Tom Pieronek Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Research, Technology and Engineering Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems

Tom Pieronek is the vice president of Research and Technology and chief technology officer at Northrop Grumman Aeronautics Systems, a premier provider of military aircraft, autonomous systems, aerospace structures and next-generation solutions. 

In this role, Tom establishes research and development partnerships with customers, universities, industry and the broader corporation, enabling technology to drive business objectives. Tom also leads the 900-plus person South Bay Aircraft Design organization under Research, Technology and Engineering for Aeronautics Systems. 

Previously, Tom served as vice president, Basic Research, where he was responsible for basic research strategy, development and operations, resulting in fundamental scientific advancements in alignment with heritage Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems’ core competencies. Focusing on university academia and industry research experts within and beyond the aerospace and defense industries, Tom oversaw the expansion of efforts that fostered new and deeper collaborations with external researchers. 

Tom has more than 35 years of technical and programmatic experience in the aerospace industry. He has served as the director of Technology Development for Aerospace Systems where he was responsible for advancing a portfolio of air and space technologies. For more than half of his career, he has been closely associated with the United States science and technology community. His experience runs from self-contained technologies (thin film solar cells, flywheels) through major flight programs (Space Tracking and Surveillance System). His technical background is in electromagnetic environmental effects. 

Tom holds a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Southern California (USC) and a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. His continuing education in Systems Architecting included a year as a presidential fellow at the USC Leadership Institute. He serves on the Dean’s Council of Advisors for the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California San Diego, and has served on the Steering Advisory Council with Purdue University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. 

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.com and follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews, for more information.