Senior Decelerator System Engineer, Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering

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 diverse team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!  

We are a diverse team of collaborators, doers, and problem-solvers who are relentlessly committed to a culture of safety. This position will directly impact the history of space exploration and will require your commitment and detailed attention towards safe and repeatable space flight. Join us in lowering the cost of access to space and enabling Blue Origin’s vision of millions of people living and working in space to benefit Earth.

As part of a small, passionate, and accomplished team of experts, you will be responsible for designing, developing and delivering entry, descent, and landing (EDL) systems for launch, in-space systems, planetary landers and crewed vehicles. You will be working on expanding our presence beyond low Earth orbit, and developing sustainable access architectures to space and planetary surfaces. You should be comfortable working in a fast-paced and often uncertain environment, contributing to innovative solutions, while demonstrating personal leadership, technical competence, and attention to detail. This position will directly impact the history of space exploration and will require your dedicated commitment and detailed attention towards safe and repeatable spaceflight.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, test, deliver, and operate highly reliable descent, and decelerator systems to support earth and planetary landers and crewed vehicles
• Develop decelerator system requirements with flow downs to components
• Execute decelerator system simulations and analyses in support of requirement generation, verification, configuration optimization, and trade studies
• Work closely with systems and design engineers to develop integrated design solutions, rapidly assess conceptual designs, and establish requirements and performance parameters
• Design systems and components to meet requirements.
• Participate in gated reviews, concept studies, and preliminary design activities
• Lead or support component, subsystem, and vehicle level tests
• Lead safe landing research and studies including internal and external engagements.
• Conduct independent and collaborative research (and development) to increase technology readiness levels of Blue Origin’s decelerator systems in support of Blue Origin’s vision of enabling a future where millions of people are living and working in space

Qualifications:

• Passion for Blue Origin’s mission: Millions of people living and working in space!
• Minimum of a B.S. degree in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering or related field and at least 8 years industry experience
• Demonstrated technical expertise in spacecraft, launch vehicle, re-entry vehicle, or planetary lander development
• Depth of experience in one or more of the technologies related to entry, descent, and landing; including hypersonic Inflatable structures, decelerator systems, parachute systems, EDL guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C), autonomous hazard detection and avoidance, landing propulsion and touchdown systems, or plume-surface interaction
• Demonstrated experience maturing decelerator system hardware from concept to flight
• Demonstrated experience in defining and conducting test campaigns to validate technologies such as sensors or decelerators
• Experience developing requirements, defining subsystem interfaces (both in-house and between external partners/suppliers), and other systems engineering products and practices
• Demonstrated experience leading and managing small teams on fast-paced projects
• Experience working collaboratively in small teams on fast-paced projects
• History of developing solutions with partially defined requirements and changing criteria
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of inclusion
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Desired:

• Ph.D. in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline
• Experience across multiple portions of the product life cycle (concept definition through operations and use)
• Experience supporting wind tunnel testing and flight testing, including data reduction and post-flight data analysis
• Experience with 6 degree-of-freedom simulation development and analysis, especially the characterization and modeling of descent and landing sensors
• Experience with human spaceflight
• Proficient with a scripting language or platform such as MATLAB or Python
• Familiarity with version control (e.g. git/gitlab, mercurial, subversion)
• Experience with collaboration tools such as Confluence and JIRA
• Experience with proposal development
• Knowledge in the use of 3D CAD tools (Creo is preferred)

Compensation Range for:

Other site ranges may differ

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

Inclusivity 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 a diverse, inclusive, and 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.

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.

Discretionary bonus: Bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results.

Eligibility for benefits varies by role type, please check with your recruiter for a comprehensive list of the benefits available for this role.

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, diverse, 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, in which all employees recognize and appreciate the diversity of individual team members. 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, gender, 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 “EEO Is the Law,” 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.

California Applicant Privacy Notice

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