Principal, End-to-End Systems Engineering

Salary range updated, see changes below (effective January 1, 2025).

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!  

The role is part of the In-Space Systems business unit, which is focused on the development, manufacturing, and operation of satellite systems to address one of the most compelling challenges in spaceflight today: space mobility. As part of a hardworking team of diverse engineers, you provide leadership across organizations, working end-to-end across payload, vehicle, and ground elements to define advanced secure communications solutions.

This individual will oversee the entire lifecycle of our solutions, from innovative concept to final implementation, ensuring excellence and precision every step of the way. Your leadership and vision will drive project success and make a significant impact in our field.

You will have the opportunity to collaborate with a wide array of professionals, including customers, team members, systems engineering, architecture, hardware, and software teams. Together, we will identify and track work seamlessly across various functions, fostering a cooperative and cohesive working environment.

You will coordinate and guide our diverse engineering teams, ensuring successful project execution by offering imaginative, detailed, and consistent solutions that align with our organizational goals. Your efforts will establish clear goals and metrics, enabling us to meet customer requirements related to cost, performance, and schedule.

We’re looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality; to join our team and positively impact the future of space. Passion for our mission and vision is required. Successful candidates will have a technical background, possess strong attention to detail, and demonstrate excellent problem-solving abilities. You should be passionate about delivering extensible, timely solutions while supplying to the development of high-performance teams through meticulous goal-setting, focused attention to performance metrics, and continuous process improvement. 

Special Mentions:

• Relocation provided  

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:  

• Coordinate and provide direction across diverse engineering teams to successful project execution by offering solutions that are imaginative, detailed, predictable, and consistent with organizational objectives. 

• Serve as a communication system focal throughout the program lifecycle as systems are developed, championing the conceptual vision and adapting it to reality 

• Mentor and train across the program to ensure approach, philosophy, and technology are understood and implemented, so they provide required capabilities and value to our customers 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Software, Electrical, Mechanical, Physics, Systems Engineering

• 10+ years of technical experience in developing space communication systems and ground counterparts

• Extensive experience in the communications sector, covering the OSI model, including communications theory, frequency and bandwidth selection, modulation, encoding, transport protocols, and standards (such as CCSDS), application protocols (file transfer, commanding, telemetry, command assurance), and communications security

• Proficient with communications access modeling and contact analysis tools like STK or equivalents for site selection and mission assessment

• Validated expertise in crafting communication system CONOPs, requirements, and interface description documents for element-level team mentorship

• Skilled in developing communication link budgets to predict link closure, quality, and data rates, while identifying performance risks

• Knowledgeable in NIST standards for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA Triad) to ensure strong information security

• Familiar with data framing and space-to-ground security protocols (e.g., CCSDS) for secure data links and routing

• Proficient in identifying feature requirements, proposing solutions, and leading engineering efforts to meet timelines efficiently

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Able t