Principal Quality Analyst

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.

• Develop and implement program quality plans, programs, and procedures using statistical quality‑control, lean manufacturing, Six Sigma tools, and analyses.
• Ensure product performance and quality meet company and regulatory standards.
• Review, analyze, and report quality discrepancies in assembly, process, mechanical, electrical, and electro‑mechanical systems.
• Investigate problems, create dispositions, and apply corrective actions for recurring issues; collaborate with manufacturing, engineering, customers, vendors, and subcontractors to meet requirements.
• Recommend corrective actions, dispositions, and design or process modifications.
• Identify and describe the relationships among quality manuals, procedures, and work instructions.
• Apply the cost‑of‑quality concept (prevention, appraisal, internal‑failure, external‑failure).
• Define audit components: purpose, scope, planning, execution, meetings, final report, and corrective‑action verification.
• Facilitate team development through information sharing, ice‑breakers, and vision alignment.
• Employ process‑improvement methodologies: PDCA cycles, Kaizen, incremental/breakthrough improvements, and DMAIC phases.
• Select, construct, apply, and interpret basic quality tools (cause‑and‑effect diagrams, flowcharts, check sheets, Pareto charts, scatter diagrams, run/control charts, histograms).
• Recognize risk types (scheduling, shipping, financial, operations, safety, regulatory) and apply mitigation methods (avoidance, reduction, prevention, segregation, transfer).
• Describe acceptance‑sampling parameters (lot size, sample size, acceptance number, OC curves) and determine when probability‑based approaches are appropriate.
• Outline product and process approval systems, including validation and qualification methods such as beta testing, first‑article, in‑process, and final inspections.
• Explain material identification, status, and traceability; describe segregation of non‑conforming material.
• Demonstrate corrective‑action steps: problem identification, containment, root‑cause analysis, implementation verification, and effectiveness confirmation.
• Apply preventive‑action elements: trend tracking, FMEA, monitoring‑report review, potential‑failure identification, error‑proofing, and change verification.
• Highlight the benefits of real‑time data collection and recommend optimal data‑gathering techniques.

• A Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience; OR a Master’s degree with 3 or more years of relevant work experience.
• Experience with LEAN, Six Sigma, and continuous‑improvement methodologies;
  Green‑ or Black‑Belt certification preferred.
• Experience with corrective‑action processes, quality processes/procedures, and validation/qualification methodologies.
• Experience using quality tools (cause‑and‑effect diagrams, flowcharts, check sheets, Pareto charts, scatter diagrams, run/control…