Sr Manager, Software Engineering (Operational Data Enablement)

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 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.  

This role is part of Enterprise Technology (ET), where we’re developing the digital infrastructure needed to build the road to space, with an emphasis on digital capabilities required to advance Blue Origin’s mission. Enterprise Technology is the center of excellence for digital technology at Blue Origin, providing oversight and governance to align technology and business strategies.

We are seeking a Sr. Manager of Software Engineering for Operational Data Enablement to lead a high-impact software engineering team focused on enabling data-driven decision-making across the enterprise. This role will drive the design, development and automation of many efforts including:

• Developing scalable, resilient, and efficient Operational Data Platforms
• Enhancing Operational Insights and Automation through the Data Lake
• Implementing Knowledge Graph solutions
• Advancing Enterprise Search and AI-driven Data Tooling

This engineering leader will bring expertise in enterprise data pipelines, automation and data governance while driving efficiency and innovation across critical business operations. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product engineering, data scientists, AI/ML developers, and software engineers. Your focus will be on operational excellence, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, secure, and reliable data at scale.

We are looking for a hands-on engineering leader 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! Join our team and help Blue Origin use data to build a road to space!

Responsibilities:

• Build, mentor, and manage a team of ten software and data engineers to develop cloud-native, automation-first data solutions.
• Partner with enterprise stakeholders – including SLT, Product, and Technology teams – to align data initiatives with strategic business goals.
• Spearhead platform performance improvement initiatives, optimizing query performance and data processing times.
• Champion the integration of data assets within the data platform (Databricks/ Palantir) to foster a culture of data-driven decision-making.
• Build self-service data tools that empower user groups to leverage structured and unstructured data effectively.
• Implement real-time monitoring, automated anomaly detection and proactive data issue resolution frameworks.
• Drive the integration of Knowledge Graphs for AI-powered search, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and real-time data enrichment.
• Drive commercialization of data capabilities where applicable, ensuring data solutions align with long-term business sustainability.
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement, documentation and best practices in enterprise data management.
• Implement intelligent monitoring, automated failure recovery and predictive scaling using observability tools.
• Work with practitioners and customers to develop new ways to federate analysis, operational application development and enable a "shift left" philosophy to data ownership.

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.S. in Computer Science or related field.
• 8 years of experience writing production-grade code in a modern programming language.
• 3 years of people management experience.
• Experience with Python, Java, or Scala for data processing and automation.
• Experience hiring top talent and driving career growth for early-in-career and senior engineers.
• The ability to set ambitious goals with measurable results and familiarity with frameworks such as OKRs.
• Experience working with product managers to collaboratively set a vision.
• Hands-on experience with one or more of Spark, Databricks, Palantir, Kafka, Flink, ML Flow or similar technologies. Also, comfortable divi