Northwood

Space Technology

MissionArchitect

$170–225k Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States FULL TIME
Market Sentiment
HIGH DEMAND

Neural analysis suggests this role is
optimal for Mid+ candidates.

The Brief

“Mission Architect at Northwood. Skills: Mission architecture, Customer success, Ground systems. Make customer missions succeed. Serve as primary technical contact”

Industry & Context.

Space Technology
Problems you'll solve

Troubleshoot operations; Debug integrations

Eligibility Requirements

U. S. citizen, Lawful permanent resident, Protected individual, Eligible to obtain authorizations, Willing to travel up to 30%

What They're Looking For.

Must Have

5+ years customer-facing technical roles, Bachelor's in EE, CE, CS, Aerospace, or related field, Equivalent experience with mission systems, ground systems, networking, cloud, or satellite operations, Track record taking complex customer engagements from discovery through deployment or expansion, Proven ability to build trust with technical customers, Turn ambiguous mission needs into concrete priorities, Comfortable working in ambiguous environments, Able to lead technical conversations, Able to write clear customer materials, Able to brief internal stakeholders, Effective across BD, Engineering, Product, Program Management, and customer teams, Willing to travel up to 30%

Nice to Have

Background in satellite communications, RF, space operations, ground stations, or telecom infrastructure, Experience with proposals, technical evaluations, demos, pilots, or proof-of-concept work, Experience managing technical relationships in mission-critical environments, Familiarity with APIs, networking protocols, telemetry, scheduling systems, cloud infrastructure, or mission assurance, Ability to obtain or hold TS/SCI clearance

What You'll Do.

Make customer missions succeed

Serve as primary technical contact

Get hands-on with implementation

customers and Engineering

Bring up operations on network

Troubleshoot operations on network

Validate operations on network

Support Business Development

Lead technical discovery

Lead technical exchanges

Lead readiness reviews

Learn customer's mission

Learn customer workflows

Learn customer constraints

Learn customer decision criteria

Learn customer success metrics

Translate customer needs

Surface friction points

Surface adoption blockers

Surface recurring needs

Coordinate onboarding

Coordinate deployment readiness

Build discovery frameworks

Build customer-facing materials

How You'll Work.

Team & Collaboration

Partner with Business Development; Partner with Engineering; Partner with Program Management; Work with internal teams; Work with customer teams

Communication Scope

Lead technical conversations; Write customer materials; Brief internal stakeholders

Process & Methodology

Program Management

Full Job Description

Northwood is on a mission to transform connectivity between Earth and space. Satellites are only as powerful as the ground systems that connect to them - without that critical infrastructure, they can’t be steered or send their data back to Earth. Northwood’s global ground network ensures that missions ranging from national security, to global connectivity, to disaster response can unlock their full potential and operate every day without fail. We take a vertically integrated approach to building an end-to-end ground system, delivering technology that is scalable and reliable for both government and commercial customers. Backed by over $100M from investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Washington Harbour Partners, Alpine Space Ventures, Founders Fund, and others, Northwood has proven its ability to move fast – we’ve stood up a fully operational site in Australia in just 3 months, where similar efforts typically take years. Northwood is rapidly scaling its global footprint, with 30+ sites planned across 2026 and 2027. We’re building and deploying infrastructure at a pace the industry hasn’t seen before. If you thrive on building quickly, solving hard problems, and seeing your work deployed globally on critical missions, we want you at Northwood. MISSION ARCHITECT Mission Architects help customers adopt and succeed on Northwood's ground station network. You'll work with satellite operators to understand their missions, shape requirements, and guide them from first conversation through deployment and beyond. You'll partner closely with Business Development, Engineering, and Program Management throughout. This role suits a technically credible operator who can build trust with satellite customers, spot opportunities, and turn mission needs into clear priorities for our internal teams. RESPONSIBILITIES: - Make customer missions succeed on Northwood's network. - Serve as the primary technical contact for customers during capture, evaluation, onboarding, and post-deployment. -

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