Elizabeth San Miguel has worked in numerous capacities at Northrop Grumman, a multinational aerospace and defense technology company, for nearly 18 years. She was selected as a Northrop Grumman Corporate Technology Council Protege in 2017 for her technical accomplishments and leadership potential, and as an emerging leader in the field of engineering by the Sonora Region Society of Women Engineers in 2018.
She currently serves as program director of vehicle engineering at Northrop Grumman. Previously she was manager of specialty systems engineering for the corporation’s ground-based strategic deterrent weapon system replacement program. Generally, her work focuses on applied research for future airplane concepts, and she has developed enabling steal technologies for next-generation military aircraft. She has led several integrated product teams over the years, including a multimillion-dollar portfolio of technology development, and coordinated a corporation-wide technology review with the industry’s customer base. In her role as an assistant department manager, she led 200-plus engineers on projects spanning early technology development through operations and sustainment.
San Miguel earned a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at UCI and a master’s degree in electrical engineering at USC. At UCI, she was heavily involved in student government with a desire to advocate and empower students. She was the Engineering Student Council representative on the Undergraduate Studies Committee. She continues to advocate for future engineering leaders through her active involvement in the Society of Women Engineers. She also is an advocate of STEM outreach, serving as a guest speaker at events for the Girl Scouts, Graduate Women in Science and Society of Women Engineers.