Principal​/Senior Principal Manufacturing Engineer - Assembly and Coating - R10214244

Principal/Senior Principal Manufacturing Engineer – Assembly & Coating (Waynesboro, VA)

Location: Waynesboro, VA
Clearance: Secret (not required to apply, but required once hired)
Travel: Approximately 25% of the time, decreasing after 12–18 months
Relocation assistance: May be available

Join Northrop Grumman and help build next‑generation radars, communications antennas, and electronic warfare capabilities in our state‑of‑the‑art manufacturing facility slated to open in 2026.

Support Assembly and Coating operations at our Central Virginia manufacturing facilities. As a hands‑on manufacturing engineer you will design, implement, and improve work instruction and manufacturing operations in Assembly and Coating cells, leveraging digital tools to streamline sequences and production. You will collaborate with peers, assemblers, and technicians to ensure operational readiness, troubleshoot equipment, perform preventive maintenance, and drive process improvements.

• Develop processes and methodologies focused on safety, yields, cost, and process stability.
• Provide ROI justification for process improvements and equipment purchases.
• Implement shop‑floor digital solutions for preventive maintenance and operations.
• Collaborate with OEMs on troubleshooting and corrective actions for failures.
• Develop digital work instructions for manufacturing and maintenance tasks.

• Bachelor’s degree and ≥5 years manufacturing/production/equipment maintenance experience, or Master’s degree and ≥3 years, or Associate’s degree and ≥7 years.
• Experience developing digital work instructions for complete processes or assemblies.
• Proficiency with MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Ability to obtain and maintain US Secret clearance.
• US Citizenship required.

• Bachelor’s degree and ≥8 years manufacturing/production/equipment maintenance experience, or Master’s degree and ≥6 years, or Associate’s degree and ≥10 years.
• Experience developing digital work instructions for complete processes or assemblies.
• Proficiency with MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel).
• Ability to obtain and maintain US Secret clearance.
• US Citizenship required.

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical, mechanical, or automation engineering.
• Experience with antenna and electronic warfare assemblies.
• DFM/DFA experience.
• Equipment maintenance and troubleshooting experience.
• Material coating and bonding processes experience.
• Automation systems experience in production environments.
• CAD modeling experience.
• Inventory and logistics experience.
• PLC and automation solutions experience.
• Six Sigma certification and applied statistics proficiency.
• Experience applying AI to accelerate process development.

Full benefits package including health insurance, savings plan, paid time off, education assistance, training and development, 9/80 work schedule (where available), and more. Salary ranges:
Primary Level $89,400–$134,200;
Secondary Level $111,700–$167,500. Overtime, shift differential, discretionary bonuses, and long‑term incentives may apply.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds. Visit for our full EEO and pay transparency statement. U.S. Citizenship is required for positions requiring government clearance.