Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company bringing the benefits of space to the masses through advanced communications technology. We are building a global network of phased array ground stations that enable real-time, reliable communication for satellite missions such as national security, global connectivity, and disaster response. With a vertically integrated approach, Northwood designs, builds, and rapidly deploys scalable systems that power the next generation of space missions. If you like solving complex challenges and seeing your work deployed around the world with real impact, Northwood is the place to do it.

Role:

We are looking for a Ground Software Engineer to develop the software that handles, processes, and delivers mission data across our satellite ground network. You will build systems that ingest data from our modems, interpret CCSDS protocols, process telemetry and command data, and reliably route information between spacecraft operators and their missions.

You will own critical components of the communications data path—from protocol implementation and real-time stream processing through integration testing and operational deployment. You will work closely with DSP, FPGA, infrastructure, and customer-facing engineers to turn customer communication requirements into reliable, production-ready software.

Responsibilities:

• Design, build, and maintain software for ingesting, processing, and routing telemetry, tracking, and command data

• Implement and validate CCSDS protocols, including space packets, transfer frames, synchronization, and data encapsulation

• Develop high-performance data pipelines connecting software-defined radios, ground-station infrastructure, and customer endpoints

• Build tooling for packet parsing, frame validation, buffering, recording, replay, monitoring, and debugging

• Translate customer mission requirements into configurable data-handling workflows and interfaces

• Collaborate with DSP and FPGA engineers to define and validate the interfaces between physical-layer processing and higher-level communications software

• Test communications workflows using simulated, hardware-in-the-loop, and live satellite data

• Own software through development, deployment, operational validation, and ongoing mission support

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree with 2–5+ years of relevant experience, or Master’s degree with 1–4+ years of experience, in computer science, electrical engineering, telecommunications, or a related field

• Strong programming skills in a systems-oriented language such as Rust, C++, or Go

• Experience developing software for networking, telecommunications, real-time data processing, or distributed systems

• Solid understanding of network protocols, binary data formats, serialization, buffering, and asynchronous data processing

• Experience building and debugging software across system boundaries, including hardware, networks, and external interfaces

• Demonstrated ownership of a production software system from initial design through deployment and operational use

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience implementing or working with CCSDS standards, including Space Packet Protocol, TM, TC, or AOS transfer frames

• Familiarity with satellite telemetry and command systems, ground stations, or mission operations

• Experience with CCSDS File Delivery Protocol, Space Link Extension services, or related mission-data interfaces

• Experience building high-throughput, low-latency, or fault-tolerant data pipelines

• Familiarity with TCP, UDP, multicast, gRPC, WebSockets, or message-oriented architectures

• Experience integrating software with SDRs, modems, FPGA-based systems, or other communications hardware

• Experience with packet capture, protocol analysis, data replay, hardware-in-the-loop testing, or communications-system simulation

Additional Information:

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Northwood Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company bringing the benefits of space to the masses through advanced communications technology. We are building a global network of phased array ground stations that enable real-time, reliable communication for satellite missions such as national security, global connectivity, and disaster response. With a vertically integrated approach, Northwood designs, builds, and rapidly deploys scalable systems that power the next generation of space missions. If you like solving complex challenges and seeing your work deployed around the world with real impact, Northwood is the place to do it.

Role:
We are seeking a Lead SMT Process Engineer to build and scale our in-house PCB assembly capability. This person will be responsible for developing the full board assembly process, defining assembly standards, standing up the PCB assembly area, and building the team required to execute it. You will work cross-functionally with Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Production to ensure our electronics manufacturing capability is robust, scalable, and tightly integrated into overall factory operations and systems.
This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can move fluidly between process development, factory buildout, equipment selection, production readiness, and team building.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and own the in-house SMT and PCB assembly manufacturing process from prototype through production

• Define process standards for board assembly, inspection, rework, traceability, quality control, and workmanship

• Establish how PCB assembly workflows, quality data, and production tracking integrate with Manufacturo and broader manufacturing systems

• Lead the design and buildout of the PCB assembly area, including layout, material flow, operator flow, and future production scaling considerations

• Specify, source, and implement equipment and infrastructure required for PCB assembly, including:

  • SMT line equipment

  • Inspection tools

  • Rework tools

  • ESD/anti-static controls

  • Benches, tooling, fixtures, and storage

  • Power, cooling, compressed air, and other facility needs

• Develop manufacturing processes for solder paste printing, pick-and-place, reflow, inspection, hand assembly, rework, and repair

   

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or related field

• 6+ years of experience in PCB assembly, SMT process engineering, electronics manufacturing, or related manufacturing roles

• Experience developing and scaling SMT or PCB assembly processes in a production environment

• Experience with PCB assembly equipment, inspection methods, and rework processes

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience standing up a new PCB assembly line or manufacturing area from scratch

• Experience selecting and implementing SMT production equipment and supporting infrastructure

• Experience integrating manufacturing processes with MES/MRP systems such as Manufacturo

• Familiarity with IPC standards such as IPC-A-610, J-STD-001, and related electronics manufacturing requirements

Additional Information:

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Northwood Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company bringing the benefits of space to the masses through advanced communications technology. We are building a global network of phased array ground stations that enable real-time, reliable communication for satellite missions such as national security, global connectivity, and disaster response. With a vertically integrated approach, Northwood designs, builds, and rapidly deploys scalable systems that power the next generation of space missions. If you like solving complex challenges and seeing your work deployed around the world with real impact, Northwood is the place to do it.

