Flight Dynamics Software Engineer III - Blue Ring

BLUE ORIGIN • Seattle, WA

1d • $164,652 - $230,513

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! The role is part of the In-Space Systems business unit, which is focused on addressing two of the most compelling challenges in spaceflight today: space infrastructure and increasing mobility on-orbit. As part of a hardworking team of engineers and mission operators, you will work closely with space vehicle and ground system teams to develop, test, and deploy the Flight Dynamics System (FDS) — the ground-based astrodynamics software responsible for orbit determination, maneuver planning, collision avoidance, engine commodity tracking, and flight dynamics product generation for Blue Ring spacecraft. As a Flight Dynamics Software Engineer, you will build and operate the microservices and data pipelines that translate astrodynamics algorithms into production mission-critical systems. You will collaborate directly with the Astrodynamics and Trajectory eXecution (ATX) team and mission operations to ensure Blue Ring vehicles remain safely on orbit. 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!

Requirements

• B.S. or higher degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics, physics, aerospace engineering, or related field or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years of software development experience.
• Experience in software engineering over the course of the full lifecycle of software development, including system design and analysis, requirement capture and development, software implementation and verification, system integration, qualification, and release.
• Experience in software build automation, continuous integration, configuration management, verification, and deployment.
• Demonstrated software development skills in multiple software languages, with ability to implement in the language most appropriate to the problem-domain.
• Familiarity with Linux environment and comfortable with basic Unix system administration activities.
• Ability to earn trust and maintain positive and professional relationships.
• 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

• Experience designing and developing ground software for space flight operations.
• Expertise developing complex applications in Python.
• Experience with REST, Kafka, GRPC, web development and/or database development and interfaces.
• Experience with Infrastructure as Code and Cloud Technologies.
• Familiarity with astrodynamics concepts such as orbit determination, maneuver planning, or collision avoidance.
• Familiarity developing software systems for one or more of the following applications and technologies: Telemetry data processing, fault monitoring, flight dynamics, Mission activity planning and scheduling, Spacecraft ephemeris generation and dissemination, Conjunction data processing and space situational awareness
• Experience with spacecraft subsystems and associated subsystem software.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, test, verify and deploy FDS microservices supporting orbit maintenance, collision avoidance, engine commodity bookkeeping, and flight dynamics product generation.
• Work with multiple teams, including engineers from fields like flight vehicle systems, mission control infrastructure, operations subject areas, and customers to define software requirements, architectures, and designs.
• Translate astrodynamics algorithms developed by the ATX team into production services, working across the boundary between numerical methods and software engineering.
• Develop rapid prototypes to prove out concepts and quantify technical risks.
• Coordinate with systems infrastructure and system engineers to plan, develop, and verify, to ensure software products meet requirements and safety-critical standards.
• Produce user documentation for software architecture, design, verification plans, user manual and training material.
• Follow software development processes that meet Blue Origin and customer-required standards to ensure software safety and reliability.
• Support frequent update cycles in support of pre-flight testing, mission validation exercises and operations training events.
• Support mission control software operations responsibilities (maintenance, defect correction, improvements) during operator training; ground data system verification, validation, and certification; spacecraft integration; and flight.
• Integrate software components, develop, and run unit-level and system-level tests, validate using Software-in-the-Loop and Hardware-in-the-Loop simulators, and release certified code.
• Support in developing materials for software design, verification plans, user manuals, and training.

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.
• Relocation provided

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree