RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available
CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No
CLEARANCE TYPE: None
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.
Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations. Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams. As a Staff Electrical Engineer – Command & Data Handling (C&DH) for the Vehicle & Software Engineering directorate in Gilbert, Arizona, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one.
We are seeking a highly experienced and technically authoritative Electrical Engineer to lead the architecture, design, and implementation of Command and Data Handling (C&DH) systems for advanced spacecraft platforms. The Staff Electrical Engineer – Command & Data Handling (C&DH) will be responsible for the electrical system design, architecture, and the avionics that control spacecraft functions, manage internal and external data flows, store data, receive commands, and transmit data to ground stations or other satellites. This position also entails driving system‑level electrical design across flight hardware, ensuring robust, reliable, and scalable data and control architectures.
The selected candidate will serve as a key technical leader, influencing cross‑disciplinary teams spanning avionics, software, guidance/navigation/control (GNC), and mission operations.
Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Lead the end-to-end architecture of spacecraft Command & Data Handling systems, including data buses, processing units, and system interfaces.
- Define and own electrical system architecture, ensuring alignment across C&DH, electrical subsystems, and harness design
- Drive design and integration of:
- Flight computers and embedded processing systems
- Data buses (e.g., SpaceWire, CAN, Ethernet, RS-422/485)
- Telemetry, command, and fault management systems
- Establish and maintain system-level requirements, interface control documents (ICDs), and verification strategies
- Oversee hardware/software integration, ensuring seamless interaction between flight software and electrical systems
- Perform electrical interface compatibility verifications and verify electrical connectivity implementation (e.g. verify electrical harness implementation, safety-critical circuit segregation, support peer-reviews).
- Guide and review harness architecture and implementation, ensuring reliability, manufacturability, and maintainability
- Lead design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, etc.) and support mission readiness activities
- Mentor junior engineers and act as a technical authority across multiple programs
- Manage hardware command and telemetry implementation (e.g. develop and coordinate calibration and conversion curves for analog telemetry in coordination subsystem engineers, verify electrical/software implementation).
- Identify Electrical Systems and C&DH risks, develop risk mitigation plans for selected risks, and implement mitigations.
- Interface with design and manufacturing groups to monitor component production process/progress to include Integration & Test (I&T) and relaying that status to management along with potential solutions to stay on target.
- Provide technical oversight to ensure the C&DH electrical system is compliant and verifiable at the avionics digital and analog telemetry level.
- Lead the costing & scheduling development for the C&DH subsystem on major programs from initial RFP efforts through end of program life. Develop cost estimates for proposals and programs as required.
- Manage program execution from a technical perspective, meeting deadlines, juggling multiple projects, and collaborating with various engineering disciplines and internal/external customers.
- Ability to travel to other Northrop Grumman sites or customer locations (≤ 10 % travel)
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) discipline with 12+ years of relevant engineering experience OR Master’s degree in a STEM discipline with 10+ years of relevant engineering experienc