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!

This role is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Origin’s multiple Blue Moon lander product lines. To further Blue Origin's mission of having millions of people living and working in space, we are building sustainable infrastructure for our transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the lunar surface.

As part of a diverse and hardworking team of engineers, you will join our team within the Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GN&C) IPT. You will share in the team’s impact in the development of complex, optionally-piloted spacecraft from Earth to the Moon! You will own and drive decisions and artifacts of the manual control system design and requirements, conduct trade studies for system-level manual control architectures, coordinate development of the engineering flight simulator, and closely support flight simulator testing of handling qualities and manual control modes. You will collaborate closely with other subsystems and spacecraft systems engineers to define spacecraft functions, requirements, boundaries, interfaces, and technical performance measures. You will derive methodologies for pilot situational awareness and the associated feature requirements for spacecraft sensing, kinematics, and dynamics required to enable precision piloted lunar landing, docking, and general mission execution.

You will work directly with NASA and our National Team Partners as part of the Human Landing System (HLS) Sustaining Lunar Development (SLD) program. You will play a key role in developing the Lunar Permanence system that will return humans to the Moon and extend human presence permanently beyond the bounds of Earth.

We are looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality to positively impact safe human spaceflight. Passion for our mission and vision is required!

Primary Responsibilities include:

• Defining manual control and pilot override strategies to vehicle autonomy
• Using astronaut task analysis and definition of override scenarios to derive vehicle requirements and functions to that satisfy operational needs
• Coordinate and decompose functional responsibilities between vehicle subsystems to enable acceptable handling qualities
• Deriving pilot interaction use cases and limitations of use
• Identification for guidance and control strategies to enable manual control of vehicle targeting, flight path, and attitude in coordination with GN&C algorithm developers and piloting
• Creating Manual Controls requirements, describing verification activities, and orchestrating verification runs-for-record and validation exercises
• Designing the Concept of Operations and requirements for Autonomous-to-Manual command transitions for vehicle and subsystem control loops, and associated limitations of use

Minimum Qualifications:

• Minimum of BS degree in Aerospace Engineering or related field
• Proven experience in manual control strategy and design, including GN&C development for Manual Control of a space vehicle's flight path and attitude
• Experience in working with pilots on handling quality assessment
• Proficiency in development of requirements, interfaces, trades, and analyses for space vehicles
• Understand the relationship between attitude control, vehicle configuration, spacecraft dynamics, actuators, sensors, and automation
• Experience with performing system safety analyses including Functional Hazard Assessments; Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analyses; and Fault Tree Analysis
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Highly organized and capable of planning and completing sophisticated technical work
• Ability to perform in a dynamic, fast-paced, and driven work environment
• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and participate in a culture of inclusion
• 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:

• MS or PhD in Aerospace Engineering or closely related technical subject area
• Familiarity with control law design for aerospace vehicles
• Familiarity with guidance algorithms, especially spacecraft and reentry vehicles
• Familiarity with visual displays and cuing methodology
• Experience with spacecraft simulator and/or emulator development
• Demonstrated technical experience through the full lifecycle of system development
• Direct experience with human integration and piloted vehicle design
• Aircraft or rotorcraft piloting experience
• Understanding of software and data configuration management techniques and tools
• Experience with Matlab/Simulink
• Experience with collaboration tools such as Gitlab, Confluence, and JIRA

Compensation range for on site CO applicants is $153,636-$215,090

Compensation range for on site WA applicants is $167,088-$233,923

Compensation range for on site CA applicants is $167,088-$233,923

Other site ranges may differ

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

Inclusivity 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 a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Benefits

Benefits include: Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%, and an Education Support Program.

Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.

Discretionary bonus: Bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results.

Eligibility for benefits varies by role type, please check with your recruiter for a comprehensive list of the benefits available for this role.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified, diverse, and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork, in which all employees recognize and appreciate the diversity of individual team members. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on “EEO Is the Law,” please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origin’s Affirmative Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at EEOCompliance@blueorigin.com.

California Applicant Privacy Notice

If you are a California resident, please reference the CA Applicant Privacy Notice here.