Northrop Grumman Woodland Hills, CA: navigation, avionics, and careers
Northrop Grumman Woodland Hills, CA: navigation, avionics, and careers
Northrop Grumman's Woodland Hills campus in the San Fernando Valley is the company's navigation and cockpit systems hub. With approximately 1,200 employees, the site designs and manufactures inertial navigation units, GPS receivers, flight computers, and cockpit display systems that fly on most US military aircraft — including the F-35, F/A-18, B-21, and a range of rotorcraft.
This guide covers the products, roles, salaries, and what it's like to work at Woodland Hills compared to other NG SoCal locations.
What Woodland Hills builds
Inertial navigation systems
Woodland Hills is one of the few facilities in the US that designs and builds military-grade inertial navigation systems (INS). These are the self-contained navigation units that allow aircraft to know their precise position and attitude even when GPS is jammed or unavailable.
Key products include:
| Product | Type | Platforms |
|---|---|---|
| LN-251 | Embedded GPS/INS | F-35, F/A-18, B-21, MH-60, CH-53K |
| LN-260 | Next-gen fiber optic gyro INS | Future aircraft programs |
| LN-270 | Precision navigation | Special operations aircraft |
| EGI (Embedded GPS/INS) | Combined GPS + inertial | Multiple military platforms |
The LN-251 is the workhorse — it's installed on nearly every new US military aircraft. The fiber optic gyroscopes inside are designed and manufactured at Woodland Hills, along with the accelerometers, GPS receivers, and navigation processors.
How inertial navigation works
Inertial navigation systems measure acceleration and rotation rate to calculate position without external references. A modern INS combines:
- Fiber optic gyroscopes (FOGs) — Measure rotation rate using the Sagnac effect in optical fiber
- Accelerometers — Measure linear acceleration along three axes
- GPS receiver — Provides position corrections to bound inertial drift
- Navigation processor — Runs Kalman filter algorithms to fuse sensor data into a position/velocity/attitude solution
The engineering challenge is achieving high accuracy over long periods without GPS. Military navigation requires operation in GPS-denied environments (jamming, spoofing, indoor, underground), making the quality of the inertial sensors critical.
Cockpit display systems
Woodland Hills also designs multifunction displays (MFDs) and head-up display (HUD) systems for military cockpits. This includes:
- LCD and AMLCD display panels with high brightness for daylight readability
- Symbology generators for flight data, weapon aiming, and situational awareness
- Display processors and video interfaces
- Helmet-mounted display integration
Flight management systems
The campus produces flight management computers and mission computers for several platforms. These systems handle route planning, autopilot engagement, sensor management, and communications coordination.
Roles and salaries
Engineering
| Role | Salary Range | Key Skills |
|---|---|---|
| Navigation Systems Engineer | $105,000–$170,000 | Kalman filtering, GPS/INS fusion, error modeling |
| Embedded Software Engineer | $110,000–$175,000 | Real-time C/C++, RTOS, DO-178C |
| Hardware/FPGA Engineer | $100,000–$160,000 | Verilog/VHDL, digital design, timing analysis |
| RF/GNSS Engineer | $105,000–$165,000 | GPS signal processing, anti-jam algorithms |
| Optical/FOG Engineer | $100,000–$160,000 | Fiber optic gyroscope design and characterization |
| Test Engineer | $90,000–$145,000 | Navigation test (rate tables, HWIL), environmental |
| Systems Engineer | $100,000–$165,000 | Requirements, V&V, DO-254/DO-178C |
| Mechanical/Packaging Engineer | $90,000–$145,000 | Electronics packaging, thermal management |
| Display Systems Engineer | $100,000–$160,000 | LCD optics, symbology generation, video processing |
Non-engineering
| Role | Salary Range |
|---|---|
| Program Manager | $125,000–$180,000 |
| Quality Engineer | $85,000–$125,000 |
| Supply Chain Manager | $80,000–$120,000 |
| Configuration Manager | $80,000–$115,000 |
| Technical Writer | $70,000–$95,000 |
Clearance requirements
Most Woodland Hills positions require Secret clearance. Some navigation-related roles — particularly those involving GPS anti-jam technology or advanced inertial systems — require Top Secret. The clearance level is generally lower than Azusa's TS/SCI + SAP requirements, making Woodland Hills more accessible for engineers without existing clearances.
