Director of Vehicle G&C – New Glenn

BLUE ORIGIN • Kent, WA

4d • $233,934 - $327,507

About The Position

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 supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single-configuration, heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to low-Earth orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, cislunar, and beyond. Its first stage is fully reusable, and the vehicle was designed from the beginning to be human-capable. As part of a hardworking team of dynamic engineers, you will serve as the Single Threaded Leader (STL) for New Glenn Generation 1 G&C. In this role, you will lead the development of vehicle level guidance and control (G&C) algorithms for current generation vehicles and planned upgrades from conceptual level design, through development, test, integration, flight and post flight analysis. In addition, you will lead a team of 7+ experienced G&C vehicle autonomy engineers across a variety of New Glenn development programs and will be responsible for managing and coaching the staff. We are looking for an experienced engineer that will apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, high judgement, and commitment to meeting goals and quality to positively impact safe human spaceflight. Passion for our mission and strong communication and collaborative skills are required!

Requirements

• 10+ years of experience focused on development of autonomy for complex processes and/or aerospace autonomy/GNC
• Experience in development, implementation, and testing of Autonomy on aerospace vehicles
• Experience in test, verification and validation of complex algorithms, simulations, and software
• Demonstrated experience leading and managing lean teams on fast-paced projects
• Demonstrated experience in software development from initial architecture to deployed systems
• Leadership and management experience as well as a history of mentoring
• Highly organized and capable of planning and guiding complex technical work
• Demonstrated ability to perform both theoretical (e.g., modeling, simulation, analysis, design) and applied (implementation, testing, and validation) development of sophisticated algorithms and data processing techniques

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (M.S. or Ph.D.) in a relevant engineering field.
• Direct experience with the development of launch vehicle guidance and control algorithms
• Proficiency in system modeling and analysis using tools like MATLAB/Simulink.
• Experience with of AI-assisted coding techniques and tools to support efficient software production methods
• Hands-on experience with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing and integrated vehicle test campaigns.
• Familiarity with requirements management systems (e.g., DOORS Next Generation), issue tracking systems (e.g., JIRA), and revision control systems (e.g., Git).

Responsibilities

• Act as the Single Threaded Leader (STL) for our Generation 1 G&C Software and Simulation
• Lead the Vehicle Autonomy teams in developing the codes, models, tools, pre- and post- flight analysis tasks to support our launch schedule
• Oversee efforts to integrate software components, create and run unit tests, release real-time local and vehicle level autonomy applications, support HIL and on-vehicle testing.
• Manage G&C launch and test operations support for our operational vehicles
• Lead a cross-functional technical team to mature technologies, innovate to reach breakthroughs, and accomplish specific objectives for adding new technologies, such as AI, into key development programs
• Technical oversight and authority of a range of software solutions
• Prepare and manage design/technology reviews
• Support systems analysis with a cross-functional mindset to support system level architectural decisions

Benefits

• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director