CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: SCI

TRAVEL: Yes, 10 of the TimeDescription

At Northrop Grumman, our employees have incredible opportunities to work on revolutionary systems that impact peoples 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 nations 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, theyre making history.

Expand your horizons, advance your career, and contribute to a secure future for generations. Northrop Grumman’s Space Sector invites you to bring your pioneering spirit to our collaborative teams. As a Mission Operations Lead – Level 5 located in Dulles, VA, you’ll be a linchpin in missions of paramount importance, defining the art of the possible from day one. This position is 100 onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.

This role supports the development, preparation, and execution of high-tempo on-orbit spacecraft activities, including Launch and Early Orbit Operations and specialized test activities. The Mission Operations Lead will provide technical and operational support to the program, guiding all program activities related to design, development, testing, and delivery of technical requirements, while ensuring contractual cost, schedule, and performance commitments are met.

This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.

Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Managing and participating with a development team, provide guidance, and ensure effective execution of tasks.
• Tasks include:
  • Collaborating with systems engineers to develop operational documentation for on-orbit checkout and commissioning of satellites
  • Review and decomposition of Requirements and Statements of Work to ensure satisfaction and definition of Mission Operations scope
  • Conducting testing using simulators and resolving discrepancies
  • Developing and testing command procedures, telemetry pages, and other products derived from vendor-provided documentation
  • Defining and leading mission readiness activities, including mission rehearsals, mission timeline development, and post-launch test development
  • Supporting launches, including shift work, for instrument and spacecraft LEO&A activities
  • Modifying existing operations procedures to incorporate lessons learned from in-flight performance and developing new procedures as required
• Acting as a liaison between the operations team and internal/external stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and alignment on program goals.
• Collaborating with operations and satellite vehicle teams to prioritize, build, and align strategies that enhance operational efficiency in a multi-vehicle environment.
• Supporting internal and external customer meetings through proficient verbal and documented communication (e.g., MS PowerPoint, MS Word, MS Excel).
• Ensuring strong mission integration and onboarding, facilitating smooth transitions of systems and software into operational environments.
• Travel and shift work will be required to support launch and operational activities
• Other duties as assigned

If this job description reads like it was written specifically for you, consider joining our team!

This position is contingent upon the candidate obtaining final clearances and program access(es) within a reasonable period of time as determined by the company.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree with 12 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 10 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 8 years of professional experience.   
• Requires an active Top-Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) clearance at time of application
• Experience as a Technical Lead or in another leadership role in a program office, demonstrating strong team-building and interpersonal skills.
• Proficient in configuration management, tracking, and providing updates for Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL) items.
• Strong technical communication skills, with the ability to convey complex engineering concepts to diverse audiences and deliver outstanding verbal and written communications, including persuasive presentations to external customers during milestone reviews.
• Experience writing technical documents for both internal and external customers.
• Prior experience conducting on-orbit mission operations or resolving satellite/ground system anomalies
• System engineering experience or significant classwork in system engineering or system design

 Preferred Qualifications:  

• Program and network access
• Ability to collaborate within a team of diverse, geographically dispersed individuals to achieve mission success.
• Experience with Satellite Mission planning and Rendezvous Proximity Operations.
• Experience with lights-out operations, spacecraft, or ground system automation.
• Familiarity with tools such as Confluence, JIRA, Sharepoint, and Teams.
• Experience with Requirements decomposition
• Experience with Requirement tracking software and tools (e.g DOORS)

Curious about all the exciting developments with the Northrop Grumman Space Sector? Click the link below:

https://www.northropgrumman.com/space

Working at Northrop Grumman is more than just a paycheck. We offer a comprehensive Total Rewards and benefits package designed to help you thrive at work and in life. For more information on our Total Rewards package, please visit our Total Rewards site.

Northrop Grumman Total Rewards 

Primary Level Salary Range: $177,000.00 - $265,600.00

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 candidates experience, education, skills and current spanet 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.