Modeling Simulation Engineer Jobs in Arizona (NOW HIRING)

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’s Space Sector is seeking a Guidance Navigation Control Engineer: Modeling and Simulation (M&S) Product Lead – Level 4/5 to join our team in Chandler, AZ. This position is 100% onsite and cannot accommodate telecommute work.

Our GNC (Guidance, Navigation and Control) Engineers design, develop, implement, verify, and test algorithms and simulation tools that deliver guidance, navigation and control for aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, launch vehicles and related platforms across every mission phase—from powered ascent to interplanetary cruise and orbital insertion.

• Design, develop, implement, verify, and test high‑quality software and simulation toolchains for missile flight systems.
• Develop and integrate autopilot and guidance algorithms directly into missile flight code.
• Seamlessly incorporate algorithms into the vehicle’s flight software while collaborating with software and hardware teams.
• Utilize various trajectory‑optimization tools to generate, interpret, and analyze vehicle trajectory results.
• Modify or create new scripts (e.g., Python, MATLAB, Bash) to capture customer requirements and measure vehicle performance.
• Build, validate, and maintain modeling and simulation frameworks for aerospace vehicles and components, ensuring accuracy across operational scenarios.
• Enhance simulation fidelity by integrating advanced modeling techniques to support system analysis and decision‑making.
• Conduct rigorous testing and evaluation of simulation models, identifying and resolving discrepancies between simulated and real‑world performance metrics.
• Gather, post‑process, and analyze large, complex data sets to verify and validate performance results.
• Ensure that simulation outcomes match intended performance metrics and system specifications.
• Document design rationale, test results, and compliance evidence for aerospace standards and program reviews.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams (systems, propulsion, structures, avionics) to integrate GNC solutions into overall vehicle architectures.
• Other duties as assigned

This position will work a 9/80 schedule, with every other Friday off.

• Bachelor’s degree with 8 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 6 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 4 years of professional experience. Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
• Requires an active U.S. Government Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope.
• Proficiency in object‑oriented programming, especially C++, and scripting with Bash, Python, and MATLAB.
• Proficiency in creating and implementing 6‑degree‑of‑freedom (6DoF) simulation models.
• Strong background in designing, developing, implementing, and testing GNC algorithms, simulation models, and control systems.
• Proven experience leading mentoring and training a team engineers.
• Ability to participate in verification and validation processes for aerospace systems.
• Knowledge of Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS).

• Bachelor’s degree with 12 years of professional experience – OR – Master’s degree with 10 years of professional experience – OR – PhD with 8 years of professional experience. Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
• Requires an active U.S. Government Secret security clearance at time of application, current and within scope.
• Proficiency in object‑oriented programming, especially C++, and scripting with Bash, Python, and MATLAB.
• Proficiency in creating and implementing 6‑degree‑of‑freedom (6DoF) simulation models.
• Strong background in designing, developing, implementing, and testing GNC algorithms, simulation models, and control systems.
• Proven experience leading mentoring and training a team engineers.
• Ability to participate in verification and validation processes for aerospace systems.
• Knowledge of Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS).

• Advanced degree (Master's or PhD) in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills to support control law design and system optimization.
• Knowledge of launch vehicles, spacecraft control, or related fields in aerospace systems.
• Hands‑on experience in missile software development and validation testing.
• Create CI/CD Pipelines – able to automate simulation runs and post processing.
• Experience running 6DOF/3DOF simulations on HPC cluster for modeling vehicle trajectory and performance.
• Experience using job schedulers such as SLURM or PBS.
• Experience with the Atlassian toolset, such as Jira and Confluence.

Primary Level Salary Range: $122,800.00 - $184,200.00

Secondary Level Salary Range: $152,900.00 - $229,300.00

Employees may be eligible for overtime, shift differential, and discretionary bonuses in addition to base pay. Annual bonuses reward individual contributions and company results. Vice President or Director positions may be eligible for Long‑Term Incentives. Other benefits include health insurance coverage, life and disability insurance, savings plan, company‑paid holidays, and paid time off for vacation and/or personal business.

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.