Space Mission Program Manager

Northwood; Torrance (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Comprehensive medical coverage

Flexible time off

Job summary

Northwood is seeking a Mission Manager to lead customer missions from onboarding through operational support, serving as the primary program lead for customers using Northwood’s ground station network. You will collaborate with Engineering, Product, Business Development, and Operations to scope, validate readiness, launch missions, and sustain them, with a focus on clear communication and timely delivery.

You will manage cross-functional programs, coordinate with multiple teams, and ensure

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in technical program management, mission management, customer operations, deployment management, customer success, product operations, or related roles.
• 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 translate customer needs into clear technical, operational, and business priorities.
• Willingness to travel up to 30%.

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, and readiness criteria.
• 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.
• Help 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 communications

Strategic planning

Relationship building

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace, Business

Job description

Northwood is seeking a Mission Manager to lead customer missions from onboarding through operational support, serving as the primary program lead for customers using Northwood’s ground station network. You will collaborate with Engineering, Product, Business Development, and Operations to scope, validate readiness, launch missions, and sustain them, with a focus on clear communication and timely delivery.

You will manage cross-functional programs, coordinate with multiple teams, and ensure