Mission Modeling Systems Engineering Manager 3

Company: Northrop Grumman
Location: Rolling Meadows
Posted on: April 1, 2026

Job Description:

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available CLEARANCE TYPE: 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 Mission Systems is a trusted provider of mission-enabling solutions for global security. Our Engineering and Sciences (E&S) organization pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines engineering capabilities, and drives advances in various sciences. Our team is chartered with providing the skills, innovative technologies to develop, design, produce and sustain optimized product lines across the sector while providing a decisive advantage to the warfighter. Come be a part of our mission! Northrop Grumman’s Systems Engineering, Integration & Test (SEIT) organization in Rolling Meadows, IL is seeking a qualified Mission Modeling Manager (Level 3) to lead a functionally diverse and highly technical engineering organization supporting Mission Modeling across the Multidomain Sensing, Targeting and Survivability (MSTS) Division. The Mission Modeling Manager level 3 is a highly technical dual role, with 80% technical and 20% managerial. The role requires hands on technical work to be accomplished alongside their team. This role will also focus on three separate areas of responsibility: team leadership and management, team technical performance, and planning for the future. This position will report to the Director of Systems Engineering, Integration & Test as part of the senior staff. The work performed by the Mission Modeling team supports all business areas represented across the Multidomain Sensing, Targeting and Survivability (MSTS) Division at the Rolling Meadows campus. The successful candidate will clearly demonstrate strong leadership skills and will have a track record as an effective communicator and problem solver. He/she should have a history of establishing and maintaining good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. This candidate will demonstrate a broad skill set that is balanced between interpersonal, business, and technical capabilities. He / she should have the ability to operate independently based on strategic objectives, work in a team environment, and collaborate across the organization, Division and Enterprise as required to accomplish goals. The candidate will work closely with the other SEIT managers, business unit directors, capture managers and program managers. Key aspects of each major area of responsibility are as follows: Team Leadership and Management : The Manager of Mission Modeling will lead a management and technical staff of approximately 31 engineers, supporting a variety of programs in different life cycle stages, and will ensure that the team has the resources they require to be successful. The most significant tasks included within the scope of this responsibility are: • Management of team assignments across programs and NCTA • Manage staffing assignments across programs and forecast future staffing needs • Execute functional management responsibilities including performance management, quarterly connections, career development, training, retention, and compensation planning • Manage department budget in support of utilization and affordability targets • Mentor and develop technical and management talent • Drive continuous process improvement and employee engagement Team Technical Performance : The Manager of Mission Modeling will support a variety of programs in different life cycle stages. The most significant areas of accountability are: • Program performance monitoring & support with emphasis on execution within scope, budget and schedule constraints • Ensuring and monitoring of quality work products • Engineering process maintenance and enforcement • Program task management & team leadership • Lead the evolution of model-based practices to ensure requirements, system behavior, and mission analysis are coherently linked and usable by all stakeholders Planning for the Future: The Manager of Mission Modeling is expected to bring a clear, forward-looking vision for how the Mission Modeling department should be organized to meet future business, technical and workforce demands. This includes defining an organizational structure that scales, enables technical depth and specialization, and supports agility across program execution, capture, and innovation efforts. The successful candidate will articulate how their proposed structure improves technical rigor, workforce development, cross discipline collaboration, and responsiveness to evolving mission needs, while balancing near-term execution with long term capability growth. The Manager of Mission Modeling will be setting the path for the organization and supporting the strategic direction of all supported business units. The most significant tasks included within the scope of this area are: • Drive early engagement in capture activities to help define and mature mission-aligned solutions through rapid analysis and mission-level insight. • Responsible for the creation, review and approval of project bids for the organization • Define and maintain a mission modeling technology vision and roadmap that aligns capabilities, tools, and workforce development with evolving mission and business needs. • Develop and define NCTA projects that align with the mission modeling technology roadmap and address capability gaps. • Drive a mission-first approach that embeds mission-level analysis into technical decision-making across the lifecycle, from requirements development through verification and test This position will be full-time on-site at our Rolling Meadows, IL. location. Basic Qualifications: • Bachelor’s Degree and 12 years of experience in relevant engineering or sciences field or MS Degree and 10 years of experience in relevant engineering or sciences field or PhD and 7 years of experience in relevant engineering or sciences field • Minimum 3 years of management experience in a functional engineering organization or program role with demonstrated success • Experience executing functional management responsibilities including recruiting, retention, training, goal setting, career guidance, quarterly connections, compensation planning, policy dissemination, employee engagement, staffing, workforce planning, and implementation of department vision and strategies. • Demonstrated success in leading, collaborating and developing cross functional teams of varying experience relating to hardware or software development, system design, or modeling and simulation • Must possess strong organizational and interpersonal skills to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with all levels of management and individual contributors • Experience as a Cost Account Manager (CAM) in the Defense industry or equivalent commercial experience with Program Management/Project Management duties, including operating under cost and schedule constraints. • Demonstrated success working with internal and external customers to generate business and funding for projects or initiatives. • Experience supporting proposal development activities including SOW development, integrated master schedule (IMS), and Basis of Estimates (BOE) • Experience in Systems Engineering concepts of requirements generation and allocation, system design, system integration and validation, and system selloff. • Experience in model-based systems engineering (MBSE) using languages (SysML) and tools (Rhapsody, Cameo, Capella ) to manage requirements and develop analytical and descriptive models and use cases • Experience with Mission Modeling Tools including AFSIM, Ansys Systems Tool Kit (STK), MATLAB, Simulink • U.S. citizenship • Active Secret clearance Preferred Qualifications: • Master's/PhD degree in a relevant technical area. • Cost Account Management (CAM) certification • Proven record of collaboration across organizations and geographical locations • Prior experience allocating functionality across hardware, firmware, and software designs • Ability to use Mission Level Analysis to drive discriminating solutions into System Architecture trades of hardware and software • Active Top Secret security clearance Primary Level Salary Range: $184,300.00 - $276,500.00 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.

Keywords: Northrop Grumman, Janesville , Mission Modeling Systems Engineering Manager 3, Engineering , Rolling Meadows, Wisconsin