Astrodynamics Software Integration Engineer II

Blue Origin•Littleton, CO

About The Position

This role is part of Blue National Security (BNS), which designs, develops, and delivers launch and spacecraft systems for national security missions. You will join the Astrodynamics and Trajectory Execution (ATX) team within In-Space Systems, responsible for end-to-end trajectory design and ground navigation. The team is building capabilities for missions to the Moon and Mars and operational deep-space flight dynamics. In this hands-on role, you will mature ATX-developed algorithms into reliable operational capabilities within the Flight Dynamics System (FDS). You will primarily support an assigned mission from development through live flight operations while building reusable capabilities for the Blue Ring fleet. The work includes integrating and productionizing astrodynamics algorithms, testing and validating software, coordinating with ground-system and mission teams, supporting operational readiness, and improving automation and software practices. The role is tailored to deep-space flight dynamics software primarily supporting civil missions in Mars and cislunar space; candidates with clearance may have opportunities to contribute across the broader range of ATX mission work.

Requirements

B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field and 4+ years of relevant experience; or M.S. in a related field and 2+ years of relevant experience; or Ph.D. in a related field.
Strong working knowledge of astrodynamics and orbital mechanics, with applied project, research, or professional experience in spacecraft mission design (including trajectory analysis and maneuver planning) or orbit determination (including estimation, covariance analysis, or tracking-data processing).
Demonstrated experience developing, integrating, testing, and maintaining scientific, simulation, autonomy, mission-planning, or operational software in a collaborative codebase, including diagnosing and resolving complex software, algorithm, or data-processing issues.
Strong proficiency in Python or C++ and working proficiency in the other, including software design, debugging, automated testing, and performance-aware development.
Experience with software engineering practices including version control, code review, automated testing, configuration management, and CI/CD or equivalent build-and-test workflows.
Working knowledge of spacecraft flight dynamics workflows, including orbit determination, orbit prediction, maneuver planning, and use of configuration-controlled data and models to produce operational products.
Ability to work independently, scope ambiguous technical problems, and deliver results with minimal oversight.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including cross-disciplinary collaboration and authoring technical documentation.
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.

Nice To Haves

Julia experience.
Experience using the Monte toolkit for trajectory analysis, orbit determination, maneuver planning, or operational flight dynamics, and independent tools such as STK, FreeFlyer, or GMAT for algorithm verification and validation.
Experience developing or integrating operational flight dynamics, ground, mission-planning, autonomy, or other mission-critical software systems.
Experience supporting a production environment, including issue triage, root cause analysis, problem detection and isolation, software patches, and software releases, with an understanding of operational risks and impacts.
Experience supporting mission rehearsals, live spacecraft operations, or other time-critical operational environments, ideally on cislunar or interplanetary missions.
Experience with radiometric or GPS orbit determination, or trajectory optimization and maneuver planning and execution for high-thrust or electric-propulsion missions.
Experience with DevOps practices and tooling, including configuration control, CI/CD, code review, Jira, git, Docker, Terraform, and Ansible, and AWS services such as EC2, EKS, S3, MSK, and Aurora.
Experience communicating effectively across a distributed team.
Experience using generative AI tools to expedite and automate workflow.
Current TS/SCI clearance with polygraph, or willingness to obtain and maintain one.

Responsibilities

Integrate ATX algorithms for orbit determination, orbit prediction, maneuver planning, attitude design, and associated automation into the Flight Dynamics System, ensuring rigor, integrity, configuration control, and compatibility with the system and its Monte-propagated truth environment.
Work with ATX engineers to mature algorithms from analysis and development into maintainable operational Python and C++ software; define interfaces, configurations, and data products, and write maintenance and user documentation.
Implement unit, integration, regression, and scenario-based tests; support requirements verification and validation and use independent tools to verify software performance against specifications.
Coordinate with ATX engineers, the Flight Dynamics System software architect, mission planning teams, and flight operations teams to mature integration patterns and operational interfaces and workflows.
Validate integrated capabilities through simulation, testing, and mission rehearsals; maintain operational readiness during mission-critical activities by triaging issues, isolating root causes, and delivering software patches and releases.
Perform operational orbit determination and/or mission design processes for an assigned lifecycle mission; develop analysis software and contribute to flight dynamics products, reviews, rehearsals, and live operations.
Automate algorithm integration, testing, and flight dynamics workflows as ATX scales toward fleet-level operations, including using generative AI where it improves speed and reliability.
Help establish and sustain team standards for algorithmic software development, testing, code review, configuration control, and lifecycle maintenance.
Scope, estimate, and plan work in deliverable increments using tools such as Jira and git.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision insurance.
Basic and supplemental life insurance.
Paid parental leave.
Short- and long-term disability.
401(k) with company match of up to 5%.
Education Support Program.
Stock options for all regular employees working at least 20 hours per week.
Paid time off of up to four weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours.
Up to 14 company-paid holidays.
Depending on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on individual contributions or company results.