---
title: 'Mechanical Engineer (Prism) at Northwood Space'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-prism-northwood-space-torrance-raym3x49ry37'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-12'
---

# Mechanical Engineer (Prism) at Northwood Space

- **Company:** Northwood Space
- **Location:** Torrance, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-11-11
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-12
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/northwoodspace/78fa4798-7036-4d5a-8874-3be83afefc84

## Job description

About Northwood: 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 and parabolic ground stations that enable real-time, reliable communication for satellite missions such as national security, global connectivity, and disaster response. With a vertically integrated approach, Northwood designs, builds, and rapidly deploys scalable systems that power the next generation of space missions. If you like solving complex challenges and seeing your work deployed around the world with real impact, Northwood is the place to do it.

Role: As a Mechanical Engineer, you will be responsible for operating and improving the world's most capable ground segment network. You will own the mechanical designs of hardware deployed all over the world, including RF feed structures, electronics packaging, actuators, and support structures. You will drive investigations into fielded systems and develop component and subsystem updates to fielded designs, working closely with RF engineers, electrical engineers, manufacturing engineers, software engineers, and site operators.

Responsibilities:

- Own mechanical systems deployed in Prism systems, spanning PCBA packaging, feed structures, actuators, and support structures
- Observe performance and degradation of mechanical systems deployed on Prism systems
- Drive root cause investigations and corrective actions on in-factory testing and deployed ground stations
- Provide design and analysis inputs to drive reliable design, test, and qualification campaigns for upgraded systems and new products
- Drive design improvements to products, from requirements definition to prototype, manufacturing, and deployment
- Test prototypes and assess performance in the lab and in the field
- Work closely with production teams to make testable and manufacturable products developed in-house

Basic Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field
- 2-4+ years of professional experience in mechanical design
- Experience taking mechanical hardware through the full product cycle, from requirements and design through prototype, test, production, and fielded support
- Hands-on experience investigating hardware failures and driving root cause analysis at the component and system levels
- Working knowledge of manufacturing processes (e.g., machining, sheet metal, welding, fastening, adhesives) and the ability to design for manufacturability

Preferred Qualifications:

- Experience driving root cause and corrective action campaigns with thorough and systemic processes: fishbone, 5 Whys, 8D, FMEA, etc.
- Hands-on project team experience (Formula SAE, rocketry, CubeSat, etc.)
- Proficiency in Siemens NX for 3D modeling, assembly, and drafting
- Experience with structural and thermal analysis, including hand calculations and simulation tools (e.g., ANSYS)
- Electronics packaging experience: enclosures, PCBA mounting, thermal management, sealing and ingress protection, connectors, and cable routing
- Experience designing hardware for long-term outdoor deployment: corrosion, UV exposure, wind and ice loading, water ingress, and fatigue
- Understanding of environmental and reliability testing (vibration, thermal cycling, environmental exposure) and of reliability analysis from field or test data
- Basic understanding of electrical and RF systems to ensure a holistic approach to system design

Additional Information:

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Northwood Space is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood Space is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know at accommodations@northwoodspace.io

## About Northwood Space

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Building a global ground network for the future of space communications — delivering vertically integrated hardware, software, and shared infrastructure that lets space missions go from concept to live data delivery in months instead of years.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series B, raised $100M in January 2026)
- **Headquarters**: Los Angeles, California, United States (additional offices in Torrance, CA; Washington, D.C.; with presence in the United Kingdom and India)
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Bridgit Mendler (CEO, Cofounder), Griffin Cleverly (Co-Founder, CTO), Shaurya Luthra (Co-Founder, Head of Digital)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Defense and Space Manufacturing; Space-to-ground infrastructure; Satellite communications.
- **Target customers**: B2B and B2G — commercial satellite operators, government agencies (e.g., U.S. Space Force), and defense customers.
- **Mission**: “Take space missions further, faster” by building resilient, cloud-like ground infrastructure for the next century of space operations.

