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! 

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 diverse spacecraft development engineers, you will have technical responsibility for navigation system products and performance for Blue Origin spacecraft. You will provide broad and deep navigation subject matter expertise particularly in the fields of cis-lunar and rendezvous navigation.  You will lead and approve navigation subsystem-level technical design decisions, as well as collaborate with other subsystem teams to ensure design coordination to meet the vehicle performance requirements.  You will provide technical leadership to identify, assess, and mitigate navigation subsystem risks.  You will provide engineering leadership and mentoring to coordinate subsystem level design, analysis, and testing throughout development, verification, delivery, and operation.  You will report to the Navigation Team Manager and interface with all levels of GN&C and company leadership.

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 our New Lunar Vehicle 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! 

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Lead the development and implementation of our advanced onboard navigation capability.

• Own the development of state estimation and sensor fusion algorithms for inertial and relative navigation

• Own the development and integration of computer vision, image processing, vision-based navigation, and other advanced navigation techniques applied to inertial and relative navigation

• Develop navigation fault detection, identification, and recovery algorithms and techniques

• Represent the navigation system interest to various vehicle subsystems such as avionics, C&DH, flight software, operations, and more.

• Develop and test embedded navigation software including sensor and sensor-data management using MATLAB/Simulink, C, and C++

• Develop navigation architecture, software configuration design studies, and sensor performance trades

• Perform and guide analyses such as covariance and Monte Carlo simulations to validate top-level system specifications and requirements

• Perform trade studies to advise sensor development and determine performance specifications

• Support the development and execution of component-level navigation test programs, including sensor characterization, sensor modeling, and integrated on-vehicle testing

• Support hardware-in-the-loop testing, on-vehicle functional testing, and flight testing

• Lead a team to perform analyses to satisfy system specifications and requirements

Minimum Qualifications

• M.S. in aerospace engineering or related discipline with 8+ years of proven on-board navigation expertise on flight projects

• Shown experience in the synthesis of state estimation algorithms and Kalman filters for spacecraft navigation

• Experience with both absolute and relative state determination

• Solid knowledge of inertial and relative navigation sensors

• Experience with navigation system concept of operations for spacecraft

• Experience in verification and test of navigation software and systems

• Embedded navigation software development in C/C++

• Experience in vision-based navigation, and familiarity with image processing, and feature detection techniques

• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to 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

• Ph.D. in Aerospace engineering or related discipline

• 10+ years of proven on-board navigation expertise on flight projects

• Experience in the development of navigation systems that include measurements from lidar, radar, and optical sensors

• Demonstrated knowledge in the development of planetary spacecraft navigation systems

• Strong MATLAB/Simulink and auto-coding experience

• Solid system engineering and configuration leadership skills

Compensation Range for:

CO applicants is $153,636.00-$215,090.40;WA applicants is $167,088.00-$233,923.20

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 [email protected].

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