Regulatory Engineer

Northwood Space • Washington, DC

3d

About The Position

Northwood is hiring a Regulatory Engineer to help license its global ground station network. Reporting directly to the RF Regulatory Licensing Manager, this hands-on role prepares and files U.S. and international earth station applications, supports ITU filings, and manages licensing activity from customer request through grant and renewal. The engineer translates satellite and antenna technical data into regulator-ready filings and works with customers, outside counsel, filing agents, and internal teams across RF engineering, spectrum regulation, legal, and operations.

The role also owns day-to-day tracking of the licensing pipeline in Jira, maintains application status and metrics, supports customer intake, tracks post-grant obligations, and helps with equipment certification and type approval for Northwood’s S-, X-, and Ka-band antennas. Candidates must meet U.S. Government space technology export-control eligibility requirements: be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required U.S. Department of State authorizations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, physics, or a related field.
• 3–6 years of experience in satellite communications, spectrum regulatory work, or RF systems engineering, including at least 2 years preparing regulatory filings.
• Hands-on experience preparing U.S. earth station or space station applications under FCC Part 25 and/or Part 5, and applications in at least one non-U.S. jurisdiction.
• Working knowledge of ITU Radio Regulations as they apply to satellite networks and earth stations, including Articles 21 and 22 and Appendix 4, and experience preparing or reviewing ITU filing data.
• Solid satellite link fundamentals, including link budgets, EIRP, PSD, G/T, antenna patterns, and interference metrics such as C/I and I/N.
• Experience managing many concurrent work items in Jira or a similar ticketing tool, with discipline in keeping statuses, owners, and dates current.
• Clear technical writing for regulators, customers, and non-engineers.
• Must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State, to comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations including ITAR.

Nice To Haves

• Hands-on use of ITU BR software, including SpaceCap, SpaceVal, or TerRaSys, and experience with coordination requests or BR IFIC review.
• Experience with FCC, NTIA, or other U.S. federal spectrum processes, or with government customers.
• RF test and measurement experience, such as spectrum analyzer emissions measurements or antenna pattern testing, or experience with equipment certification and type approval.
• Background at a ground station, GSaaS, or NGSO operator; familiarity with S-, X-, and Ka-band TT&C and mission data links.
• Jira configuration experience, including workflows, filters, and dashboards, and experience with Confluence.

Responsibilities

• Prepare, file, and track earth station applications, modifications, amendments, special temporary authorities, and renewals before the FCC under Part 25 and Part 5 experimental rules, and before international regulators such as ACMA and BNetzA.
• Work with outside counsel and filing agents on regulatory filings.
• Develop technical filing content, including link budgets, EIRP and EIRP density, G/T and system noise temperature, antenna gain patterns and off-axis compliance, emission designators, and RF hazard (EMF) analyses.
• Support ITU filings for earth stations and customer satellite networks by assembling and checking Appendix 4 data in SpaceCap and SpaceVal, tracking filing status, and maintaining consistency between national applications and underlying ITU filings.
• Manage the licensing Jira space, triage new Business Development requests, maintain statuses, owners, due dates, and blockers, and prepare weekly dashboard metrics for drafted, filed, and granted applications.
• Serve as a technical point of contact for customers’ regulatory teams during intake; collect satellite, ITU filing, and authorization details and flag gaps such as missing ITU filings, market access, or national authorizations.
• Track post-grant obligations, including license conditions, frequency coordination with other operators, expirations, and renewals, and maintain the license register.
• Support equipment certification and type approval for S-, X-, and Ka-band antennas for import and licensing in multiple countries.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level