Senior Principal Optical Engineer

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE:
Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START:
Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE:
Secret TRAVEL:
Yes, 10% 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 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.

The EOIR team is seeking a Senior Principal Optical Engineer to serve as a technical lead for optical implementations and system development on advanced electro‑optical and infrared (EO/IR) systems. In this role, you will work across multiple programs to solve complex challenges, coordinate with architects on program-specific implementations, and engage regularly with customers on technical topics. You will also provide technical mentoring to junior staff as part of a 100% on‑site position based in Linthicum, MD.What

You’ll Get To Do:

Northrop Grumman’s EOIR program portfolio focuses on developmental programs and encompasses both imaging and laser systems. For this work, the candidate selected will be responsible for converting system performance and functional requirements into optical architectures, optical layouts, and detailed optical designs for airborne platforms. Responsibilities include analyzing optical design performance, generating and flowing down vendor specifications, and developing and executing alignment, integration, and test (AI&T) plans.

The programs themselves range from proof‑of‑concept breadboards through high‑TRL flight systems and requires close collaboration with multidisciplinary engineering teams at all experience levels, as well as regular interaction with customers.

A strong candidate for this role has experience in airborne and/or space-based EOIR sensors, experience developing and demonstrating imaging and laser-based optical sensors, experience leading teams to successful program execution, and strength in customer engagements.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Define architectures and lead implementations for IRAD, CRAD, and execution programs

Mentor and develop junior team members

Design, develop, integrate, test, and deploy optical systems for novel EOIR systems

Build and maintain physics-based sensor models

Develop and quantify performance metrics for system performance

Understand data quality and artifact impacts

Represent system performance in functional…