---
title: 'Tooling Engineer at Northwood Space'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/tooling-engineer-northwood-space-torrance-eawrtawy5mpk'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# Tooling Engineer at Northwood Space

- **Company:** Northwood Space
- **Location:** Torrance, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-07-08
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/northwoodspace/222776fe-9549-4699-80bd-f55edee3fd53

## Job description

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. 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: Northwood is looking for a Tooling Engineer to design, build, commission, and improve the tools and equipment that enable us to manufacture, assemble, test, deploy, and scale our ground systems. This is a highly cross-functional role. You will work with nearly every team at Northwood, including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, manufacturing, test, site operations, supply chain, and deployment. The tools you build will support antenna alignment, installation, robotic dispensing, lifting, assembly, precision positioning, field deployment, automated production equipment, and other systems that help Northwood move faster and build reliably at scale. We are looking for someone who is equally comfortable designing hardware, working hands-on in the shop, debugging equipment on the production floor, and collaborating with engineers and technicians to turn rough process needs into robust, repeatable tooling.

## Responsibilities

- Own the design and delivery of production tooling from initial concept through deployment on the shop floor or in the field.
- Partner with engineers, technicians, and operators to understand the underlying process, not just the requested tool, and develop solutions that improve quality, speed, safety, and repeatability.
- Build quick prototypes when speed matters, then mature the design into robust, documented, maintainable equipment.
- Bring up automated and semi-automated production equipment, including sensor integration, actuator selection, control panels, PLC logic, HMIs, and machine safety features.
- Troubleshoot tooling and equipment issues in real time, including mechanical failures, control logic problems, operator usability issues, tolerance stackups, and process variation.
- Create CAD models, detailed drawings, BOMs, work instructions, commissioning plans, and maintenance documentation.
- Work with internal teams and external vendors to fabricate, source, assemble, test, and improve custom tooling and production equipment.
- Drive continuous improvement across manufacturing and deployment processes by reducing cycle time, improving ergonomics, simplifying operations, and increasing first-pass success.
- Establish practical tooling standards and best practices as Northwood scales from low-rate builds to repeatable production and deployment.

## Basic Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechatronics, robotics, electrical engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
- 3+ years of experience designing, building, or supporting tooling, fixtures, production equipment, manufacturing systems, or automation equipment.
- Strong mechanical design fundamentals, including structures, mechanisms, tolerances, material selection, manufacturability, and maintainability.
- Experience with CAD and drawing release workflows.
- Hands-on experience building, assembling, debugging, and improving hardware in a shop, lab, production, or field environment.
- Experience developing tools or equipment used by operators, technicians, manufacturing teams, or field teams.
- Working knowledge of electromechanical systems, pneumatics, actuators, sensors, motors, or motion-control hardware.
- Familiarity with automation and controls concepts, including PLCs, ladder logic, relays, HMIs, industrial sensors, and machine safety systems.
- Ability to take ambiguous process needs and turn them into working hardware quickly.
- Strong communication skills and ability to work across mechanical, electrical, manufacturing, test, operations, and deployment teams.
- High ownership, strong bias toward action, and comfort working in a fast-paced hardware environment.
- Experience taking tooling from prototype through production release, including validation, documentation, operator training, and maintenance planning.

## Preferred Qualifications

- Experience designing, commissioning, or maintaining automated or semi-automated production equipment.
- Experience with PLC platforms such as Allen-Bradley, Siemens, Beckhoff, AutomationDirect, or similar systems.
- Experience writing, modifying, or troubleshooting ladder logic, structured text, HMI screens, or machine control sequences.
- Experience with robotic dispensing, adhesive dispensing, gantries, machine vision, precision alignment systems, or coordinated motion systems.
- Experience designing lifting, rigging, hoist, crane, cart, ergonomic handling, or field deployment equipment.
- Experience supporting aerospace, satellite, RF, robotics, automotive, industrial automation, or other high-reliability hardware production.
- Familiarity with machine guarding, lockout/tagout, risk assessments, and equipment safety standards.
- Experience working directly with machinists, fabricators, technicians, operators, and external vendors.

Additional Requirements:

- Must be willing to work extended hours and weekends as needed

Compensation: Tooling Engineer/Level 1: $84,000-$105,000 Tooling Engineer/Level 2: $95,200-$119,000

Additional Information: If you need a reasonable accommodation as part of your application for employment or interviews with us, please let us know.

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.

## 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 Network Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-network-engineer-northwood-space-torrance-gzdcd2kh8z9c) — Torrance, CA
- [Head of Software](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-software-northwood-space-torrance-e08xe70z96cw) — Torrance, CA
- [Director, International Growth](https://feeny.ai/job/director-international-growth-northwood-space-torrance-y9qv5d3a4d86) — Torrance, CA
- [Director, Commercial Growth](https://feeny.ai/job/director-commercial-growth-northwood-space-torrance-bbd2pvqm2b4w) — Torrance, CA
- [Head of Quality and Reliability](https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-quality-and-reliability-northwood-space-torrance-crkadbyep88g) — Torrance, CA
- [Chief of Staff to the CTO](https://feeny.ai/job/chief-of-staff-to-the-cto-northwood-space-torrance-0gmc6y3hmqjh) — Torrance, CA
- [Capture Strategist](https://feeny.ai/job/capture-strategist-northwood-space-washington-6s5nreg28hen) — Washington, DC
- [Mechanical Engineering Intern (2027 Summer Internship)](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineering-intern-2027-summer-internship-northwood-space-torrance-8bw3b7vr74qx) — Torrance, CA
- [Software Engineering Intern (2027 Summer Internship)](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineering-intern-2027-summer-internship-northwood-space-torrance-a4p0v8ejcwv1) — Torrance, CA
- [Embedded Software Engineering Intern (2027 Summer Internship)](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-software-engineering-intern-2027-summer-internship-northwood-space-kwmveejwr37s) — Torrance, CA