Principal Engineer - Mechanical, Materials & Structural Engineering - New Glenn

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.

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.  

This role supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single-configuration heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to Earth’s orbit and beyond. Engineered with a reusable first stage and a seven-meter payload fairing, New Glenn is building the road to space.

As part of a small, hard-working, and accomplished team of experts you will own the design, development, and test various spaceflight systems. You will share toward the team’s impact on all aspects of structures, mechanical, and fluid systems.

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!

Responsibilities:

• Set strategy, standards, and lead development of engineering organization performance and management metrics and tools
• Support discussions and build plans for material review board issues and element risk meetings
• Intake production leadership partner concerns, resolve appropriate assignee, and support plan execution and action burndown
• Lead program element role in production and mission operations rapid response team
• Focal for Merritt Island, Florida element program issues and planning
• Own and lead improvement of the element program Standard Repair Manual requirements
• Researches and analyzes product team design proposals, specifications, manuals, and other data to evaluate the feasibility, cost, and maintenance requirements of designs or applications
• Support element level Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) activities for product or process defects

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.S. degree or higher in Mechanical, Aerospace, or Industrial Engineering
• 10+ years of recent experience engineering aerospace or equivalent type mechanical system elements within aircraft, spacecraft, or launch vehicles
• Material review board experience or relevant defect/nonconformance management background
• Strong enterprise data analytics skills (SQL, PowerBI, Tableau, PowerQuery)
• Strong interpersonal (soft-power) skills
• Experience with generating, maintaining, and presenting executive level metric reports
• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of inclusion
• Expert knowledge of launch vehicle fabrication, integration processes, and quality control
• Experience and ability to work independently on rapid development programs
• 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

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with engineering design for manufacturability and value engineering, with a focus on cost reduction and build time hour optimization.
• People management experience leading large teams
• Experience with Databricks and PowerBI development
• Experience leading at least 5 multi-person engineering projects, leading requirements, priorities, scope, schedule, cost, execution, and communications

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 experi