## Products & Services
- **Hardware (Antennas built for scale)** : Phased-array antenna systems designed for volume manufacturing and rapid deployment (hours, not months).
- **Network (Shared infrastructure)** : A horizontally scalable, dynamic capacity provisioning network that eliminates single points of failure and works across multiple orbits and frequency bands.
- **Software (Orchestration intelligence)** : The intelligence layer that schedules contacts, routes data, and manages the entire ground network — enabling on-demand capacity without traditional procurement cycles.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised — **$136.4M** across four rounds (Grant $100K in 2023, Seed $6.3M in 2024, Series A $30M in 2025, Series B $100M in 2026).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Andreessen Horowitz (led Seed, Series A, and Series B), Founders Fund (Seed), Washington Harbour Partners (led Series B and a prior round). Strategic partners include government agencies and commercial launch providers.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew **117.6% YoY** to 65 employees (as of mid-2026).
  - 48 active job postings (+140% YoY increase).
  - Successfully tested next-generation phased array antennas.
  - Won a U.S. Space Force contract (mentioned in news snippets).
  - Expanded to three U.S. offices and international presence (UK, India).

## Competitive Advantages
- **Vertically integrated ground stack** — from antenna hardware to network orchestration software — collapses deployment timelines from years to months/days.
- **Hardware that deploys in hours** and scales like cloud computing, avoiding traditional multi-year procurement cycles.
- **Resilient, shared infrastructure** designed for multiple orbits and frequency bands, reducing single points of failure.
- **Strong talent pipeline** from SpaceX, Anduril, Tesla, Palantir, and other top aerospace/defense firms.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale the global ground network** by deploying more sites and increasing capacity for both government and commercial customers.
- **Volume manufacturing** of antenna systems to meet surging demand.
- **Deepen partnerships** with defense and intelligence agencies (National Security Space) and commercial satellite operators.
- **Continue hiring aggressively** across engineering, operations, site management, and business development.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Values include humility, bias to action, autonomy, and exceptionalism. Teams are trusted to own their work and make decisions.
- **Impact**: Work is deployed globally — antennas built in Torrance, software orchestrated from LA, sites stood up worldwide.
- **Benefits**: Competitive salary, meaningful equity, comprehensive medical/dental/vision, employer-sponsored 401(k), paid parental leave, commuter benefits, sponsored clubs and quarterly events.
- **Work Model**: Likely on-site for hardware roles (Torrance, El Segundo, Washington D.C.); some software roles may offer flexibility. Two main office hubs: Los Angeles (HQ) and Washington D.C.
- **Engineering culture**: Fast iteration, real-world deployment, cross-functional collaboration. “If you like building quickly and seeing your work deployed in locations around the globe, we want you at Northwood.”

## Sources
1. [northwoodspace.io](https://www.northwoodspace.io/)
2. [northwoodspace.io/about-us](https://www.northwoodspace.io/about-us)
3. [northwoodspace.io/careers](https://www.northwoodspace.io/careers)
4. [LinkedIn – Northwood](https://www.linkedin.com/company/northwood-space)
5. [Crunchbase – Northwood Space](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/northwood-space)

## Other roles at Northwood Space

- [Senior Infrastructure Engineer (Platform)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-infrastructure-engineer-platform-northwood-space-washington-k03jsbzp02yh) — Washington, DC
- [PCB Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/pcb-designer-northwood-space-torrance-g28gh38x603x) — Torrance, CA
- [Enterprise Systems Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/enterprise-systems-manager-northwood-space-torrance-91qg4qkp2t84) — Torrance, CA
- [Senior Software Engineer (Prism)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-prism-northwood-space-torrance-fhb255vdrxgk) — Torrance, CA
- [Senior Embedded Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-embedded-software-engineer-northwood-space-torrance-faem9yghgawx) — Torrance, CA
- [Senior Accounting Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-accounting-manager-northwood-space-torrance-c6w3d7028wxz) — Torrance, CA
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- [Electrical Engineer (Prism)](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-engineer-prism-northwood-space-torrance-19sssthp5m3f) — Torrance, CA