Principal/Sr. Principal Experimental Physicist

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. The Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) Microelectronics and Device Applications (MDA) group pushes the boundaries of innovation, redefines the leading edge of exotic new technologies, and drives advances in the sciences. One of our most challenging new fields is Transformational Computing, which combines the unique properties of superconductivity and quantum mechanics to develop radical new energy-efficient computing systems. Our team is chartered with providing the skills to transform computing beyond Moore’s Law, advancing development of computer architectures, processing/memory subsystems, and large-scale high-performance computing systems. You’ll work in a R&D environment alongside a broad array of scientists and engineers to make these processing solutions a reality and deliver remarkable new advantages to the warfighter. We are seeking an experimental physicist with a robust scientific background that has an interest in data acquisition and analysis on superconducting qubits and superconducting electronics. The ideal candidate has experience with running complex experiments and writing custom software to control a variety of equipment such as RF/DC sources and arbitrary waveform generators. This position will involve both using existing test resources (hardware and software) and develop new tools to improve test throughput and reliability. This position requires work on site located at our Advanced Technology Lab (ATL) in Linthicum, Maryland or Annapolis Junction, MD. Your responsibilities: Develop and implement test protocols for novel experiments on superconducting devices. Debug existing software tools and support implementation of new capabilities. Support the current and future development of test platforms within function, cost and schedule constraints. Document and implement test requirements and procedures. Review test plans for accuracy and completeness. Analyze data and report on test results. What you need to be successful in the role: Interest/excitement in research areas involving qubits and superconducting electronics. Tenacity when diving into problems to follow them through and find the optimal solution. Presentation and communication skills Ability to collaborate in a small group setting (4-7 people) as well as work independently. This position can be filled at the Principal level OR Sr. Principal level. Qualifications for both are listed below: Basic Qualifications for Principal Experimental Physicist: PhD in experimental physics, electrical engineering, or a STEM related field (or will complete by December 2025) with 1 year of relevant technical experience; Master's Degree and 3 years of relevant technical experience; Bachelor's Degree with 5 plus years of relevant technical experience. Experience working in a lab environment. Basic circuit analysis and troubleshooting skills. Proficiency writing code in MATLAB and/or Python. US Citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret (TS/SCI) clearance with polygraph per business requirements. Basic Qualifications for Sr. Principal Experimental Physicist: PhD in experimental physics, electrical engineering, or a STEM related field and 4 plus years of relevant technical experience; master's degree and 7 years of relevant technical experience; Bachelor's degree and 9 plus years of relevant technical experience. Experience mentoring teams and providing leadership in a lab setting. Proficiency writing code in MATLAB and/or Python. US Citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret (TS/SCI) with polygraph clearance per business requirements. Preferred Qualifications for both Principal AND Sr. Principal Experimental Physicist: PhD in experimental physics, electrical engineering, or related field. Experience with low temperature experimental setups. Leadership experience working on a scientific research team. Experience working with qubits, quantum information, or superconducting electronics. Experience writing in a version-controlled, OOP-based codebase in Python or MATLAB Active TS/SCI clearance with poly.