Mission Manager

Northwoodspace; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwoodspace is seeking a Mission Manager in Torrance, CA to lead customer missions from onboarding to ongoing support. You will partner with Engineering, Product, Business Development, and Operations to keep missions technically ready, launched, and supported, while driving clear communication with customers and internal teams.

The role requires translating customer requirements into actionable technical and operational priorities, managing complex programs, and traveling up to 25–30% as

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in technical program management, mission management, customer operations, deployment management, customer success, product operations, or a related role.

Responsibilities

• Lead customer missions from onboarding through integration, launch readiness, operational handoff, and ongoing support.
• Build and manage program plans with milestones, owners, risks, dependencies, schedules, readiness criteria, and communications.
• Serve as the main programmatic point of contact for customers and internal teams.
• Understand customer mission requirements, workflows, success criteria, operational needs, and constraints.
• Coordinate across Engineering, Product, Business Development, and Operations to resolve issues and keep deployments on track.
• Track technical integration progress, surface risks early, and drive decisions for mission readiness.
• Define and improve onboarding, deployment, escalation, and post-launch support processes.
• Capture customer feedback and translate it into product, operational, and business priorities.
• Partner with Business Development on customer expansion, renewals, and new mission opportunities.
• Ensure Northwood delivers reliable, high-quality service for customer missions.

Skills

Technical program management

Cross-functional leadership

Customer operations

Communication skills

Travel readiness

Job description

About Northwood:

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 looking for a Mission Manager to lead customer missions from onboarding through operational support. In this role, you will be the primary program lead for customers using Northwood’s ground station network. You will work closely with customers, Engineering, Product, Business Development, and Operations to make sure each mission is clearly scoped, technically ready, launched successfully, and supported over time. This is a hands-on role for someone who can manage complex technical programs, communicate clearly with both customers and internal teams, and keep mission-critical work moving.

Responsibilities:

• Lead customer missions from onboarding through integration, launch readiness, operational handoff, and ongoing support.
• Build and manage program plans, including milestones, owners, risks, dependencies, schedules, readiness criteria, and communications.
• Serve as the main programmatic point of contact for customers and internal teams.
• Understand customer mission requirements, workflows, success criteria, operational needs, and constraints.
• Coordinate across Engineering, Product, Business Development, and Operations to resolve issues and keep deployments on track.
• Track technical integration progress, surface risks early, and drive decisions needed for mission readiness.
• Help define and improve Northwood’s customer onboarding, deployment, escalation, and post-launch support processes.
• Capture customer feedback and translate it into clear product, operational, and business priorities.
• Partner with Business Development on customer expansion, renewals, and new mission opportunities.
• Ensure Northwood delivers reliable, high-quality service for customer missions.

Basic Qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in technical program management, mission management, customer operations, deployment management, customer success, product operations, or a related role.
• Experience leading complex cross-functional programs from planning through execution.
• Ability to work effectively with customers, technical teams, executives, and external partners.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to create structure, prioritize work, and drive progress in fast-moving environments.
• Experience with hardware, software, networking, infrastructure, customer deployments, or mission-critical operations.
• Ability to understand customer needs and translate them into clear technical, operational, and business priorities.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Willingness to travel up to 30%.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace, Business, or a related field.
• Experience in satellite communications, ground station operations, space systems, telecom, defense, or infrastructure deployments.
• Experience managing technical customer programs, enterprise deployments, customer success programs, or mission operations.
• Familiarity with systems engineering, solution architecture, operational readiness, SLA management, or mission assurance.
• Experience working with Product and Engineering teams on customer-driven roadmaps or operational improvements.
• Experience supporting government, defense, or regulated customers.

Additional Requirements:

• This position requires successfully obtaining and maintaining a Top Secret Security Clearance as a condition of employment. While the clearance may not be immediately necessary upon hire, we encourage you to initiate the application process promptly upon accepting this offer. Your ability to secure the necessary clearance is essential for fulfilling key responsibilities of the role. Should you be unable to obtain it, Northwood Space reserves the right to modify or terminate your employment to align with optional needs.
• Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
• Able to travel up to 25%.
• This role requires being on-site 5 days per week.

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.