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Principal / Sr. Principal Engineer Electromechanical - Flight Test ECS

Northrop Grumman

Edwards AFB, CAJob$114–171K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$114–171K/yr
Location
Edwards AFB, CA
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 Principal or Senior Principal Flight Test Engineer for its Test and Evaluation organization at Edwards AFB. The role develops environmental control system test plans and procedures, supports integration and flight testing, and analyzes test data. The position is on-site and contingent on program funding. Candidates must have flight test experience and be able to obtain and maintain required government clearances; Top Secret clearance and environmental cooling or thermal dynamics experience are preferred.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Flight Test Experience, requiredMicrosoft Office, requiredIntegrated Analysis & Data System, requiredWritten Communication, requiredOral Communication, requiredTest Control Room Monitoring, nice to haveEnvironmental Cooling, nice to haveThermal Dynamics, nice to have

Qualifications

BS STEM+5 or MS+3 Years, requiredBS STEM+8 or MS+6 Years, requiredUS Government Clearance and SAP, requiredTop Secret Clearance, nice to have

Benefits

Relocation Assistance
Medical Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off

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 Aeronautics Systems has an opening for a Principal/Sr. Principal Flight Test Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals within our Test and Evaluation organization.

Please note that this opportunity is contingent on program funding. Start dates are determined after funding confirmation.

The position will be on-site at Edwards AFB, CA.

Overview of Responsibilities and Expectations:

  • The candidate will develop and publish environmental control system related detailed test plans, acceptance test plans, test schedules, and test procedures for developmental testing.

  • Operate in a flight test control room.

  • Provide laboratory and ground support for integration testing.

  • Support and host test planning working groups.

  • Interface with test article design and analysis teams to define test configuration and data requirements.

  • Review and evaluate test requirements to ensure completeness of test program.

  • Perform technical analysis of complete systems and prepares comprehensive system level evaluations.

  • Support test card development and review in collaboration with other engineering disciplines and test operations personnel.

  • Support test readiness reviews, and pre/post-test briefings.

  • Conduct and contributes to pre and post-test data analyses to support anomaly identification and resolution. Maintains metrics on status of testing and constraints.

  • This position requires outstanding written and oral communications skills. Individual will be required to serve as a principal subject matter focal point between maintenance, design engineering, and test site team - contractor and customer.

  • Individual must be able to work under only general direction to determine and develop approaches to solutions; must be able to work both within a team environment and independently; must be self-motivated, thorough, and detailed; and must be willing to learn additional engineering discipline areas.

  • Proficient in Microsoft Office and Integrated Analysis & Data System (IADS)

  • Overtime, odd shifts, and weekend work will occasionally be required.

This requisition may be filled at a higher grade based on qualifications listed below.

Basic Qualification:

This requisition may be filled at either a Principal or a Sr. Principal Flight Test Engineering level.

Basic Qualifications for Principal Flight Test Engineer:

  • Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 5 years of related professional/military experience , OR a Master's degree AND 3 years of related professional/military experience.

  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a US Government clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.

  • Flight Test Experience

Basic Qualifications for Sr. Principal Flight Test Engineer:

  • Must have a Bachelor of Science degree in a STEM discipline AND 8 years of related professional/military experience , OR a Master's degree AND 6 years of related professional/military experience.

  • Must have the ability to obtain and maintain a US Government clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) clearance, within a reasonable amount of time as determined by business needs.

  • Flight Test Experience

Preferred Qualifications:

  • In depth knowledge of test experience, to include control room monitoring.

  • Top Secret clearance

  • Experience with environmental cooling, thermal dynamics.

#Yellow

Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $142,200.00 - $213,400.00

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 2,958 open Test Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 13, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$114–171K/yr
  • California median$121–179K/yr604 salary ranges
  • US median$100–160K/yr2,015 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $143K, is 7% below the California median midpoint ($153K) — in the middle half of Test Engineer salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 753 open Test Engineer jobs in California and 2,958 across the US. 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
This posting asks for at least 3 years of experience; Test Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years at the median (2,472 postings).
Education
1,511 of the 2,958 open Test Engineer jobs (51%) 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.

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