Director, New Shepard Test

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 New Shepard program. New Shepard is 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 small, passionate and accomplished team of experts, you will be responsible for the test and verification of New Shepard space hardware. You will provide technical, programmatic and financial leadership and resolution of issues to enable rapid progress.  With your expertise in test engineering, program management and people leadership, you will facilitate on-time completion of test activities through integrated planning, process improvement and partnership with stakeholder groups. You are adept at managing a highly capable team, comfortable adjusting in response to evolving requirements or external constraints, and prioritizing efforts all the while infusing and facilitating creativity and innovation. We put a strong emphasis on hands-on technical ability, as our leaders are directly involved with projects and problem-solving and manage through active engagement with the team.  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:

• Overall responsibility for all aspects of component and integrated test engineering of the New Shepard vehicle
  • Coordination with the production team to establish aggressive but achievable production targets
  • Resource and capacity planning to achieve forecasted vehicle demand
  • Detailed metrics and schedule generation, including subsequent progress reporting
  • Forecasting and developing recovery plans for constraints critical to vehicle delivery and/or flight schedule
• Responsible for the execution of development and qualification testing, on a compressed schedule, in support of the NS4.3 design increment
• Manage in accordance with the New Shepard Program Management Plan (PMP) and associated Management Operating System (MOS)
• Development and management of test space/equipment, budget and schedule milestones to meet goals allocated from New Shepard Program Manager
• Managing teams of engineers and technicians responsible for the testing of avionics, fluids, and mechanical systems, and the build of associated equipment
• Provide recommendations and develop process improvements in a wide-range of test engineering activities, such as: 
  • Developing test plans and test procedures; 
  • Deriving test requirements; 
  • Scoping, defining, and developing test equipment to support automated testing; 
  • Supporting engineering design activities as a technical partner; 
  • Planning and supporting requirements verification and validation;
  • Developing job hazard analyses;
  • Performing root cause analyses and implementing corrective actions;
• Partner with engineering, operations and maintenance organization leads to concurrently support design development and verification, production build, and the operational fleet

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.S. degree in aerospace, mechanical, industrial, or manufacturing engineering; physics; or 12+ years relevant industry experience in engineering, manufacturing, operations or maintenance  
• Experience with assembly and integration of launch vehicles across a range of launch vehicle subsystems including avionics, fluids, and mechanical systems
• Experience with planning, scheduling tools, Basis of Estimate, Work Breakdown Structure, Integrated Master Schedule, Critical Path Analysis, Material Resource Planning, Enterprise Resource Planning, Earned Value Management
• Experience managing Test Readiness Reviews, Job Hazard Analysis and Environmental Health and Safety
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to earn trust and build positive, professional relationships
• Able to set a high bar while hiring, developing and retaining top talent
• Passionate about space exploration and a future with millions of people living and working in space

  

Preferred Qualifications:

• 15+ years’ ex