Manufacturing  March 24, 2022

Northrop Grumman adds 100 jobs in Boulder, with Ukraine war as backdrop

BOULDER — Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) celebrated its latest expansion in Boulder Thursday with the war in Ukraine serving as a backdrop and highlighting the company’s role in the nation’s defense.

The aerospace giant, based in Falls Church, Virginia, conducted a ribbon-cutting for its latest facility at 6120 Longbow Drive in the Longbow Business Park, located in Boulder’s Gunbarrel area.

The expansion will see the aerospace company add 100 jobs in the near term, taking the company from more than 400 local employees to 500. And more could be on the way.

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The expansion will support growth of the company’s Overhead Persistent Infrared Exploitation and Advanced Mission Systems programs. OPIR is a space-based missile-warning system.

Northrop has been in the 6120 Longbow building since mid-December, leasing 23,680 square feet on the ground floor, and is negotiating to lease the second floor, Calvin Pennamon, director of Northrop’s OPIR Exploitation Systems Operating Unit, told BizWest after the ceremony.

That’s in addition to 44,000 square feet occupied next door, and another 15,000 square feet occupied across the street.

“Today’s event is an investment in our employees, our customers and in the Boulder community,” Pennamon said. “This expansion will create new jobs in the region while enhancing our ability to provide innovative solutions to our customers for missile warning and defense programs.”

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by individuals representing governmental, civic and private organizations, including Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera, Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade deputy director Jeff Kraft and Tom Wilson, sector president for Northrop Grumman.

Pennamon said the added space will support Northrop’s Grumman’s growth as it continues to develop new technologies.

“It means that we have more space for our employees to execute that mission,” he said. “It means that employees now can really devote themselves to figuring out how we solve hard problems for the nation, and it means that we continue to have the infrastructure, the computer systems, and everything necessary for them to do their jobs.

“This will allow us to go to that 500 [employees], and, as I like to say, ‘keep going from there.’”

Primavera said that the aerospace industry bolstered the Colorado economy as the state weathered the pandemic. 

“The aerospace ecosystem plays a critical role in Colorado’s economy, and from day one, our administration has been committed  to nurturing this dynamic, collaborative, and innovative industry,” Primavera said. “Throughout the pandemic, the aerospace community has been a key partner for the state, and we acted quickly to ensure that the aerospace businesses of all sizes were deemed to be essential so that they could continue to do their important work.”

She added that Northrop Grumman and other companies in the Colorado aerospace and defense industries play a “vital” role in ensuring national security.

“Beyond the pandemic, we find ourselves at a critical juncture for the aerospace industry and for this country,” she said. “War, violence and chaos threaten the foundations of the global economy and our national security. Colorado will not turn its head, and we’ve already taken action to ensure that our state is in no way supporting Russia and its unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.”

Tom Wilson, sector president, space systems, noted that Northrop Grumman has 100 open positions in Boulder now, with “potential for more by the end of the year.”

He highlighted the importance of Colorado to Northrop’s operations. The company employs more than 2,200 workers in the state, including in Aurora, Colorado Springs and Boulder.

“We really have a rich and growing heritage in the state of Colorado,” Wilson said. “The work we do here in Colorado is critical for our national security, from support of the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center in Colorado Springs, and our direct support of our war fighters in the Space Force at Buckley [Air Force Base] and Schriever [Air Force Base] to our space and missile warning capabilities being developed and advanced right here in Boulder.

“As we watch the heartbreaking conflict continue in Ukraine, it’s a stark reminder of just how critical our work is.”

BOULDER — Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) celebrated its latest expansion in Boulder Thursday with the war in Ukraine serving as a backdrop and highlighting the company’s role in the nation’s defense.

The aerospace giant, based in Falls Church, Virginia, conducted a ribbon-cutting for its latest facility at 6120 Longbow Drive in the Longbow Business Park, located in Boulder’s Gunbarrel area.

The expansion will see the aerospace company add 100 jobs in the near term, taking the company from more than 400 local employees to 500. And more could be on the way.

The expansion will support growth of the company’s Overhead Persistent…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
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