Simulation Engineer

Department: Site Operations

Location: Torrance, CA

Compensation: $100K – $170K • Offers Equity

Employment Type: FullTime

About Northwood:

Northwood is on a mission to transform connectivity between earth and space and bring the benefits of space to the masses through innovations in space communications technologies. If you like building quickly and seeing your work deployed in locations around the globe with real impact, we want you at Northwood.

Job Level:

The level of this position will be determined based on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate. We are open to considering candidates of varying experience levels, from new grad to experienced.

Role:

Northwood is building a global network of next-generation ground stations, and we’re looking for a Simulation Engineer to lead network architecting and modeling. You will own and develop analysis tools that enable insights into the network and planning of ground sites. You will answer questions such as “how many antennas should each site have to satisfy customer utilization?” And “where in the world should our next sites go?” You’ll partner closely with business development, sites rollout, RF, and software teams. This is a high leverage role that will guide the company's direction and our global network rollout. This position is based at our Los Angeles headquarters with possible travel to customer or ground station locations.

Responsibilities:

• Design and develop internal simulation tools to model, analyze, and visualize Northwood’s global ground network architecture.

• Collaborate cross-functionally with business development and customer stakeholders to translate mission requirements into scalable network designs and execution plans.

• Optimize network capacity, utilization, and site performance to maximize revenue generation and operational efficiency.

• Own critical network design decisions, including antenna count per site, coverage geometry, throughput sizing, fault-tolerance, and global deployment timing.

• Generate data-driven insights and communicate actionable plans to engineering and operations.

• Present network strategies, trade studies, and investment decisions to executive leadership, with clear linkage to revenue impact and deployment timelines.

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, physics, or mathematics

• 3+ years of experience in a related field with a proven track record of executing projects and developing high-fidelity models and simulations

• Ability to code in Python, Java, C++, or other related languages

Preferred Qualifications:

• Familiarity with RF link budgets and orbital mechanics

• Proven ability to work across disciplines, with internal and/or external teams

• Solid understanding of the current space industry, technologies, and major players

• Basic understanding, or the ability to learn, optical fiber networks and protocols

• Solid fundamentals in engineering, physics, math or similar

• Proven experience building and testing software or hardware systems from scratch

• Strong ability to analyze and visualize large datasets

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to distill highly technical information

• Eligibility to obtain and maintain a security clearance

Compensation and Benefits:

Compensation is determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data. Individual level and base pay is determined on a base-by-case basis and may vary based on job-related skills, education, experience, and technical capabilities. In addition to base salary, Northwood Space offers long term incentives such as company stock, stock options, and cash awards, as well as discretionary bonus for performance. Northwood Space benefits include equity, health care, unlimited vacation, retirement savings and professional development.

Additional Information:

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.