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Principal Human Factors Engineer

Northrop Grumman

Listing collected from Northrop Grumman's career site. NextChapter is independent of Northrop Grumman.

San Diego, CA · Posted October 4, 2026

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About the job

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: Yes

CLEARANCE TYPE: Top 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.

Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems is looking to add a Principal Human Factors Engineer to join our team. The position is located on site in Rancho Bernardo, California. This position can also be supported from El Segundo, California or Palmdale, California. This position will be in our Systems Engineering organization.

In this role, your primary roles and responsibilities will include:

Support the planning, coordination, and execution of activities to verify user experience (UX) requirements, including conducting evaluations, tests, and demonstrations to ensure requirements are met.

Support the evaluation of requirements adhering to Human Factors best practices and specified sections of MIL-STD-1472.

Contributions to Human Factors Analyses (including but not limited to: Task Analyses and Predictive Workload Analyses, Usability studies, Workload, and Situation Awareness surveys).

Candidates must be able to plan, conduct, summarize and brief user centered design events including Design Thinking Workshops and Operator in the Loop evaluations of system impacts on mission performance.

Author/support the program documentation of the HFE processes and products in a format consistent with US Military Data Item Descriptions (e.g. Human Engineering Program Plan, Human Engineering Design Approach Document – Operator, Human Engineering Design Approach Document – Maintainer, Human Engineering Test Plan, Human Engineering Test Report, et. al).

Collaboration with Design Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) to ensure evolving design addresses program needs and adheres to Human Interface design requirements

Analyze proposed workarounds for system discrepancies to determine whether the workaround is acceptable from an operator perspective

Support Airworthiness analysis, artifact development, and compliance summaries.

Basic Qualifications

Bachelor’s of Science Degree and 5 years of experience in a Human Factors related field; OR a Master’s degree and 3 years of related experience; OR a PhD and 1 years of related engineering experience.

Experience with MIL-STD-1472, Human Factor survey development, test procedure development/execution, and/or test report writing.

Ability to work in a dynamic, fast paced environment, Action Oriented, Strong Attention to Detail, Communicates Effectively.

Active USG Top Secret clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).

Ability to obtain and maintain initial Special Access Program (SAP) access via a Program Access Request (PAR). This SAP/PAR must be obtained prior to commencement of employment and must be obtained within a reasonable amount of time as determined by the company to meet its business needs.

Ability to obtain and maintain subsequent SAP PARs following commencement of employment to be able to completely support statement of work

Preferred Qualifications

Current applicable Special Access Program (SAP) clearance.

Active USG Top Secret SCI clearance (with a background investigation within the past 5 years or enrolled into Continuous Evaluation).

Bachelor’s Degree in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) discipline and 5 years of related engineering experience; OR a Master’s degree in a STEM discipline and 3 years of related engineering experience; OR a PhD in a STEM discipline and 1 years of related engineering experience.

Military Flight Experience

Primary Level Salary Range: $114,000.00 - $171,000.00

The above salary range represents a general guideline; however, Northrop Grumman considers a number of factors when determining base salary offers such as the scope and responsibilities of the position and the candidate's experience, education, skills and current market conditions.

Depending on the position, employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and a discretionary bonus in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Employees in Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long Term Incentives. In addition, Northrop Grumman provides a variety of benefits including health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, Company paid holidays and paid time off (PTO) for vacation and/or personal business.

The application period for the job is estimated to be 20 days from the job posting date. However, this timeline may be shortened or extended depending on business needs and the availability of qualified candidates.

Northrop Grumman is an Equal Opportunity Employer, making decisions without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other protected class. For our complete EEO and pay transparency statement, please visit http://www.northropgrumman.com/EEO. U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.