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:
As Head of Software, you will be responsible for executing Northwood’s digital roadmap to connect Earth and space. You will own and integrate Northwood’s core backend software, infrastructure, networking, spanning cloud services, and ground systems. This is a player-coach role: you set technical direction, lead execution, and stay hands-on to ensure mission-critical systems are delivered reliably and on aggressive timelines.
Responsibilities:
Own the architecture and technical direction of Northwood’s core software stack, including backend APIs, infrastructure and networking
Plan, prioritize, and execute complex, cross-functional software projects in close collaboration with hardware and operations teams
Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing software team across backend and infrastructure domains
Build and maintain strong engineering foundations, including tooling, CI/CD, deployment, and operational processes
Ensure systems are scalable, reliable, secure, and observable in production
Stay hands-on as needed to design, debug, and deliver critical systems
Basic Qualifications
7–10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including ownership of production systems
Demonstrated experience leading teams and delivering complex, mission-critical software
Strong background across backend systems and infrastructure
Preferred Qualifications:
Startup experience
Aerospace or mission-critical systems experience
Experience with Linux internals, networking, or distributed systems
Experience with C/C++ or rust
Background in embedded engineering and leading teams within that domain
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.
Skills Required
- 7-10+ years of professional software engineering experience, including ownership of production systems
- Demonstrated experience leading teams and delivering complex, mission-critical software
- Strong background across backend systems and infrastructure
- Startup experience
- Aerospace or mission-critical systems experience
- Experience with Linux internals, networking, or distributed systems
- Experience with C/C++ or Rust
- Background in embedded engineering and leading teams within that domain
Northwood Space Corp Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Northwood Space Corp and has not been reviewed or approved by Northwood Space Corp.
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Healthcare Strength — Job postings consistently cite “comprehensive” or “platinum” medical, dental, and vision coverage, with some roles indicating employer-covered premiums at little to no cost. Several listings explicitly reference fully covered plans.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Multiple listings consistently mention equity or stock options alongside base pay, with some noting potential performance bonuses. Equity is presented as a standard component across many roles.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Listings cite flexible or unlimited PTO, and some specify a defined paid holiday calendar (e.g., about 10 holidays). Time-off provisions are repeatedly referenced across postings.
Northwood Space Corp Insights
What We Do
The space segment has become critical infrastructure. It powers everything from GPS and climate monitoring to missile warning and global broadband. But the ground segment hasn’t kept up. Most ground networks today were designed for science missions, not for the scale, urgency, or diversity of today’s space economy. At Northwood, we’re building a global, software-defined ground network from the ground up — designed to scale as fast as the missions it supports.
Why Work With Us
Just like cloud infrastructure transformed software development, we believe shared ground infrastructure will transform space operations. We’re making it possible for any operator to move space-based data quickly, securely, and reliably back to Earth.