Role:

We are looking for a DSP Engineer to own the definition and development of modem algorithms for our next-generation radio platform. You will work within our existing in-house SDR and FPGA infrastructure, taking substantial ownership over the modem end-to-end — from waveform definition through implementation and validation.

You will work closely with RF, FPGA, and systems engineers to integrate modem algorithms into a high-performance communications platform for our satellite ground network.
This role is a great fit for an engineer who thinks fluently in waveforms and signal chains and is comfortable moving that thinking into real implementation, without needing to own the surrounding RF hardware, data-converter, clocking, or embedded systems architecture.

Responsibilities:

• Own the definition and development of modem algorithms end-to-end, from requirements through implementation and validation

• Define waveform processing chains — synchronization, pulse shaping, equalization, and related signal-processing functions — for implementation on an in-house SDR platform or FPGA

• Partition and implement modem signal-processing functions across FPGA logic and embedded/host-based compute, working within the existing hardware platform

• Collaborate with RF, FPGA, and systems engineers to integrate modem algorithms into the end-to-end system and validate performance

• Develop and run communication system tests to characterize modem performance under realistic channel impairments

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree with 4+ years of relevant experience, or Master's degree with 2+ years of experience, in electrical engineering, computer engineering, or a related field

• Experience developing modems or waveform processing chains for SDR, wireless communications, radar, or similar RF systems

• Strong understanding of digital communications theory: CCSDS waveforms, BPSK/QPSK/OQPSK, DVB-S2, carrier synchronization, pulse shaping, equalization, and Doppler effects

• Demonstrated ability to carry waveform algorithms from analysis and prototyping through to a working implementation, rather than stopping at simulation

• Working understanding of the complete signal chain and how modem design decisions interact with RF and hardware constraints

• Experience with communication system testing and performance characterization

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with bit-equivalence verification through FPGAs

• Familiarity with SDR frameworks such as GNU Radio

• Experience with real-time signal processing

• Systems programming skills in C++ or Rust, with Rust especially valued

• Experience with beamforming, radar, or electronic warfare (EW) systems

Additional Information:

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Northwood Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company bringing the benefits of space to the masses through advanced communications technology. We are building a global network of phased array ground stations that enable real-time, reliable communication for satellite missions such as national security, global connectivity, and disaster response. With a vertically integrated approach, Northwood designs, builds, and rapidly deploys scalable systems that power the next generation of space missions. If you like solving complex challenges and seeing your work deployed around the world with real impact, Northwood is the place to do it.

Role:
Northwood is building a global network of next-generation ground stations, and we're looking for a Fleet Operations & Reliability Engineer who is equal parts technical expert, field operator, and builder. You will be the first line of defense for all operations on our network - the extreme owner of uptime and performance for our deployed hardware worldwide. Your work will span most technical disciplines at the company giving you broad technical exposure across the stack, and will require you to build consensus across multiple teams.

Day-to-day, you'll move between operating our hardware - interpreting live telemetry, driving incident response, analyzing performance data - and leading field campaigns to deploy, diagnose, and upgrade hardware at remote sites. As you build deep knowledge of our systems, you'll be positioned to drive scalable, automated monitoring and response systems.

This position is based at our Los Angeles headquarters with frequent opportunities to travel to sites.

Responsibilities:

• Own fleet uptime and performance. Deploy, maintain, and troubleshoot a growing network of antennas distributed across the globe. Write your own analyses to dig into performance trends and uptime data.

• Operate and grow our Network Operations Center. Monitor site health, interpret telemetry, send commands and configurations, and drive rapid detection and response for any site or hardware issue. Build the systems that enable response at scale.

• Support the rapid expansion of the network by leading hardware deployment campaigns at remote sites around the world. Act as the on-site conductor and POC for hardware deployments and site checkouts. Owning the process from pre-deploy through first contact. Lead from the front in the field.

• Investigate and troubleshoot, then close the loop. Drive root cause analysis on failures and implement fixes that reduce future recurrence. Develop deep expertise in at least one major subsystem — RF, power, networking, or mechanical.

• Scale our global contractor ecosystem. Source, contract, and onboard regional partners across domestic and international sites — including maintenance agreements, SLAs, onboarding guides, and ongoing task coordination. Define maintenance and sparing strategies.

• Partner closely with product, manufacturing, and test teams to influence designs with a focus on system reliability, maintainability, and long-term lifecycle performance.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical, Electrical, Aerospace, or related engineering discipline

• Experience building, testing, operating, or diagnosing complex electrical or mechanical systems

   

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to work across multiple engineering disciplines and diverse teams

• Experience operating hardware systems in a live environment — interpreting telemetry, sending commands, and troubleshooting in real time

• Prior experience managing field operations, contractors, or vendor relationships across multiple sites

• Extreme organization, with strong project management and communication skills

• Hands-on field experience with proficiency using hand and power tools, test equipment, and standard field diagnostics

• Comfort writing and running code (e.g., Python, SQL, or other scripting languages)

• Proficiency in 2D or 3D CAD for modeling and/or drawing creation

• Willingness to travel to domestic and international ground station sites as required

• Bonus: Prior experience in failure analysis, product engineering, quality, or service in consumer electronics or automotive

Additional Requirements:

• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed

Additional Information:

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Northwood Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.