Senior Manager - Turbomachinery Product Team Lead, Engines

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 is part of the Blue Origin Engines business unit, where our focus is the design, development, manufacturing, and testing of engines and propulsion systems. Built for multiple uses, our family of engines is powering the next generation of rockets for commercial, civil, national security, and human spaceflight.

As the leader of a small, passionate, and hardworking team of engineers on BE-3U, you will work at the intersection of program management, engineering, supply chain, test, manufacturing, and quality to own the engine’s turbomachinery through development, production, test, and flight. You’ll manage both the people and the product as the BE-3U Turbomachinery Product Team Lead, where the team’s focus is on maintaining the current production cadence while quickly implementing upgrades that improve cost, performance, reliability, and lead time. In this role, you and the team will partner with the operations organization, and other product and technical leaders within the program, to define, refine, and realize opportunities to not only improve the turbopumps, but also the speed we deliver them. You must enjoy identifying and solving communication and process challenges, earning trust, and attacking roadblocks that impede execution. We are seeking a highly organized leader with strong technical acumen who can provide the programmatic structure to control schedule and budget, while also bringing the communication and transparency that empowers team performance. This position will have a measurable effect on Blue’s upper stage engine performance and directly impact the history of space exploration.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Own and execute plans to reach turbomachinery development and production milestones on BE-3U. Identify, elevate, and act on key cost and performance input metrics that drive project direction.
• Hire, develop, and lead a talented team of engineers.
• Identify schedule-critical hardware, equipment, people, and facilities – resolve constraints and fix defects at the root.
• Define, manage, and action key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure product team success. Leverage data to make informed decisions and iterate on manufacturing and design changes across the turbomachinery life cycle.
• Own turbomachinery program budget and schedule.
• Analyze non-conformance metrics and partner with the quality organization to apply opportunities for process improvements that improve rate manufacturing performance.
• Coordinate and partner with the operations and supply chain organizations to execute manufacturing upgrade initiatives.
• Identify, mitigate, and own turbomachinery risks – remove blockers, investigate/escalate issues, and close on solutions.
• Manage interdisciplinary engineering and execution tasks to improve overall program success.
• Drive clear and consistent communication across all levels to ensure goal alignment.
• Champion a collaborative culture to attack challenges to engine cost, performance, and manufacturing rate.

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.S. degree in engineering.
• 7+ years of experience in rocket engine development or aerospace fluid/mechanical systems.
• 3+ years of project and people management experience.
• Proven ability to establish and execute complex plans with multiple functional interfaces while maintaining clear communication across stakeholders at all levels.
• Desire to lead and manage small teams on fast-paced development and production projects.
• High attention to detail and strong organizational/coordination skills.
• Strong aptitude for troubleshooting and quick thinking to keep projects moving forward.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusting and effective working relationships that improve team performance and deliver results.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• 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:

• 10+ years in rocket engine development.
• 5+ years of project/people management experience.
• Experience with turbomachinery development, qualification, and production.
• Experience with cradle to grave product develop