Job Description

Description

Climb to new heights on your journey when you start Defining Possible with Northrop Grumman. Enjoy a purposeful career in aeronautics that is crucial to the way we connect and protect our world across land, sea, and air. Bring your experience and take advantage of this opportunity to discover how you can start to push past possible and achieve your goals today. Enjoy a diverse, collaborative environment with professionals across the nation ready to help launch your career.

The Global Hawk (GH) Test team at Edwards AFB, CA requires a Test Pilot Engineering Manager 2 responsible for all facets of the Global Hawk Systems Test Engineering amp; Operations, including staffing, planning, execution and reporting in multiple technology areas.
This position requires a highly motivated and self-starting individual with relevant test operations experience, who will be willing to support additional HALE or RQ-4/MQ-4 Series Programs beyond the defined requirements of this position.

The Test Pilot Engineering Manager will orchestrate ground and flight integration and developmental testing for various RQ-4 Series/Global Hawk aircraft. This manager must possess a strong background in flight operations to oversee integration and developmental testing of Edwards AFB Global Hawk air vehicles, manages the flight crew schedule, and interfaces daily with mission planning, flight test engineering, and the Site Test IPT Lead. In addition, this manager and his/her team will be fully integrated with the Edwards AFB 452nd Flight Test Squadron/Combined Test Force (CTF) Air Force customer. The manager must coordinate Edwards AFB flight operations, to include creating and maintaining flight publications accounts, requisition of required equipment, writing Edwards AFB-specific contractor procedures, and maintaining pilot documents and manuals required for flight operations. This manager directly interfaces with the Government Flight Representative (GFR) and is the POC for required Aircraft Operating Inspections conducted by the GFR/DCMA.

Also responsible for the daily support of aircraft and ground shelter testing and managing the daily operations of Edwards AFB pilots, sensor operators (SOs), flight test engineers (FTEs) and mission planners. May be required to coordinate with chase aircraft and chase pilot requirements. Will also fill the Section Manager role for all Edwards AFB GH test pilots and SOs, to include the NASA Global Hawk test pilots, leading a team of about 11 direct reports.

In addition, the selected candidate will be responsible for managing personnel, coordinating with ground test engineering and operations, aircraft modifications for testing, frequent interaction with Engineering at Rancho Bernardo, and ensuring cost and schedule performance targets are met. The selected individual must provide program leadership for test site employees and provide timely resource forecasts to program management, assuring that proper staffing is in place to execute the Flight Test Statement of Work. The successful candidate will have frequent contact with internal personnel and external customer representatives at various management levels concerning operations, and will be responsible for scheduling specific aircraft and test resources and resolving issues that may arise over the course of the flight test program. The manager will have excellent communication skills, experience with flight-line operational requirements, experience leading test pilot and test engineering personnel, and be capable of working in a matrix environment with multiple sources of management guidance. The selected candidate may be required to support extended shifts, occasional weekends, and holidays as required to maintain program schedule as well as minimal travel to support specific Global Hawk programs and special tests, as required.
The selected candidate will identify all test and test program risks, issues, and pressures and develop mitigation and closure plans

Qualification

Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Science Degree
- Minimum of 9 years of relevant test experience with an emphasis on test engineering and operations
- Active DoD Secret clearance
- Excellent communication skills, including ability to brief test results/issues to executive leadership
- Strong interpersonal and leadership skills

Preferred Qualifications:
- Active DoD Top Secret clearance
- BS STEM Degree
- RQ-4 Series qualified pilot
- RQ-4 Series Instructor Pilot and Evaluator
- Current Class II FAA Physical
- Minimum 500 Pilot in Command (PIC) hours and able to maintain currency
- FAA commercial instrument rated pilot (or military equivalent)
- Military flight experience, flight test operations, multi-engine rated, FAA single engine commercial
rating, aviation instructor experience also preferred
- Experience working in a CTF environment
- Experience leading a flight test operations team
- Military Test Pilot School (TPS) graduate highly desirable