Senior Principal Materials Engineer

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman · Aerospace · Annapolis, MD +1 · Systems/Architecture/Test

Senior Principal Materials Engineer role at Northrop Grumman focusing on subsea corrosion mitigation for complex systems. Responsibilities include applying chemistry, physics, and materials science principles to diagnose and solve material problems, researching and evaluating materials and processing methods, conducting technical reviews, overseeing test activities, and documenting results. Requires a STEM Bachelor's degree with 8 years of experience (or equivalent Master's/PhD) and a basic understanding of corrosion processes, mitigation strategies, additive manufacturing, metallurgical practices, coatings, and cathodic protection. A Top Secret/SCI clearance is required.

What you'd actually do

  1. Apply chemistry, physics and materials‑science principles to diagnose material problems and devise solutions, while implementing corrosion‑mitigation strategies for complex systems.
  2. Researches and evaluates materials and their processing methods to support engineering designs.
  3. Collaborates with teammates to conduct thorough technical reviews of drawings, specifications and manufacturing plans.
  4. Delivers proactive, high‑quality customer service by continually sourcing and sharing relevant information.
  5. Oversees test activities and test‑article fabrication, documents results, and liaises with senior customer personnel on critical technical issues, often coordinating efforts across organizational boundaries.

Skills

Required

  • Bachelor’s degree in STEM with 8 years of experience; OR a Master’s Degree in STEM with 6 years of experience; OR a PhD in STEM with 4 years of experience
  • Basic understanding of the processes that produce corrosion (uniform, galvanic, crevice, etc) and the strategies that mitigate it.
  • Practical understanding of additive manufacturing modalities and alloys.
  • Basic knowledge of metallurgical practices (e.g., weld, metallurgy, metallographic evaluation, heat treatments, fracture mechanics, corrosion control, and failure analysis).
  • Basic knowledge of coating types and coating application methods used to prolong life of marine systems.
  • Basic understanding of principles related to cathodic protection.
  • US Citizen with the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI clearance.

Nice to have

  • Familiarity with Navy / DoD processes and workflow.
  • Detailed knowledge of coating types and coating application methods used to prolong life of marine systems.
  • Familiarity with the properties of and design considerations pertaining to non-metallic materials such as urethanes, adhesives, and composites.
  • Detailed knowledge of principles related to cathodic protection and ability to specify cathodes of subsea systems.
  • Active Top Secret/SCI clearance.

What the JD emphasized

  • Top Secret/SCI clearance