Principal Aerospace Systems Engineer

Application close date:

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!  

This role supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single-configuration, heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to low-Earth orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, cislunar, and beyond. Its first stage is fully reusable, and the vehicle was designed from the beginning to be human-capable.

You will work across subsystems and support integrated solutions to achieve our vision of “millions of people living and working in space” and utilize system engineering practices across disciplines predicated to a high degree on your technical skills, support the development of system engineering processes for the program, ensure consistent implementations across the program, and serve in a system integration capacity working with multi-discipline teams to arrive at technical system solutions.  

Serving in a Principal Systems Engineer capacity, you will work across multi-disciplinary teams, business units, and partners to develop and implement sound, integrated solutions that support the successful build, launch and refurbishment of New Glenn Stage 1 reusable booster. You will apply and enhance system engineering practices to ensure sound technical design and compliance with the highest standards throughout the development and operational lifecycle. This role requires strong collaboration and technical judgment to drive innovative solutions in a fast-paced high-pressure environment, holding the engineering and operations teams accountable for high-quality work and contributing directly to the future of safe and reliable spaceflight.

We are looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality to positively impact safe human spaceflight. Passion for our mission and vision is required!

Responsibilities:

• Lead complex technical trade studies and analyses to support key design, operational, and programmatic decisions.
• Provide real-time support for integrated vehicle tests, launch operations, and refurbishment.
• Provide guidance on requirements (design, test, build, etc,), risk management, nonconformance resolution, test execution, and vehicle operation.
• Lead engineering and program team effort to find root causes of complex and significant issues encountered during build and test.
• Lead integrated, cross-functional teams across all engineering, manufacturing, and business disciplines to put robust corrective actions in place to avoid recurrence of issues.
• Assess technical risks, disposition accordingly, formulate mitigating action plans, and drive the execution of some of those plans to closure.
• Define, manage, review, and approve operating requirements and critical performance interfaces across all vehicle subsystems.
• Provide engineering leadership, mentoring, and technical oversight throughout the entire product lifecycle from development to operation.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Passion for mission: Providing low-cost access to space!
• B.S. in an engineering-related field, with 10+ years of design, development or analysis experience.
• Experience with space launch system development, production, and operations.
• Experience in full lifecycle development of aerospace systems, including many aspects of system design, analysis, and test, requirement and verification definition, software implementation and verification, system integration, qualification, production operations, supplier management, launch operations and product certification.
• Experience leading vehicle-level technical trade studies
• Demonstrated complex program/project management experience
• Highly organized team player with excellent technical written and verbal communication skills.
• Demonstrated ability to operate with cohesive and effective teams and drive decision making within those teams.
• Demonstrated track record of personal integrity, strong technical judgement and bias for action from their previous assignments.
• Ability to travel and/or temporary duty in support of increasing tempos of production and operations.

Desired:

• Strong systems engineering and/or test background
• Prior formal leadership experience
• Ability to work with partially defined requirements and changing criteria
• Experience in quality, operations, reliability, maintainability and operability analysis and execution

Culture Statement

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blue’s Standard Background Check

• Required for Certain Job Profiles:  Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation

• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing (CDL drivers only), vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.

• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

Benefits

• Benefits include:  Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%, and an Education Support Program.

• Paid Time Off:  Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.

• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on “Know Your Rights,” please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origin’s Affirmative Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at EEOCompliance@blueorigin.com. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.

California Applicant Privacy Notice

If you are a California resident, please reference the CA Applicant Privacy Notice here.