NPI Systems Engineer
Blue Origin
NPI Systems Engineer
Blue Origin
Builds rockets, engines and lunar spacecraft
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 Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering (ACE), supporting Blue Origin’s mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. The team fosters innovation and drives engineering workflows of the future, shared solutions and standards, simplicity and lower costs, and manufacturable design.As part of a hardworking team of specialists, technicians, and engineers, you will own end-to-end integration verification for the New Product Introduction(NPI)lines that bring next-generation spacecraft solar arrays into production at unprecedented ratesand reliability. This is anarchitecture-levelopportunity for green-field designand process integration- the equipment is still being specified, the flow has not been locked, and the architecture is still a set of open decisions.
You will work on a team of manufacturing, process, and ground support equipment engineers owning their individual process areas - cell interconnection, lamination and bonding, mechanism assembly, tooling, fixturing, automation. You own the interfaces between themand the overall performance of themanufacturingsystemas a whole. Your object is the value stream as a system, raw material intake through wing integration, verified end to end as scalable and stable for high volume production.You will use data to makeenhancementsto the solar array designwith design engineers vertically integrated within the organization.
You will not only ensure thateach process works, but more importantly you willbe responsible formaking the integrated system scalable. That is a claim about distributions and resource envelopes: process capability, equipment availability, yield, test throughput, and lot-to-lot variation. You will build the models thatdeterminewhether it closes, instrument the line to find out what itactually does, and generate the verification evidence the program's scalability claim rests on.You will partner with Operations to define the architecture the full-rate linesarebuilt to, ensuring thelinesinherit proven designs instead ofnew discovery,enabling a rapid ramp up to rate production.
This is a hands-on building role. You will write the models yourself and be on the floor with the machines and instrumentation.You'llplay a front seat role in architecting high volume production lines powering the next generation of space vehicles.
We are primarily seeking a senior-level engineer to helpestablishand scale thiscapability, butare open to exceptional candidates atadjacent career levelswhose manufacturing, industrialization, NPI, and cross-functional execution experience align with the needs of the role.
Special Mentions [Edit or remove as needed]
Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
Build andmaintainthe capacity, availability, and throughput models thatdeterminewhether the value stream closes at rate;identifythe constraint and the capital decisions rate capability depends on
Characterize how the integrated systemactually behaves, hands-on withdeveloping and implementinginstrumentation, including how variation in one process area propagates to yield and throughput downstream
Establish the rate conditions design, processes, and equipment must be verified against - takt, capability and availability targets, test throughput, sampling posture, capacity margin - and the verification methods that close them
Author the production architecture requirements that make those targets achievable: how far each process can be modularized, how much capacity margin is needed, and how sameness between parallel modules is specified,verified, and controlled
Derive the rate and interface requirements that equipment and tooling specifications must satisfy, and co-author critical capital specifications with the responsible process and GSE engineers
Build producibility feedback tooling that quantifies the production consequence of a design choice early enough to influence the design
Carry proven changes from NPI toward production with process capability evidence, and support the technical risk work behind them - PFMEA linkage, escape exposure, detection latency, requalification impact
Partner with design engineering on producibility trades, Operations on production architecture and module commissioning, and mission assurance on acceptance test strategy at rate
Minimum Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Industrial, Manufacturing, Mechanical, Electrical, or Systems Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline
8+ years of experience in manufacturing, industrial, process, or production engineering (or 5+ years with an advanced degree)
Experience industrializing a product from development into higher-rate production, including hands-on work with automated production equipment
Demonstrated ownership of a multi-stage value stream as a system - flow, takt balance, aggregate capability, and the interfaces between stages - not only individual processes or stations
Hands-on experience building and defending quantitative models of a production system: capacity, availability, throughput,andprocess capability
Technical credibility with specialist process and equipment engineers - the depth to challenge capability claims, automation feasibility, and supplierspecificationson their own terms
Ability to verify and influence work owned by other teams without direct line authority, and to communicate findings that change design and capital decisions
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.
Prior aerospace or systems engineering experience is notrequired. This role needs industrialization depth in a high-rate, high-reliability production environment. Candidates from semiconductor, battery manufacturing, medical device, automotive, or comparable industries are encouraged to apply. If you meet most of the above and the work described sounds like yours, we want to hear from you.
Preferred Qualifications
Industrializing a product where both high rate and high reliability were binding - semiconductor, battery manufacturing, medical device, automotive safety-critical, aerospace at rate, or comparable
Working inside a pilot, NPI, or process-development line built with production-specification equipment, and carrying proven changes from it into a qualified production baseline
Greenfield production or facility planning where little prior definition existed
Test-capacity-limited production, where acceptance test throughput constrains line architecture - environmental chambers, vibration, EMI/EMC, flash/IV, electroluminescence
SPC and process capability, measurement system analysis, PFMEA and control plans, and gated qualification models (PPAP/APQP, IQ/OQ/PQ, or equivalent)
Specifying or developing high-rate production automation, including modularity, reconfigurability, anddata architecturerequirements
Spacecraft solar arrays, photovoltaics, deployment mechanisms, precision mechanisms, or comparable high-reliability hardware
Carrying an industrializationmethodologyacross more than one product or program, rather than solving a single line and stopping
Developing analytical tools or automated design-for-manufacturing feedback that enable rapid engineering decisions
Familiarity withAS9100, ISO 9001, APQP, PPAP, or other production quality systems.
Experience supporting supplier readiness, and supplier development.
Culture 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 an 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.
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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 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. 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, sex, 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 “Know Your Rights,” 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 [email protected]. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.
Builds rockets, engines and lunar spacecraft
Blue Origin builds rockets, engines and spacecraft for commercial satellite operators and government space programs. Its New Glenn orbital rocket uses a reusable first stage, while Blue Moon landers are designed to transport cargo and astronauts to the lunar surface. The company designs and manufactures liquid-fueled propulsion systems, and its New Shepard vehicle is built for short suborbital trips carrying people and research payloads. Customers pay for launch services and engines, and government development contracts fund work on systems for exploration beyond Earth orbit. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin is headquartered in Kent, Washington.
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