Software Engineer (Portal)

Northwoodspace; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 115,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Northwood Space is seeking a Software Engineer focused on control systems for phased array antennas. You will design, implement, and optimize the global service that delivers connectivity, owning key areas from antenna control to high-rate data processing.

An ideal candidate works across responsibilities, dives into high-priority challenges, and contributes to real-world satellite missions with fast-paced, cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional software development experience; internship/projects count toward experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Math, Physics, or related field.
• Soft-requirement: ability to explain why a degree path was not followed and what you did instead.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize software for control of phased array antenna systems.
• Develop algorithms for beamforming, calibration, and real-time data processing.
• Collaborate across hardware, firmware, and cloud teams to deliver robust services.
• Contribute to simulations, testing, and verification of complex telecom software.

Skills

Control systems programming

Rust

C++

Python

Embedded systems

Signal processing

Distributed systems

Linux

Git

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field

Tools

Git

RTOS

FPGA tooling

Linux

Job description

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 and parabolic 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 Software Engineer focusing on control systems for our Phased Array antennas. As a Software Engineer at Northwood, you will be pivotal in designing, implementing, and optimizing the global service that delivers connectivity to our customers. You will have ownership over key areas ranging from control of our antenna systems to high-rate data processing. An ideal candidate is someone who likes to work across areas of responsibility and can dive deep into high-priority challenges.

Key focus areas

• Algorithms for antenna calibration and localization
• Algorithms for beamforming and antenna pointing
• Digital signal processing on high-rate data streams
• Telecommunications systems
• Multi-antenna orchestration
• Fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) systems
• API, Database, and Inter-Process Communication (IPC) design
• Software simulations for test and verification

Basic Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional software development experience. This doesnt have to be a full-time role. There are many ways to gain valuable experience, and we’d love to hear about yours; please tell us about internships, projects out of the classroom, or any personal wo.
• A bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Math, Physics, or other related discipline. This is a soft-requirement; if you didnt pursue a degree, tell us why and what youve done in its place.

Preferred Qualifications

• Programming Languages (General): Rust, C, C++, Go, Python, Java
• Strong problem-solving abilities
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment
• High mathematical maturity

Domain specific skills

• APIs and Inter-Service Communication
  • Experience in building RESTful APIs
  • Experience with Protocol Buffers and/or gRPC
• Antenna Systems
  • Knowledge of the physics of Phased Arrays and beamforming
  • Familiarity with spatial filtering and adaptive beamforming methods
• Data Movement and Networking
  • Proficiency in architecting data pipelines for high-throughput environments
  • Understanding of network programming and IP protocols
  • Experience with high-speed communications (10/25/100G Ethernet)
• Databases and Data Processing
  • Proficiency with relational databases (PostgreSQL, MySQL)
  • Knowledge of publish/subscribe architectures and technologies (RabbitMQ, MQTT, Redis Pub/Sub, etc.)
• Distributed Systems and Cloud Computing
  • Experience designing and implementing distributed systems
  • Knowledge of cloud services (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) and orchestration tools
  • Familiarity with microservice architectures
• Hardware Interaction and FPGAs
  • Experience with hardware control systems
  • Familiarity with FPGA programming and orchestration
  • Understanding of embedded systems development
• Parallel Systems
  • Experience writing multithreaded systems
  • Knowledge of synchronization primitives, including mutexes, semaphores, and message passing queues
  • Experience with asynchronous programming
• Signal Processing
  • Knowledge of signal processing mathematics, particularly digital signal processing (e.g., Discrete Fourier Transforms, Filtering, Quantization, etc.)
  • Experience implementing signal processing routines on real systems
• Simulation
  • Experience designing/implementing simulations for physical models (think satellite orbits) or hardware systems
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of modulation schemes and modems
  • Knowledge of error correction and coding schemes, including linear block codes, convolutional codes, and Reed-Solomon codes
• Testing and Automation
  • Experience with automated testing frameworks
  • Familiarity with production line testing software

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

Equal Opportunity Employer

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

Accommodation Request

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know at [e-mail]