Corporate Leadership

Melanie Heitkamp is the corporate vice president and chief human resources officer for Northrop Grumman, a technology company focused on global security and human discovery.

In this role, she is responsible for all aspects of human capital strategy and programs. Her responsibilities include organization effectiveness; change leadership; performance management; talent development and acquisition; succession planning; executive development; training; labor/employee relations; compensation and benefits; and security.

Heitkamp has more than 20 years of human resources and business experience. She joined Northrop Grumman in 2020, previously serving as vice president of human resources for the Space Systems sector and vice president of talent for Northrop Grumman.

Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Heitkamp was the senior vice president and chief human resources officer for L3 Technologies, a global aerospace and national security company. She also served as senior vice president of human resources within the Defense & Intelligence Group at Leidos; vice president of human resources within the Information Systems & Global Solutions business at Lockheed Martin Corporation; management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; and several human resources roles at Target Corporation.

Heitkamp holds a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and a master’s degree in business administration from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our nearly 100,000 employees define possible every day.