People Operations Specialist

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 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. As a People Operations Specialist at Northwood Space, you will be the go-to resource for employees across the company, ensuring every step of the employee lifecycle runs smoothly and accurately, from onboarding through offboarding. You'll partner closely with the broader People team to maintain the integrity of our systems and processes as we continue to scale, while delivering a responsive, high-quality experience to every employee who comes to you with a question. Responsibilities: - Serve as the primary point of contact for employee questions across the people lifecycle, triaging and resolving issues directly or escalating complex cases to the right partner - Support the People team in preparing and processing documentation for onboarding, offboarding, and other employee lifecycle events - Own the accuracy and integrity of employee data in Rippling, including job changes, background checks, and lifecycle updates - Support compliance related processes, documentation, and audits across the employee lifecycle - Identify trends and gaps in the employee experience to inform process improvements, policy updates, and employee communications Basic Qualifications: - 2+ years of experience in People Operations, Employee Experience, or a similar shared service role within a fast paced organization - Experience building and improving processes for efficiency and accuracy while maintaining data integrity - Self-starter who exercises strong judgment, knowing when to independently own an outcome and when to escalate - Strong analytical mindset, with experience using data to drive program improvements and decisions Preferred Qualifications: - Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field - Hands on experience with Rippling or another HRIS - Working knowledge of employment law and compliance requirements across multiple states, particularly California and Washington, D.C. 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.