Northrop Grumman (Lancaster, Palmdale, Carson: how much, houses, school)

[lastra]

Hi,
Me and my husband might be moving to California for a mechanical engineering job at Northrop Grumman at Edwards Air Force base. Can anyone tell me more about this company? How much do you work? How is the company culture? Their benefits? Or anything else that you might think its interesting. Thank you.

[MtnSurfer]

Well,

Those are a lot of good questions. But normally HR is best suited to answer the specifics abouts benefits, etc... That will vary a lot depending on position and sector. You see NG is a huge company which really consists of a number of smaller companies (sectors) under one larger umbrella.

An example of this is when I started with NG right after they purchased TRW. Basically NG left TRW as is because the company was very successful - same management, same employees, same basic practices, different name. And as NG has grown and aquired more companies this has continued for the most part. However there is One NG initiative to centralize and standardize practices across all sectors. But this is a huge undertaking and takes time to change. So even things like vacation time and holidays still vary from one sector to the next.

I really like working for the company as a SW engineer. They have provided good benefits, compensation and the opportunites to work on a large variety of assignments. I was also able to live in three separate areas (Carson, Colorado Springs and now Monterey) while working for them.

The corporate culture is typical DoD really. I normally work in groups of ppl from 3-4 other contracting companies such Raytheon, Boeing, etc... But they do seem to take care of their employees and so you will have a lot of long timers (10-20+ years).

No company is perfect. But NG is one of the best I have worked for if not the best. Edwards AFB is in a beautiful part of the state as well. Jobs are hard to come by in that region of the central coast. So I think you guys will be fortunate if things work out.

I thought I had heard about a big reduction in staff at Edwards. But apparently they are still hiring for some positions.

Derek

[lastra]

Hi Derek,
Thank you for your answers. Northrop Grumman came to our college. They had interviews yesterday, and they interviewed my husband who graduated in December. They said that we might expect a call these days. If that happens, I agree, we will be very fortunate. Thank you so much.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by lastra

Hi,
Me and my husband might be moving to California for a mechanical engineering job at Northrop Grumman at Edwards Air Force base.

Do you know what working at EAFB will be like? Are you familiar with the region, the housing options, the school systems in the vicinity, etc?

[lastra]

Originally Posted by Charles

Do you know what working at EAFB will be like? Are you familiar with the region, the housing options, the school systems in the vicinity, etc?

No, we are not familiar. We figured if they offer us ( him ) a position, we will go out there and check it out before we agree to anything. When it comes to my college, I can do the rest of my classes online. We researched a little bit on housing, but not much yet. However, the school systems would be something important for us if we plan to have children later. If you have information, it would be greatly appreciated.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by lastra

No, we are not familiar. We figured if they offer us ( him ) a position, we will go out there and check it out before we agree to anything. When it comes to my college, I can do the rest of my classes online. We researched a little bit on housing, but not much yet. However, the school systems would be something important for us if we plan to have children later. If you have information, it would be greatly appreciated.

EAFB is in the Mojave desert. Very important: There are several informative threads on relocation to EAFB on the CA and maybe the LA City-Data forums. Tons of information. Suggest you work the search tool.

Northrop Grumman has tons and tons of jobs in Southern California; If you are working on Program A and it gets canceled you may be able to get on Program B. However, the NG sites are spread out all over the place and I don't know of too many near EAFB, maybe Palmdale airport as I think Boeing is there, maybe NG is there too. NG is huge in Redondo Beach (old TRW), Woodland Hills, Azusa, and several others. Different sectors though so eventhough it is Northrop Grumman the new job could be in a different sector and it is almost like applying and working for another company.

[lastra]

When my husband asked him where do usually engineers live if they work there, do they live in the Mojave city, because it is close to the map of where EAFB is, he said that most of them live in Palmdale, although some of them live in the Mojave. I guess maybe that is where that sector is?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by lastra

When my husband asked him where do usually engineers live if they work there, do they live in the Mojave city, because it is close to the map of where EAFB is, he said that most of them live in Palmdale, although some of them live in the Mojave. I guess maybe that is where that sector is?

Palmdale, Lancaster, Rosamond, Mojave, maybe Tehachapi.

[lastra]

Originally Posted by Charles

Palmdale, Lancaster, Rosamond, Mojave, maybe Tehachapi.

The recruiter mentioned those sectors...How is the housing situation in those areas that you mentioned?

[Charles]

Originally Posted by lastra

The recruiter mentioned those sectors...How is the housing situation in those areas that you mentioned?

Check out these tools on a thread I created. Look at redfin for houses and the school performance maps.

Useful Househunting tools