Sr Principal Contract Administrator

RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: Relocation assistance may be available

CLEARANCE REQUIRED FOR START: No

CLEARANCE TYPE: None

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 Weapon Systems Division, Armament Systems Business Unit (BU) is seeking an experienced and dynamic individual to join its team as a Senior Principal Contract Administrator located on-site in Mesa, AZ. This position requires excellent oral and written communication skills and regular interaction with various levels of executive management to include various functional organizations throughout the OU, BU, Division, and Sector levels.

In this role, the successful candidate will be responsible for producing high-quality Contract Management related products supporting the Weapon Systems Division, Armament Systems Business Unit (BU) programs. This position requires a comprehensive understanding of DoD contracting, exceptional written and verbal communication skills, advanced proficiency with Microsoft 365, and outstanding interpersonal and organizational capabilities. The successful candidate will be a highly collaborative team member as well as a trusted, self-directed senior contributor, demonstrating strong leadership, mature business acumen, and unwavering professionalism. They will bring a proven track record of sound judgment, rigorous work ethic, and sophisticated problem-solving skills, applied with precision and a consistently detail-oriented approach in a complex contracts environment.

Essential Functions:

• Provides expert interpretation of DoD regulations and complex commercial terms, leading negotiation of U.S. Government, commercial, and international contracts and agreements.
• Serves as a senior contracts advisor on competitive and sole-source RFPs, NDAs, and Teaming Agreements, applying ITAR and export knowledge to ensure compliant, competitive structures.
• Ensures rigorous compliance with company procedures, legal requirements, and customer specifications, identifying contractual and business risks and recommending mitigation strategies.
• Independently resolves complex contractual and business issues by seeking, synthesizing, and applying information from diverse sources to deliver practical, business-focused solutions.
• Proactively engages with program, technical, and operations leadership to provide contracts guidance, ensuring contract requirements, obligations, and risks are clearly communicated and managed.
• Exercises sound judgment in timely decision-making; provides clear guidance across technical, program, finance, supply chain, legal, export, and security stakeholders to drive alignment and issue resolution.
• Leads proposal preparation, complex contract negotiations, contract administration, and customer interactions to ensure successful contract acquisition and performance in accordance with all requirements.
• Reviews and validates cost estimates, contract performance requirements, and delivery schedules with a meticulous, detail-oriented approach to ensure accuracy, completeness, and alignment with contractual commitments.
• Processes specifications and progress reports; advises management on contractual rights, obligations, and risk; analyzes contract data; and maintains organized historical information to support informed decisions.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with at least 10 years of relevant experience; or master's degree with at least 8 years of relevant experience. Will consider an additional 4+ years of experience in lieu of degree.
• At least 5 years of experience negotiating and administering a variety of domestic and international contract types and agreement structures.
• In-depth knowledge of FAR and DFARS, with expert experience applying these regulations across multiple contract types.
• Thorough understanding of applicable U.S. Government acquisition regulations and related compliance requirements.
• Strong proposal development and negotiation skills, with excellent oral and written communication tailored to senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to travel periodically, both domestically and internationally, in support of program and customer commitments.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secret Clearance.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to use them in informing, presenting, and negotiating to all levels of management.
• Strong problem solving and analytical skills; ability to make recommendations and effectively bring projects to completion

• Must possess excellent problem solving and decision-making skills that support accomplishment of discipline objective to resolve complex problems and minimize risk to the Corporation
• Ability to work independently and make independent decisions, ensuring high levels of collaboration with stakeholders and subject matter experts
• Knowledge of Contract Management System (CMS), SAP and/or Cost Point
• Proficient in Excel, PowerPoint, Word, SharePoint, etc.

Primary Level Salary Range: $101,400.00 - $152,200.00

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 U.S. Citizenship is required for all positions with a government clearance and certain other restricted positions.