Principal Engineer Quality

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman · Aerospace · San Diego, CA +1 · Mission/Quality Assurance

Principal Engineer Quality role at Northrop Grumman supporting the F-22 Program in San Diego, CA. Responsibilities include material review, corrective actions, root cause investigations, quality data analysis, and ensuring adherence to quality standards and QMS (ISO9001, AS9100). Requires a Bachelor's degree in Engineering or STEM with 5 years of experience, or a Master's with 3 years. Ability to obtain a Secret Clearance is mandatory.

What you'd actually do

  1. Develop, modify, apply, and maintain quality evaluation, control systems, and protocols for processing materials into semi-finished or finished products.
  2. Partner with engineering and manufacturing to establish and uphold quality standards.
  3. Design, analyze, and implement inspection and testing processes and equipment; conduct quality assurance tests, perform statistical analyses to determine cost and responsibility for non-conforming parts.
  4. Audit quality systems, identify deficiencies, and drive corrective actions that meet reliability and documentation requirements; plan, conduct, report, and follow‑up on audits to ensure compliance and continual process improvement.
  5. Identify and remove barriers to quality improvement through root‑cause analysis and corrective‑action planning.

Skills

Required

  • Manufacturing Experience
  • Quality Engineering Experience
  • Quality Analyst Experience
  • QMS (ISO9001, AS9100, etc) standards
  • Inspection Methods
  • GR&R (Gauge Repeatability & Reproducibility)
  • Preliminary or Material Review Board Process
  • Dispositioning material in a manufacturing facility
  • Data Analytics
  • Statistical Analysis methods and techniques
  • Mentoring employees
  • Ability to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance
  • US Citizenship

Nice to have

  • Aerospace, Electrical, Industrial, or Mechanical Engineering background
  • IPC, J-Std, MIL-STD standards
  • AS9102 First Article Inspections (FAI)
  • Green/Black Belt Certified in Lean Six-sigma
  • Certified in Lean and Six-Sigma methodologies
  • Certified auditor
  • Facilitating RCCAs with technical groups
  • SAP Experience
  • Active Secret Clearance
  • Leading cross-functional teams
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Minitab
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • SQL
  • Power BI
  • FMEAs
  • CARs
  • audit processes
  • ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
  • Certified IPC Specialist (CIS) – IPC‑A‑610
  • Certified IPC Specialist (CIS) – IPC/WHMA‑A‑620

What the JD emphasized

  • Secret Clearance
  • US Citizenship required