Senior Director, Engineering Technical Development for the Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems (NGAS) Sector
José Castellón, Jr. is a seasoned aerospace engineer and leader with over 42 years of experience in both space and unmanned aircraft systems. He is a leader and subject matter expert in systems engineering, has led large program and functional teams, and numerous research & development activities.
In his current role, José is establishing and implementing an overall technical talent development strategy for over 8,600 NGAS engineers to foster a culture of learning aligned with their career paths and growth aspirations, preparing them to support our current programs, capture pursuits and advanced technical development efforts.
José is a proven champion of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace. He founded and led Northrop Grumman’s companywide One Adelante
Hispanic/Latinx Employee Resource Group. He is a former sector DE&I director driving strategy to increase diverse representation in leadership, plus having the responsibility to coordinate the efforts of multiple employee resource groups. José has developed STEM outreach programs that supported underrepresented communities. He is a board member and treasurer for two nonprofits focused on promoting STEM in underrepresented communities – José Valdés Math Foundation and Great Minds in STEM (GMiS). He is a two-time GMiS Hispanic Engineers National Achievement Award Conference (HENAAC) award winner.
José has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from California State University, Northridge, and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He has certificate degrees from UCLA in Astronautical Engineering and the Anderson Business School’s Executive Program. José is also a Certified Professional Diversity Coach with a strong passion to help others achieve their goals.
He is of Puerto Rican and Salvadorian descent, born and raised in California. José is married, and has two sons, a stepdaughter and two dogs.