Principal Mechanical Engineer

Mechanical Engineer Position

Northrop Grumman Defense Systems has an exceptional opportunity for an experienced Mechanical Engineer to support our Armament Systems site in Plymouth, MN. We are a leading producer of medium and large-caliber tactical and training ammunition for U.S. and allied militaries. Northrop Grumman is at the forefront of developing new, advanced ammunition types that include armor penetration, air bursting, proximity-fuzed and guided munitions to enhance lethality and overmatch on the battlefield.

Position Overview

This position provides mechanical and production engineering support for development and fabrication of medium caliber ammunition. In general, as a member of an integrated product team, you will be providing mechanical engineering support and work direction to distributed manufacturing and test locations, investigating and solving design and manufacturing issues, developing and documenting manufacturing processes, coordinating efforts between internal functional groups, supporting manufacturing and ammunition testing, supporting communications with our customers, and providing support and oversight to material suppliers.

This role will be focused on the mechanical design of the medium caliber ammunition being developed.

Typical Duties (Including but not limited to)

• Conduct Failure Analysis and Corrective Actions to drive the rapid resolution of complex design issues.
• Provide mechanical design-to-production engineering support for the development of new and modification of existing medium caliber ammunition products
• Provide work direction and engineering support to our distributed manufacturing and test locations
• Assist in the resolution of complex manufacturing line process issues such as machining, metal finishing, painting, heat treating, general mechanical assembly, and test
• Research and evaluate commercially available tools and equipment to support manufacturing activities. Design and procure specialized tooling and fixtures.
• Develop new, and improve existing, manufacturing processes
• Develop task releases, get them approved and introduced into the manufacturing system
• Prepare for and support Build Readiness Reviews and Production Readiness Reviews
• Create test requests and support test readiness reviews
• Coordinate manufacturing efforts between internal functional disciplines including Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Manufacturing, and Test.
• As the responsible agent for the product Technical Data Package, support the creation and release of Engineering Changes (concept through final release).
• Provide Engineering disposition on tooling and gage changes from internal and external sources
• Provide Engineering disposition on non-conforming product from internal and external sources
• Provide Engineering approval on proposed process changes from internal and external sources
• Create, publish, review and maintain all necessary documentation required for new and existing manufacturing programs.
• Manufacturing work instructions
• Manufacturing bills of material and build lists
• TDP reviews for correctness and completeness
• Ensure appropriate documentation is in Configuration Management system
• Monitor In-Process Testing and Lot Acceptance Testing for compliance to performance specification requirements.
• Assist in the preparation of engineering and program proposals
• Assist in the preparation of and participate in customer meetings and program reviews
• Travel up to about 10%

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering or similar STEM discipline
• 5+ years of relevant experience in engineering; or master's degree plus 3 years of relevant engineering experience.
• Ability to guide successful completion of significant tasks and provide some work direction, mentoring, and coordination of other technical team members.
• Experience working and communicating with customers, program management, and engineering management
• Technical understanding of mechanical mechanisms, electromechanical mechanisms, manufacturing processes, metal fabrication, and standard assembly processes.
• Applies knowledge of engineering and scientific methods, theories and research techniques in the disciplined…