibration testing
-
Knowledge of CCA components, layout, and cable routing
-
Demonstrated high degree of creativity and ability to solve a wide range of difficult problems
-
Demonstrated ability to be self-motivated, willing to learn, experience working in a team environment
- Competence and confidence working under pressure on requests with short turn-around times
-
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to present complex technical information clearly
-
Proven ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams
-
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a focus on continuous improvement
-
Must be proactive and results-oriented, with a strong sense of ownership
Primary Level Salary Range: $0.00 - $0.00
Secondary Level Salary Range: $0.00 - $0.00
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 741 open Mechanical Design Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 13, 2026.
- Pay
- This postingNot listed
- California median$120–173K/yr159 salary ranges
- US median$40–54/hr69 hourly ranges
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 193 open Mechanical Design Engineer jobs in California and 741 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in California
- SpaceX13 open
- KLA Corporation12 open
- Anduril10 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Mechanical Design Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 636 postings).
- Education
- 442 of the 741 open Mechanical Design Engineer jobs (60%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 13, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.
Prepare for this role
You've read the whole posting — now see how you match it.



