Sr. Principal Engineer Airworthiness
Quick Summary
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,
Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems sector has an opening for a Sr. Principal Airworthiness Engineer to join our team of qualified, diverse individuals. This position is based in Rancho Bernardo, CA.
The Sr. Principal/Staff Airworthiness Engineer will be working within the Airworthiness Engineering Directorate supporting certification efforts on various air vehicle platforms. The selected candidate will ensure the logical and systematic realization of customer airworthiness certification objectives into system solutions to meet program needs throughout the product lifecycle (e.g. Flight Releases, Type Certification, continued airworthiness, and operation of airspace integration).
Essential Duties:
- Performs technical airworthiness planning and verification support including development and negotiation of airworthiness plans, bases of certification, means of compliance, and other certification activities for complex total systems with IPT/REs as well as customer counterparts.
- Reviews and coordinates with other airworthiness engineers as well as internal engineering disciplines performed across the total system to include design, fabrication, test, installation, operation, maintenance and disposal.
- Performs functional and process analyses, requirements allocation and definition studies to translate customer requirements into criteria and derived requirements.
- Ensures the logical and systematic realization of customer airworthiness certification objectives into system solutions to meet program needs throughout the product lifecycle (e.g. Flight releases, Type certification, continued airworthiness, operations, and airspace integration).
- Responsible for managing and maintaining Type Design Data and airworthiness evidence in support of a Military Type Certification and Air System Continued & Continuing Airworthiness as a member of the senior technical AW staff in a System Design Responsible company.
- The selected candidate should thrive in a fast-paced work environment with high expectations, significantly diverse assignments, collaborative/team settings across all levels.
Requirements
~3 min read- Sr Principal: Bachelor of Science in a STEM discipline with 8 years of related experience; OR Master of Science with 6 years of related experience; OR Ph.D. with 4 years of related experience
- Familiarity of MIL-HDBK-516B Expanded and -516C
- Work experience leading the development of Airworthiness plans, a Basis of Certification, and related activities
- Work experience with domestic and international UAS/RPAS airworthiness authorizations and type certifications
- Must have an active US Government Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation completed within the last 6 years or currently enrolled into Continuous Evaluation)
- Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) and must be obtained within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
Preferred Qualifications:Military aircraft development or modification experience, especially US Navy
- Ability to initiate Airworthiness Certification process improvement initiatives
- DoD and Civil Airworthiness Experience
- Work experience and familiarity with UAS/RPAS
- Design and Systems Engineering experience in one or more of the following areas: Structures, Flight Technology, Air Vehicle Subsystems, Avionics, Mission Payload Integration, System Safety, Flight Test, Configuration Management• Experience with USAF Airworthiness Policy Directives, Instructions, and Airworthiness Bulletins (AWB)
- Control Account Management (CAM) and Earned Value Management System (EVMS) experience including Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) planning and tracking, Earned Value reporting, variance analysis, and Estimate at Complete (EAC) forecasting.
- Experience in a System Design Responsible (SDR) organization per international regulations with signature authority
- Interactions with airworthiness authorities US DoD, MoD International, or civil authorities
- Familiarity of European Military Aviation Regulations (EMARs)
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Powerpoint, Word and SharePoint
- A current active U.S. Government in-scope DoD Secret security clearance or higher and the ability to obtain and maintain Special Program Access (PAR/SAP).
Location & Eligibility
Listing Details
- Posted
- September 29, 2026
- First seen
- October 5, 2026
- Last seen
- October 6, 2026
Posting Health
- Days active
- 0
- Repost count
- 0
- Trust Level
- 28%
- Scored at
- October 6, 2026
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