Senior Systems Modeling Engineer - Beam Planning & Network Optimization

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! 

Blue Origin is pioneering the future of space-based communications with TeraWave, a revolutionary satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. This multi-orbit constellation will consist of optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), providing enterprise-grade connectivity for critical operations worldwide.

As a member of the TeraWave Integrated System Modelling team, you will develop and own the algorithms that decide how thousands of satellites allocate capacity to users, route data across the constellation, and adapt to shifting demand in real time. Your work translates customer service requirements and physical constraints into tractable optimization problems solved at constellation scale — and feeds directly into production systems that will operate the network.

You will work within an integrated modelling framework alongside engineers modelling power, thermal, communications, and orbital performance — ensuring that beam planning and routing algorithms respect real system limits rather than optimizing in isolation. You will also contribute to constellation-level performance analysis, quantifying how resource assignment decisions affect end-to-end service delivery through deployment phases, satellite failures, and orbital maneuvers.

Successful candidates will bring strong foundations in algorithm design for scheduling, routing, and resource allocation problems at scale — whether from satellite, telecom, cloud infrastructure, or logistics domains — combined with the software development skills to build maintainable, validated, and accessible models that the broader team can use and trust.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
 

Algorithm development — Beam Planning & Scheduling

- Develop and maintain beam-to-ground-cell allocation algorithms for the TeraWave constellation, including demand-driven beam steering and multi-beam scheduling.
- Design dwell time optimization strategies that maximize throughput subject to power, thermal, and interference constraints.
- Develop time, frequency, and power resource scheduling algorithms that allocate shared constellation resources across competing demands while respecting per-satellite power budgets and regulatory emission constraints.

Algorithm Development — Routing & Network Optimization

- Design and implement data routing algorithms for the optical inter-satellite link (OISL) mesh, including shortest-path and latency-constrained routing over time-varying topologies with thousands of nodes.
- Develop load balancing and rerouting strategies that maintain service under link failures and orbital geometry changes.
- Develop gateway-satellite assignment algorithms that optimize ground segment utilization, minimize handover frequency, and maintain service continuity, account for gateway capacity, weather-driven link margin variation, and geographic constraints.
- Design handover algorithms that manage satellite-to-satellite and gateway-to-gateway transitions with minimal service disruption, exploiting the deterministic orbital geometry of the constellation.

Analysis & Architecture Support

- Perform scaling and computational complexity analysis of proposed algorithms, demonstrating feasibility at full constellation scale (3,000+ satellites) and identifying where approximations or decomposition are needed for tractable run-times.
- Perform trade studies quantifying network performance implications of constellation design choices orbital altitude, inclination, OISL terminal count, gateway placement, and phased deployment ordering, providing algorithm-backed recommendations.
- Contribute to constellation-level figures of merit, ensuring resource assignment trades are evaluated in context of end-to-end service delivery.

Integration & Collaboration

- Integrate network optimization models within the broader Integrated System Model, ensuring beam planning and routing algorithms operate on consistent orbital mechanics, power, and link budget assumptions.
- Collaborate with communications, power, thermal, and operations teams to incorporate evolving design constraints into optimization formulations.
- Work closely with the Network Software Organization to translate algorithmic designs into production specifications, including interfaces, performance requirements, and acceptance criteria.
- Communicate algorithmic designs, assumptions, and results clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders through reports, presentations, and data visualizations.

Tools & Engineering Practice

- Build and maintain validated algorithmic tools in MATLAB and/or Python that are version-controlled, documented, and accessible to the broader engineering team.
- Support reproducibility of results and enable rapid trade studies as the constellation design evolves.

Minimum Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in computer science, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, operations research, applied mathematics, or equivalent technical field.
- 5+ years of experience developing algorithms for scheduling, routing, resource allocation, or combinatorial optimization problems at scale, with hands-on implementation and validation experience.
- Proficiency in MATLAB and/or Python for scientific computing and algorithm development, with demonstrated ability to develop, validate, and maintain engineering analysis tools.
- Strong foundations in graph algorithms, heuristic search, and scheduling techniques, with the ability to formulate real-world engineering problems as tractable optimization problems and evaluate solution quality.
- Ability to clearly document algorithmic designs, assumptions, complexity analysis, and performance results for cross-team consumption.
- Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.

Preferred Qualifications

- Master's or Ph.D. in computer science, operations research, electrical engineering, or a closely related field with thesis work relevant to network optimization, resource scheduling, or algorithm design for large-scale systems.
- 8+ years of experience spanning multiple areas of network resource optimization — beam planning, routing, scheduling, capacity management — in satellite, telecom, cloud infrastructure, or logistics domains.
- Working knowledge of wireless or satellite communications resource management concepts including beam scheduling, frequency reuse, link budgets, or capacity allocation.
- Familiarity with time-varying network routing problems, including dynamic graph representations and algorithms that exploit predictable topology changes.
- Experience with LEO constellation programs and their unique algorithmic challenges — time-varying topologies, Doppler-shifted links, contact-window-constrained routing, and demand patterns that shift with the Earth's rotation.
- Experience with heuristic and metaheuristic optimization techniques (simulated annealing, genetic algorithms, tabu search) and understanding of when these approaches outperform exact methods at scale.
- Experience with graph-theoretic modelling of communication networks, including flow optimization and multi-commodity flow problems.
- Familiarity with reinforcement learning or online optimization approaches for adaptive resource management.
- Experience developing algorithms under real-time or near-real-time computational budgets, including warm-starting, incremental re-optimization, and solution quality guarantees under time pressure.
- Experience translating algorithmic research into production system specifications, including APIs, performance contracts, and test frameworks.
- Familiarity with version control (Git) and collaborative software development practices.
- Knowledge of satellite link budget analysis, antenna beam patterns, frequency planning, and interference management.

Special Considerations
- Relocation provided
- Travel expected up to 10% of the time
 

Base Pay Range for:

WA applicants is $145,188.00 - $203,263.20

Other site ranges may differ

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.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blue’s Standard Background Check
• Required for Certain Job Profiles:  Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

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.
• Stock Options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Paid Time Off:  Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

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.