Head of Software

About the Company

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 ground stations that enable real-time, reliable communication for satellite missions such as national security, global connectivity, and disaster response.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture and technical direction of Northwood’s core software stack, including backend APIs, infrastructure and networking
• Plan, prioritize, and execute complex, cross-functional software projects in close collaboration with hardware and operations teams
• Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing software team across backend and infrastructure domains
• Build and maintain strong engineering foundations, including tooling, CI/CD, deployment, and operational processes
• Ensure systems are scalable, reliable, secure, and observable in production
• Stay hands-on as needed to design, debug, and deliver critical systems

Requirements

• 7–10+ years of professional software engineering experience
• Ownership of production systems
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and delivering complex, mission-critical software
• Strong background across backend systems and infrastructure

Preferred Qualifications

• Startup experience
• Aerospace or mission-critical systems experience
• Experience with Linux internals, networking, or distributed systems
• Experience with C/C++ or Rust
• Background in embedded engineering and leading teams within that domain