Launch Vehicle Test Engineer I - Crew Capsule (R39954)

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!  

This role is a part of New Shepard, a reusable suborbital rocket system designed to take astronauts and research payloads past the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary of space. Through operational reusability, New Shepard supports our mission of lowering the cost of access to space. 

As part of a hardworking team of diverse engineers, you will develop, manage and execute integrated tests and operations for the New Shepard Crew Capsule Launch Vehicles. You will share in the team’s impact on all aspects of pre-launch and post-flight vehicle integrated testing and functional verification. This role is a combination of test and flight operations development, planning, hands-on running tests, and troubleshooting/data analysis for the Crew Capsule launch vehicles at our Texas Launch Site.

Being at the heart of Blue Origin operations, the West Texas Site in Van Horn, TX offers eligible employee’s additional attractive financial incentives to supplement their competitive base earnings, including a living allowance and relocation assistance.  Eligibility for these additional benefits is based on the employee’s ability to permanently relocate to Van Horn, TX, or travel to Van Horn from another Blue location a minimum of 50% of the time. This position will be on a rotational shift with 16 days on and 12 days off.

In this role, once qualified, you will act as task leader for major vehicle tests and pre-flight checks, ensuring on-time successful completion of tasks from start to finish. As task leader, you will have overall responsibility for the operation, the crew and the procedure during test execution. Your attention to detail and leadership in enforcing safety practices are critical to ensuring success in test execution.

As part of our team, you will also support test readiness in significant ways. You will craft procedure updates used across all phases of the operation. This includes developing and implementing best practices around testing of environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS), Crew Interface subsystems, and various pyrotechnic systems. You will work to automate procedures to improve procedure efficiency and reduce vehicle turn-around time between launches. To prepare for testing, you will also coordinate test crews, support equipment, hardware and vehicle configurations.

Post-test, you will work with engineers from all subject areas and coordinate engineering support for data review and post-test analysis. You will also assist with anomaly resolution through completion to ensure timely readiness for flight vehicles.

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

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of a B.S. degree in engineering
• 1 year of hands-on experience with hazardous testing with a strong safety record
• A proven track record of working successfully in multiple subject areas
• Strong ability and desire to understand sophisticated systems, investigate and solve challenging problems, and work in a dynamic environment
• Safety mentality and must take initiative to improve existing systems, processes, and documentation
• Strong technical writing and communication skills
• Works well under pressure
• Strong digital literacy and ability to learn new software tools
• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of inclusion

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience operating and testing environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS)
• Experience operating and testing crew interface subsystems
• Experience operating pneumatic, electronics/control, and pyrotechnic systems
• Experience leading test teams as a Test Conductor or Test Engineer
• Experience developing, writing and updating test procedures
• Experience designing, building and integrating electronic test equipment

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