The navigation engineering niche
Navigation engineering is a niche discipline. If your background includes inertial navigation, Kalman filtering, GPS signal processing, fiber optic gyroscopes, or MEMS sensors, Woodland Hills is one of the few places in the country doing this work at scale. The other major navigation shops are Honeywell Aerospace (Minneapolis/Phoenix), Collins Aerospace (Cedar Rapids), and L3Harris (various). For someone with the right skills, the job market is small but demand is consistent.
Skills that are hard to find
Woodland Hills hiring managers consistently struggle to fill roles requiring:
- Kalman filter expertise — Extended and unscented Kalman filter implementation for multi-sensor fusion
- Fiber optic gyroscope design — The physics and manufacturing of FOGs is a specialized skill set
- GPS vulnerability analysis — Understanding spoofing and jamming threats and designing countermeasures
- DO-178C Level A certification experience — The most stringent safety-critical software standard
- Navigation error modeling — Stochastic error analysis for inertial sensors
If you have these skills, you are in demand — not just at NG Woodland Hills but across the navigation industry.
Woodland Hills versus other NG SoCal sites
| Site | Focus | Commute from Central LA | Clearance Level | Entry-level? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Woodland Hills | Navigation, avionics | 25-40 min (Valley) | Secret/TS | Moderate |
| Azusa | Space payloads, sensors | 30-45 min (SGV) | TS/SCI + SAP | Limited |
| Palmdale | B-21 production | 60-90 min (AV) | Secret to SAP | Yes (growing) |
| Redondo Beach | Satellites, Space Systems HQ | 30-45 min (South Bay) | Secret to TS | Moderate |
| El Segundo | Mission systems | 25-40 min (South Bay) | Secret to TS | Moderate |
Woodland Hills is the best NG SoCal option for engineers who want to live in the San Fernando Valley or western LA. The campus is near the 101/Ventura Freeway with access from Calabasas, Tarzana, Encino, Sherman Oaks, and Thousand Oaks.
Living near Woodland Hills
Cost of living
| Category | Woodland Hills/SFV | Redondo Beach | Azusa | Palmdale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1BR rent | $2,100–$2,800 | $2,400–$3,200 | $1,800–$2,300 | $1,400–$1,800 |
| Median home | $950,000 | $1,000,000+ | $650,000 | $450,000 |
The San Fernando Valley is expensive but offers suburban living within the City of Los Angeles. Warner Center (adjacent to Woodland Hills) has a growing mixed-use district with apartments, restaurants, and retail.
Where employees live
| Area | Drive to Campus | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Woodland Hills | 5–15 min | Closest, suburban |
| Calabasas | 10–15 min | Upscale, families |
| Thousand Oaks | 15–25 min | Ventura County, good schools |
| Tarzana/Encino | 10–20 min | Valley neighborhoods |
| Simi Valley | 20–30 min | More affordable, Ventura County |
How to get hired
Search for "Woodland Hills, CA" on NG's careers portal. Navigation-specific keywords include "INS," "GPS," "navigation," "LN-251," "fiber optic gyro," "embedded," and "avionics."
Interview process
The Woodland Hills interview process typically includes:
- Recruiter screen — 20-30 minutes covering background and clearance status
- Technical interview — 45-60 minutes with the hiring manager, focused on domain expertise
- Team interview — Some roles include a second round with 2-3 engineers
- Offer — Usually 2-3 weeks after final interview
Tips: Navigation engineering is specialized enough that your resume should clearly highlight relevant coursework, thesis work, or professional experience. Kalman filtering, inertial measurement units, GPS signal processing, and DO-178C are all keywords that will get attention.
Browse Northrop Grumman positions on Zero G Talent, or explore our NG Azusa guide and NG Palmdale guide.
