Principal or Senior Principal Operations Project Manager

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.

At the heart of who we are, Northrop Grumman is a leading American manufacturing company delivering advanced technologies in support of national security. Our manufacturing operations in Waynesboro, Virginia support production of advanced electronics, radar, and communication systems within our broader portfolio of defense capabilities. Our teams work collaboratively to ensure manufacturing excellence, production readiness, and continuous improvement across programs.

A current clearance is not required to apply to and interview for this job.

We are looking for you to join our team as a Principal or Senior Principal Operations Project Manager (OPM) to support production and manufacturing operations at our Central Virginia manufacturing facilities.

The Operations Project Manager (OPM) is the primary manufacturing and operations liaison to Program Management, Engineering, Supply Chain, Mission Assurance, and Business Management for one or more production programs. This role drives large-scale manufacturing success by integrating cost, schedule, and technical performance, leading cross-functional execution and continuous improvement in a fast-paced production environment.

What You'll Get To Do:

Serve as the primary manufacturing operations interface to the Program Office and functional organizations for assigned programs.

Lead cross-functional Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) across manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, test, quality, finance, and mission assurance.

Own operations strategy and execution from proposal through delivery, ensuring cost, schedule, quality, and compliance objectives are met.

Act as operations CAM: manage baselines, EVMS metrics, Estimates at Complete, and weekly/monthly business management reporting.

Develop and maintain integrated manufacturing, integration, and test plans.

Coordinate material planning, production scheduling, and factory readiness (equipment, facilities, staffing, tooling) to meet delivery commitments.

Utilize manufacturing execution systems (e.g. ESI, Solumina) and MRP to ensure accurate WBS alignment, demand, and capacity planning.

Monitor and drive performance to operational KPIs (schedule adherence, yield, cycle time, WIP, labor/cost performance) and implement recovery plans as needed.

Lead risk and opportunity management, issue resolution, and RCCA activities with strong focus on compliance and meeting performance standards.

Drive continuous improvement (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, etc.), eliminating non-value-added activities and standardizing processes.

Coordinate and support manufacturing proposal inputs (BOEs, labor estimating, bid/resource codes, overhead/labor rates).Provide clear, concise status and recommendations to program and functional leadership, customers, and other stakeholders.

Present program status to program and functional leaders, clearly communicating cost, schedule and technical updates and along with applicable action plans.

The OPM must have excellent written and verbal communication skills with proven ability to influence across organizational levels.

This job requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance plus program clearance. A current clearance is not required to apply to and interview for this job. If you do accept an offer for this position we will start the clearance process immediately, and your start date will be confirmed once you are granted an Interim Secret clearance. The average time to obtain an Interim Secret clearance is about 30 days.

This position may be filled as a Principal Operations Project…