Manager Tool Engineering 2 - Design

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman · Aerospace · Palmdale, CA +1 · Material/Process

Manager Tool Engineering 2 - Design at Northrop Grumman, leading a team of tool designers to deliver solutions for production tooling. Responsibilities include establishing team roles, defining design strategy, overseeing complex tooling systems, managing the tooling project portfolio, and ensuring tooling readiness for production and development programs. Requires a bachelor's degree with 5 years of related engineering experience or a master's with 3 years, plus 2 years of leadership experience, CAD experience, and the ability to obtain a secret clearance.

What you'd actually do

  1. Lead and develop a high-performing team of Tool designers delivering solutions that enable safe, efficient, and repeatable production tooling.
  2. Establish and manage roles and responsibilities within Tool design team, recognizing strengths and opportunities in employee competency, while fostering career growth
  3. Define and execute the long-term design strategy, aligning priorities across design, manufacturing, and operations to support current and future production goals
  4. Oversee design process of complex tooling systems that improve manufacturability, quality, and throughout multiple cost centers.
  5. Manage the tooling project portfolio, managing cost, schedule, and technical performance to ensure readiness for both production and development programs.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree AND 5 years of related engineering experience in tooling, manufacturing/operations, assembly lines, and/or implementing technology into a production environment OR a Master’s degree AND 3 years of related engineering experience in tooling, manufacturing/operations, assembly lines, and/or implementing technology into a production environment
  • 2 years of leadership or management experience
  • Experience with CAD (e.g. NX, Teamcenter, CATIA, SolidWorks)
  • Demonstrated experience leading large-scale tooling initiatives for complex hardware (structures, assembles, or propulsion).
  • Knowledge of composite fabrication and tooling, concepts.
  • Ability to obtain DoD secret clearance and Special program access.

Nice to have

  • Strong understanding of GD&T, tolerance analysis, materials, and manufacturing process (machining , composites, weldments, additive).
  • Understanding of Coordination of design and fabrication requirements for tools and fixtures with customers, both internal and external
  • Collaborate with key stakeholders - Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Facilities, Tooling Quality, and Production teams to negotiate requirements, develop proposals, manage requirements deliverables, and ensure compliance with company and state standards
  • Proven ability to manage cross-functions programs, balancing cost, schedule, and performance.
  • Ability to interface/communicate with multiple levels of leadership, customers, and suppliers
  • Experience within the aerospace, automotive, or production related industry and/or with automated systems/machines
  • Experience in the development, capture, and execution of R&D technology capabilities.
  • Experience assessing maturity of new technology for transition to production
  • Experience with authoring proposals, technical documents, and procedures
  • Program management experience and PMP certification
  • Experience providing innovative techniques focused on improving product designs and tooling assemblies or equipment
  • The ability to demonstrate project management skills and problem-solving skills while supporting multiple projects simultaneously
  • Experience or general understanding of the manufacturing proces

What the JD emphasized

  • Must have the ability to obtain DoD secret clearance and Special program access.