At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems in air and space that impact people’s lives around the world today, and for generations to come. Our work preserves freedom, democracy, and advances human discovery and our understanding of the universe. We look for people who have bold new ideas, courage and a pioneering spirit to join forces to invent the future and have a lot of 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 Defense Systems is seeking a Sr. Principal Aerothermal Engineer. This position is located in Roy, Utah and supports Advanced Programs. This role may offer a competitive relocation assistance package. This position is contingent upon award.
What You Will Get To Do:
The ideal candidate is a team player; but also, a strong independent contributor with strong leadership skills, demonstrated problem-solving skills, excellent communication skills, as well as interpersonal and organizational skills and a proactive, detail-oriented approach.
Primary responsibilities for this position include, but are not limited to:
Perform aerothermal modeling and analysis to predict heat loads, thermal response, and aerodynamic performance of high-speed missiles.
Develop, refine, and execute aerothermal simulations (e.g., CFD++, ANSYS or equivalent) for shock-dominated, high-temperature flows and boundary-layer transition, and interpret results to guide design.
Perform detailed thermal analysis of vehicle and thermal protection system (TPS) materials, accounting for conduction, convection, and radiation, and develop thermal control designs that meet system requirements.
Plan, support, and interpret aerothermal and thermal test activities (e.g., wind tunnel, arc-jet/plasma, subsystem and component-level thermal tests) and use results to validate and calibrate analytical models.
Collaborate with structures, materials, systems, propulsion, and test engineering teams to integrate aerothermal and TPS designs with overall vehicle architecture and to support multi-disciplinary design trade studies.
Develop and maintain aerothermal/thermal requirements, analysis documentation, design artifacts, and review/approve drawings for thermal and aerothermal hardware content.
Present analysis methods, results, and design recommendations to internal management, external customers, and at formal design reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR) to support technical decision making and risk reduction.
Work and execute independently with minimal technical oversight, exercising considerable latitude in determining technical objectives, while providing technical leadership and guidance within the propulsion supplier management team.
Ensure compliance with applicable DoD and program security requirements, including working in classified environments and handling sensitive data appropriately.
Provide technical input on the cost, schedule, and risk impacts of aerothermal and thermal design and test decisions to support planning during the Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction phase.
Position Benefits:
As a full-time employee of Northrop Grumman, you are eligible for our robust benefits package including:
Medical, Dental & Vision coverage
401k
Educational Assistance
Life Insurance
Employee Assistance Programs & Work/Life Solutions
Paid Time Off
Health & Wellness Resources
Employee Discounts
This positions standard work schedule is a 9/80. The 9/80 schedule allows employees who work a nine-hour day Monday through Thursday to take every other Friday off.
Basic Qualifications:
Sr. Principal Structural Engineer: Bachelors degree in a Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) discipline from an accredited university and 8 years of relevant experience, OR a Masters degree and 6 years of relevant experience, OR a PhD and 4 years of relevant experience.
Must be a US Citizen with an active DoD Secret Clearance, at time of application, current and within scope, with an investigation date within the last 6 years.
Must have the ability to obtain and maintain Top Secret Clearance and Special Access Program (SAP) approval within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the company to meet its business needs.
Demonstrated experience in aerothermal analysis and CFD-based modeling for aerospace or defense applications (e.g., missile, hypersonic, or reentry vehicles).
Experience using thermal analysis tools such as SINDA/G, SINDA/FLUINT, Thermal Desktop, or equivalent to develop and optimize thermal control designs.
Proven ability to work with and coordinate across multiple engineering disciplines (e.g., structures, systems, propulsion, test) and to document, communicate, and present technical analyses and design recommendations to leadership and customers.
Preferred Qualifications:
Active DoD Top Secret Clearance.
Expertise in high-speed/hypersonic flow physics, including boundary-layer transition, shock-wave interactions, and aeroheating, with experience applying CFD solvers such as CFD++ to these regimes.
Experience with high-temperature materials, ablative/advanced TPS design, and fluid-structure/aerothermal-structural coupling for missile, reentry, or space vehicle applications.
Hands-on experience planning and executing aerothermal and thermal tests (e.g., wind tunnel, arc-jet, plasma facilities, subsystem-level thermal tests) and correlating analytical models to test or flight data.
Background spanning the system lifecycle for missile, hypersonic, reentry, or space vehicles (concept development through design, integration, test, and flight/operational support), including experience with aerospace standard design tools (e.g., NX, CATIA) and multi-disciplinary design optimization.