Principal / Sr. Principal Production Engineer - Robotics & Automation

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: None

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 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.

Position Overview

This career opportunity is a great fit for a self‑motivated, proactive individual. Our engineers work in a high‑exposure, fast‑paced, and exciting environment that involves hands‑on technical challenges, problem solving, and inter‑department collaborations. The candidate will apply strong engineering fundamentals, demonstrate clear communication with all stakeholders, and thrive on attention to detail while tackling a variety of challenges each day.

Northrop Grumman is currently seeking an experienced Principal (Level 3) or Senior Principal Engineer (Level 4) to provide manufacturing and process‑engineering technical expertise, project management, and comprehensive automation support for our fast‑growing medium‑caliber ammunition production programs in our Plymouth, MN offices.

Reporting to the Engineering Manager, Production Engineering, this role is responsible for delivering end‑to‑end manufacturing engineering support for electro‑mechanical fuze assemblies while designing, deploying, and maintaining automation cells. The engineer will collaborate with project teams to streamline designs for enhanced manufacturability and automation, integrating cutting‑edge technologies such as robotics, advanced inspection, and testing to ensure rapid, cost‑effective delivery of high‑quality products.

• Support the implementation and ensure optimal uptime of automation solutions by coordinating prove-out plans and preventative maintenance, performing PFMEAs, spare part management, and training.
• Work with project teams to coordinate design‑for‑manufacturability and automation opportunities for new product development efforts.
• Leverage the latest technologies including robotics, vision / inspection, testing to ensure high quality and cost-effective products are released to market as quickly as possible.
• Assist in automation standardization including acceptance checklists, PLC and data analytic platforms (Thingworx & Kepware), design for automation checklists, training (plc, robotics, safety) and foster cross-sector collaboration.
• Aid in the design of production solutions, including automation cells, fixtures, and test stations, to achieve optimal, safe production output and quality.
• Provide on‑site troubleshooting, maintenance, repairs, and upgrades for automation cells and associated equipment.
• Develop manufacturing processes and documentation that ensures hardware and test articles meet engineering and configuration requirements.
• Coordinate builds of electro-mechanical assemblies to support programs that are in engineering and manufacturing development as well as production.
• Contribute to completion of specific program and project milestones.
• Interface with design engineering to create products that are optimized for assembly.
• Disposition discrepant hardware.  Support and/or lead failure investigations, root cause determination, and corrective action implementation.
• Communicates manufacturing plans and processes to internal and external customers through Manufa