Director of Programs 2 – Mission Enabling Products

Join Northrop Grumman on our mission to push the boundaries of possible across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. At Northrop Grumman, your voice is valued. You’ll join a team of passionate professionals providing real-world solutions to our customers’ toughest challenges. We take pride in creating purposeful work and enabling our employees to grow and achieve their goals by Defining Possible. With competitive pay and comprehensive benefits, we offer the right opportunities to fit your life and advance your career.

Northrop Grumman Space Systems - MEP BU is seeking a Director of Programs for our Propulsion and Structures Operating Unit at our Commerce and San Diego, CA facilities. This role is on-site and based at either Commerce or San Diego, CA with travel to other Northrop Grumman locations as well as customer and supplier sites as required.

The Operating Unit Director of Programs reports directly to the MEP Business Unit Vice President and is responsible for overall leadership, performance, and health of the business, program portfolios and supporting staff.

• Provide overall Propulsion and Structures Operating Unit leadership for a high mix/high volume portfolio of complex programs; ensuring cost, schedule, technical, and quality objectives are met or exceeded.
• Drive disciplined program execution, risk management, and performance management across all programs at both facilities.
• Lead and mentor a team of program managers, setting clear expectations, accountability, and development paths.
• Mentor the program managers to build and strengthen partnerships and collaboration with all Functions. 

• Champion the highest integrity, inclusive culture that reflects Northrop Grumman values and fosters engagement, collaboration, safety, teamwork continuous improvement, and high performance.
• Maintain strong and improving employee morale and highly effective communication across all levels and functions of the organization. Coach and mentor leaders and team members, reinforcing accountability, engagement, and ownership.
• Engage and support employee career growth, work satisfaction and retention.   
• Help the organization navigate ambiguity by driving clarity in priorities, roles, and expectations; communicate decisions, changes, and strategic direction effectively.  Delegate to the level that supports leadership development and organizational speed. 

• Shape and execute the growth strategy for the Operating Units business portfolio, including identification, capture, and execution of new business opportunities.
• Collaborate with Business Development, Engineering, Operations, and other stakeholders to align capabilities and investments with customer needs and competitive positioning.
• Engage directly with external and internal customers and partners to strengthen relationships, understand emerging requirements, and position Northrop Grumman for long-term success.

• Provide indirect leadership to all supporting disciplines to ensure alignment with Operating Unit, Business Unit and Space Systems goals.
• Coordinate closely with the Business Unit leadership team and other Northrop Grumman sites to leverage enterprise capabilities, share best practices, and drive improvement.

• Support day‑to‑day oversight of Operating Unit in collaboration with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Mission Assurance, EHS, Security, HR and other Functional partners. 
• Help ensure business compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, including environmental, safety, labor law, security, and any applicable site-specific requirements. 
• Assist in planning and prioritizing capital investments, facility sustainment, and modernization initiatives to support Operating Unit growth and long‑term capability. 
• Promote and reinforce a strong safety and quality culture, ensuring safety of our people, safe execution of all operations and timely resolution of safety and quality issues.

• Bachelor’s degree and 15+ years of program or project management experience in the aerospace and/or defense industry, including responsibility for both execution and growth of a diverse program or new business portfolio.
• Proven experience leading diverse, cross-functional teams (program and functional) to develop and execute a vision and business strategy that achieves or exceeds program performance and financial objectives.
• Demonstrated expertise in customer shaping and engagement, including developing winning strategies to position for future opportunities.
• Proven ability to resolve disputes by developing negotiation strategies that result in positive business outcomes while maintaining strong customer relationships. 
• Strong track record of disciplined program execution, including risk management, issue resolution, and performance to plan.
• Demonstrated ability to build, develop, and lead program management teams, including effective delegation, coaching, and succession planning.
• Demonstrated ability to operate and lead in a team environment across all functions and to teach/mentor others to manage in the same way. 
• Strong formal and informal communication skills with all levels of internal and external management. 
• Exceptional communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to influence across organizational boundaries and at executive levels.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top-Secret clearance with SAP eligibility.
• Must be a U.S. citizen.

• 10+ years of experience managing complex programs and portfolios with significant new business capture and growth responsibilities.
• Knowledge of Northrop Grumman internal processes, procedures, and organizational structure.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and present strategies, business cases, and program status to senior customers and internal executive audiences.
• Current Top-Secret clearance with SAP eligibility.

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