Simulation Engineer

northwoodspace•Los Angeles, CA

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Northwood is on a mission to transform connectivity between earth and space and bring the benefits of space to the masses through innovations in space communications technologies. If you like building quickly and seeing your work deployed in locations around the globe with real impact, we want you at Northwood. Northwood is building a global network of next-generation ground stations, and we’re looking for a Simulation Engineer to lead network architecting and modeling. You will own and develop analysis tools that enable insights into the network and planning of ground sites. You will answer questions such as “how many antennas should each site have to satisfy customer utilization?” And “where in the world should our next sites go?” You’ll partner closely with business development, sites rollout, RF, and software teams. This is a high leverage role that will guide the company's direction and our global network rollout. This position is based at our Los Angeles headquarters with possible travel to customer or ground station locations.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in computer science, engineering, physics, or mathematics
3+ years of experience in a related field with a proven track record of executing projects and developing high-fidelity models and simulations
Ability to code in Python, Java, C++, or other related languages

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with RF link budgets and orbital mechanics
Proven ability to work across disciplines, with internal and/or external teams
Solid understanding of the current space industry, technologies, and major players
Basic understanding, or the ability to learn, optical fiber networks and protocols
Solid fundamentals in engineering, physics, math or similar
Proven experience building and testing software or hardware systems from scratch
Strong ability to analyze and visualize large datasets
Excellent communication skills, with the ability to distill highly technical information
Eligibility to obtain and maintain a security clearance

Responsibilities

Design and develop internal simulation tools to model, analyze, and visualize Northwood’s global ground network architecture.
Collaborate cross-functionally with business development and customer stakeholders to translate mission requirements into scalable network designs and execution plans.
Optimize network capacity, utilization, and site performance to maximize revenue generation and operational efficiency.
Own critical network design decisions, including antenna count per site, coverage geometry, throughput sizing, fault-tolerance, and global deployment timing.
Generate data-driven insights and communicate actionable plans to engineering and operations.
Present network strategies, trade studies, and investment decisions to executive leadership, with clear linkage to revenue impact and deployment timelines.