Director, Vehicle Engineering MK2 Crew Lander

Blue Origin • Seattle, WA

11d • $200,653 - $296,666

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 is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers and related products. To further Blue Origin's mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth, we are building sustainable infrastructure for our transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the lunar surface. As the Director of Vehicle Engineering for the Blue Moon MK2 Crew Lander you will manage a team of engineering leaders and managers to perform the integrated design, analysis, verification, validation, and certification for the lander . You will define and implement agile and lean System Engineering practices across the vehicle, cultivating a culture of systems thinking at all levels. You will drive technical design integration and the cadence of engineering operations to incrementally and urgently advan ce the system through delivery and operations . You will ensure system safety is prioritized at all levels of the design and in our organization. This position will directly impact the history of space exploration and will require your dedicated commitment and attention towards safe and reliable spaceflight.

Requirements

• Demonstrated experience effectively managing People, including fostering a culture of action, accountability, coaching, and development.
• Demonstrated experience leading integrated technical teams to deliver complex systems or subsystems in dynamic environments while balancing technical performance, cost, schedule, and risk.
• Deep technical knowledge of in-space vehicle systems, including key performance drivers , subsystems , and the fundamental physics of operating a vehicle in space
• Demonstrated subject matter expertise in applied System Engineering and Integration, including functional analysis, requirements, analysis integration , verification and validation, and risk management.
• 10+ years managing technical teams and/or leading functional groups with responsibility for leading and coaching employees.
• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of integrity.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Minimum of a B.S. degree in engineering, computing, or another technical field.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with the full lifecycle of development across one or more space missions
• Experience performing at least one system-level V&V campaign for a space system
• Experience with space vehicle mission operations.
• Experience with CAD configuration and proficiency with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and CAD tools including Windchill/Creo
• Experience with Model Based Definition (MBD)
• Experience with AI agents and use of Large Language Models
• Experience applying Model Based System Engineering approaches and tools
• Experience with human spaceflight systems , safety analysis, and certification
• Experience with non-traditional approaches to System Engineering and Integration
• Experience organizing and leading a system engineering team
• Experience with mass properties and technical resource management
• Experience implementing a gile project management approaches
• Knowledge of Configuration and Data Management processes and standards including Software CM methods and tools (e.g., Gitlab).
• Knowledge of project scheduling including development of IMP/IMS, critical path analysis, and schedule risk analysis

Responsibilities

• Manage the people of the Vehicle Engineering organization, fostering career development and raising the bar of performance through a focus on strategic planning, high quality decisions, collaboration, communication, and trust.
• Define and control the technical baseline for the Crew Lander that satisfies requirements while balancing cost, schedule, and risk .
• Manage the Crew Lander configuration baseline including the vehicle CAD model, BOM, and mass properties .
• Manage requirement and interface definition, validation, and control
• Lead integrated analysis including the identification, evaluation, and tracking of key technical performance measures .
• Manage the system safety definition and analysis across the vehicle.
• Manage the definition and execution of v erification, v alidation, and c ertification for the Crew Lander.
• Establish tools and best practices for System Engineering and Integration, including training and mentoring, to foster a culture of system thinking at all levels of the organization.
• Implement agile project management for the Vehicle Engineering team establishing iterative and incremental deliverables to support integrated vehicle goals.

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.
• 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.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees