# Principal Vehicle/Fluid Management System Engineer/Sr. Principal Vehicle/Fluid Management System Engineer **Company:** [Northrop Grumman](https://zerogtalent.com/space-companies/northrop-grumman) **Location:** El Segundo, CA **Work mode:** On-site **Seniority:** Senior **Employment type:** Full Time **Salary:** USD 93K–213K/yr **Category:** Engineering **Listed:** 2026-11-13 [View and apply on Zero G Talent](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/northrop-grumman/principal-vehicle-fluid-management-system-engineer-sr-principal-vehicle-fluid-management-system-engineer-R10260704) ## What you'll do - Act as SME for fluid system technical integrity - Lead subsystem improvement initiatives and track closure - Serve as engineering representative on supplier team - Perform analyses and support trade studies - Lead verification, validation, and certification activities ## What you need - Active USG Secret clearance or ability to obtain - Bachelor's in STEM with 5+ yrs aerospace experience - Experience with fluid systems development and sustainment - MATLAB/Simulink or similar analysis tools experience - Ability to obtain and maintain SAP access ## Job description RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes CLEARANCE TYPE: Secret TRAVEL: Yes, 25% of the Time ### **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. **Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems** has an opening for an **Principal Vehicle/Fluid Management System Engineer/Sr. Principal Vehicle/Fluid Management System Engineer**. The position is based in **El Segundo, CA**. The candidate should be a self-starter with familiarity working in an Integrated Product Team construct.   _This position can be filled at the Principal Vehicle/Fluid Management System Engineer OR Sr. Principal Vehicle/Fluid Management System Engineer level, depending upon the qualifications below._ **Essential Functions:** - Act as the subject matter expert (SME) for a fluid system (e.g. fuel system, hydraulic system, propulsion system, or environmental control system), owning technical integrity, performance, and readiness - Define, prioritize, and champion subsystem improvement initiatives (performance, reliability, maintainability, and cost) and track closure to implementation - Serve as the engineering representative on the supplier management team (SMT) for all suppliers providing components of the subsystem, including technical oversight of design changes, nonconformances, and supplier corrective actions - Perform analyses (performance, thermal, structural, life, tolerance, failure modes) and support trade studies required to inform design decisions and specialty engineering requests - Define, document, and coordinate engineering changes and revisions to the subsystem (requirements, drawings, BOMs, procedures) and ensure traceability to requirements and verification results - Lead or support development of system requirements, design, and test - Lead or support the system through its development cycle including System Requirement Review (SRR), Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), and Critical Design Reviews (CDR)  - Lead or support verification, validation, test planning, and certification activities for the subsystem; review test data and close verification anomalies or discrepancies - Develop component procurement specifications - Manage subsystem technical risks and safety-of-flight issues: identify hazards, perform risk assessments, and implement mitigation actions with stakeholders - Ensure subsystem configuration control and compliance with program milestones: coordinate impacts to schedule, cost, and program deliverables with program leadership and the Technical Baseline/Configuration Manager - Provide timely technical responses to user, customer, and program leadership inquiries and act as the single-point engineering authority for subsystem technical decisions The selected candidate will be required to work full-time, on-site at our facility. There is no remote / hybrid / telework available for this position. Travel up to 25% may be required. **Basic Qualifications:** - **Principal Engineer level:** Bachelors Degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and a minimum of 5 years of experience in Aerospace structural design OR an MS degree in STEM with 3 years of related experience OR a PhD in STEM and 1 year of related experience - **Sr. Principal Engineer level:** Bachelors Degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM) and a minimum of 8 years of experience in Aerospace structural design OR an MS degree in STEM with 6 year of related experience - Experience with development, design, or sustainment of fluid systems.  - Experience applying MATLAB/Simulink, or similar analysis tools\[JB3.1\] - Have an Active USG Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation), or the ability to obtain and maintain an Active USG Secret or higher clearance - Must have ability to obtain and maintain Special Access Program (SAP) access via a Program Access Request (PAR).  This SAP/PAR must be obtained prior to commencement of employment and must be obtained within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs **Preferred Qualifications:** - Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance - Active USG Top Secret or higher clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation) - Experience using CATIA V5 to examine 3D models - Experience with complex Fuel or Environmental Control System design and analysis. - Experience sizing and selecting ECS components (Fans, valves, heat exchangers, etc.) - Technical skills in fluid/thermodynamics, pressurization control systems, system leakage calculations, and system sizing - Experience with subsystem installation design - Experience presenting technical content to upper management - Experience using TeamCenter Engineer and Enterprise to locate and examine technical data - Familiarity with using Atlassian tools Confluence and Jira for documentation and issue tracking - Strong interpersonal communication and technical writing skills to enable effective personal interaction and collaboration with a multi-disciplined team and customers Primary Level Salary Range: $93,300.00 - $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. ## Other open roles at Northrop Grumman - [Sr Principal Software Engineer - DevOps](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/northrop-grumman/sr-principal-software-engineer-devops-R10260729) — El Segundo; United States-Florida-Melbourne; United States-California-San Diego, CA - [Principal Supply Chain Planning Specialist](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/northrop-grumman/principal-supply-chain-planning-specialist-R10260604) — Rocket Center, WV - [Principal Controls and Modeling & Simulation - Responsible Engineer/Sr. Principal Controls and Modeling & Simulation - Responsible Engineer](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/northrop-grumman/principal-controls-and-modeling-simulation-responsible-engineer-sr-principal-controls-and-modeling-simulation-responsible-engineer-R10260699) — Palmdale; United States-California-San Diego; United States-California-El Segundo, CA - [Sr Principal Contract Administrator](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/northrop-grumman/sr-principal-contract-administrator-R10260264) — El Segundo, CA - [Program Cost and Schedule Control Analyst](https://zerogtalent.com/space-jobs/northrop-grumman/program-cost-and-schedule-control-analyst-R10259885) — Rocket Center, WV --- *Source: [Zero G Talent](https://zerogtalent.com), the job board for space, defense, AI, robotics and frontier-tech companies.*