Principal / Sr. Principal Factory Automation Engineer (219427)

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 Mission Systems (NGMS) is seeking candidates for the position of Principal / Sr. Principal Factory Automation Engineer to support advanced technology development programs. This position is located at the Linthicum, MD location. 

What You’ll get to Do: 

• Architect custom solutions to bridge the gap between COTS software packages and internal applications 

• Collaborate with COTS vendor to optimize and make key decisions regarding Equipment Automation deployment and configuration 

• Define requirements, author code, test and deploy custom solutions to factory automation systems 

• Characterize semiconductor equipment automation to meet CIM Automation Mode requirements 

• Set communication protocols and network configurations on network devices (Modbus/TCP, AMQP, MQTT, etc.) 

• Author technical documentation that outlines equipment integration and factory automation to technical and non-technical individuals 

• Analyze needs and requirements of existing and proposed systems, and develops technical, structural, and organizational specifications 

• Perform root cause analysis for application failures and implement solutions 

This is a dual level requisition which can be filled as a Principal or Sr Principal Factory Automation Engineer

Basic Qualifications for Principal Factory Automation Engineer: 

• A degree in a STEM area (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) with a minimum of 5 years of experience with a bachelor’s degree, 3 years of experience with a master’s degree, or 0 years of experience with a PhD 

• Able to support execution of Statement of Work (SOW) components with vendors and work cross team 

• Experience in high volume automated manufacturing microelectronics or semiconductor fabs 

• Experience working with SECS/GEM protocol (SECS-I & SECS-II messaging) 

• Understanding of software programming, concepts of Software Engineering or Systems Engineering specifically software integration 

• Experience with supplier engagement and facilitation of supplier. development and risk reduction activities 

• Must be willing to work on site 100% of time 

• Limited travel to local Northrop Grumman facilities may be required 

• This position requires the applicant to be a U.S. citizen 

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a US government security clearance per business requirements 

Basic Qualifications for Sr. Principal Factory Automation Engineer: 

• A degree in a STEM area (Science, Technology, Engineering or Math) with a minimum of 8 years of experience with a bachelor’s degree, 6 years of experience with a master’s degree, or 4 years of experience with a PhD 

• Able to support execution of Statement of Work (SOW) components with vendors and work cross team 

• Experience in high volume automated manufacturing microelectronics or semiconductor fabs 

• Experience working with SECS/GEM protocol (SECS-I & SECS-II messaging) 

• Understanding of software programming, concepts of Software Engineering or Systems Engineering specifically software integration 

• Experience with supplier engagement and facilitation of supplier. development and risk reduction activities 

• Must be willing to work on site 100% of time 

• Limited travel to local Northrop Grumman facilities may be required 

• This position requires the applicant to be a U.S. citizen 

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a US government security clearance per business requirements. 

Preferred Qualifications: 

• Active US government security clearance per business requirements 

• Strong understanding of network architecture and concepts. 

• Experience with message-based communications protocol (AMQP, MQTCC, etc.) and with message-oriented middleware systems (Apache - ActiveMQ, Kafka, Pulsar; RabbitMQ, IBM MQ, TIBCO Enterprise Message Service). 

• Experience with multi-threading and socket programming. 

• Familiarity with factory automation modes, i.e. ‘Manual’, ‘Semi-Auto’, ‘Full-Auto’. 

• Skilled in modern programing languages (Python, SQL, R, etc.) 

• Has worked with Applied Materials SmartFactory Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) solution. 

• Experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies and software tools, i.e. Atlassian tools stack - Jira, Confluence.