Director, Engineering Technical Development for the Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems (NGAS) Sector
José Castellón is a seasoned aerospace engineer with over 41 years of experience in both space and unmanned aircraft systems. He is a leader and subject matter expert in systems engineering, and has led multiple programs, functional teams, and numerous research & development activities.
In his current role, José is establishing and implementing an overall technical talent development strategy for approximately 8,000 NGAS engineers to foster a culture of learning aligned with their career paths and growth aspirations. Preparing them to support our aircraft programs and capture advanced development efforts.
Additionally, José is a proven champion of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, having founded and led Northrop Grumman’s companywide One Adelante Hispanic Employee Resource Group. He is a former sector Diversity, Equity & Inclusion director driving strategy to increase diverse representation in leadership, plus having the responsibility to coordinate the efforts of over a dozen employee resource groups. He has developed STEM outreach programs that support underrepresented communities, and he is a board member for two STEM-focused nonprofits – the José Valdés Math Foundation and Great Minds in STEM.
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 also has certificate degrees from UCLA in Astronautical Engineering and the Anderson Business School’s Executive Program. José is also a Certified Professional Diversity Coach.
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.