
Spacecraft Fault Management & System Autonomy Principal/Sr. Principal Test Engineer
Northrop Grumman • McLean, Virginia, United States
Salary: $114,000 - $213,400 / year
Role & seniority: Systems Engineer (principal to senior principal levels available) at Northrop Grumman Space Systems, McLean, VA; individual-contributor and deliverable/product lead within FMSA team.
Stack/tools: Spacecraft Fault Management & System Autonomy Flight Software; unit-test/scripts; Dynamic Satellite Simulator; verification/validation documentation; programming/scripting in VBA and Matlab.
Top 3 responsibilities
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Develop unit testing scripts and conduct unit/system-level tests for the FMSA flight software.
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Operate the Dynamic Satellite Simulator and generate verification/validation reports and review packages.
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Provide systems engineering support across requirements synthesis/flow-down, design coordination, interface definition, and program-level deliverables.
Must-have skills
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Degree (BS with 5+ years or MS with 3+; or PhD with relevant experience) in a technical field; experience in mission-critical systems.
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Experience in systems engineering for spacecraft, requirements/specification, verification/validation, and interface management.
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Familiarity with spacecraft integration/testing, mission operations, and spacecraft simulations; ability to develop verification documentation.
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Proficiency in VBA and Matlab scripting; ability to create unit tests and test reports.
Nice-to-haves
- Failure analysis or fault-management experience; architecture development; software coding/scripting beyond VBA/Matlab; familiarity with electrical
Full Description
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: No relocation assistance available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No CLEARANCE TYPE: None TRAVEL: No 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. This Systems Engineering position is an engineering support role at Northrop Grumman Space Systems located in McLean, VA as a part of the Fault Management & System Autonomy (FMSA) Team. The job responsibilities will be as an individual-contributor and deliverable/product lead within a multi-disciplinary engineering team. Successful candidate will support development and verification/validation of the test framework for Spacecraft Fault Management & System Autonomy Flight Software. Other responsibilities may include traditional Systems Engineering functions, including requirements synthesis and flow-down, system trades study support, systems analysis, coordination of design efforts, and management of technical budgets & interface definitions. The application of these systems engineering principals will be in the context of fault management and system autonomy. The candidate must be able to assist in development/debugging of unit tests within a complex system, operation of the Satellite Simulator for testing the flight software, and generation of verification/validation documentation. The candidate must be knowledgeable in aerospace systems, spacecraft subsystems design, or mission operations. Position will also include responsibilities relating to integration, testing, and operational readiness of spacecraft. The engineer will develop original ideas, design unit tests and scripts to meet verification/validation objectives, conduct test programs to evaluate design work, evaluate test outcomes with their program/functional supervisors and other technical groups, and make the necessary design/implementation modifications to achieve the best design within the program constraints. Responsibilities/Duties: Develop Unit Testing scripts for Fault Management & System Autonomy Flight Software Conduct Unit/System Level test programs on the Dynamic Satellite Simulator Evaluate Unit Level test results and generation reports & review packages Evaluate design documentation and verification for compliance with customer and internally derived requirements Provide support to selected elements of the program Systems Engineering Team Support and deliver SE Products and other deliverables, with a focus on mission success. Evaluate design documentation to provide evidence for requirement verification, hazard control verification closure, and validation of the Spacecraft Flight Software design. Develop/implement and communicate solutions to routine Engineering problems Contribute to the technical tasks supporting the program Provide systems engineering support for technical reviews Write status and technical performance reviews, analyses and reports Basic Qualifications: Principal Systems Engineer - Bachelors of Science degree in technical field and 5+ years of experience, or Masters of Science de gree in technical field with 3+ years of experience; or a PhD Sr. Principal Systems Engineer - Bachelors of Science degree in technical field and 8+ years of experience, Master’s Degree and 6+ years of experience; or a PhD and + years of experience Experience in Systems Engineering for mission critical applications Preferred Qualifications: Failure analysis or fault management technical experience Experience with Systems Engineering process Experience defining requirements & interfaces Understanding of spacecraft integration & test, launch, and mission operations Experience operating Spacecraft Simulations Experience with human spaceflight vehicle development including integration & test Experience developing verification documentation Experience with architecture development Familiarity with electrical & computer systems Familiarity with command and telemetry database Mission and/or vehicle systems engineering experience Software coding or scripting experience Strong Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) & Matlab scripting skills 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. Existing Applicants: Need to update your contact information or email address? Once logged in, click on Candidate Home in the upper right corner and scroll to the bottom of that screen to see buttons for: Update Contact information to update your legal name, address, and phone number Edit Account Settings to edit your email address We are a pioneering company. With careers across all areas: air, cyber, land, sea and space – our 90,000 employees work as one to defend and define the future. 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