Lead Principal Systems Engineer - Zero Boil Off
About The Position
Blue Origin is hiring a Lead Principal Systems Engineer for its Lunar Permanence business unit to lead the Zero Boil Off (ZBO) cryocooler program. Based in Kent, Washington, this role is the single-threaded technical leader for the cryocooler system, owning its architecture and technical baseline across turbomachinery, heat exchangers, avionics, software, and fluid and electrical interfaces. The engineer will lead systems engineering activities and collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, qualify, and integrate cryocooler technology onto launch vehicles and/or payloads. The role requires deep expertise in thermodynamic cycles and cryogenic or thermal-fluid systems, along with experience serving as technical authority for complex flight hardware from concept through qualification. Responsibilities span system requirements and architecture, performance modeling and trade studies, customer and vehicle interfaces, design and risk decisions, CONOPS, technical reviews, and product roadmaps. Travel of up to 25% is expected for customer coordination, testing, and launch activities. Interviews include a technical assessment. Relocation is provided.
Requirements
- B.S. in Mechanical, Aerospace, Systems Engineering, or a closely related technical field.
- 10+ years designing, analyzing, qualifying, and launching flight hardware, with progression to lead or principal roles.
- Experience serving as technical authority or lead systems engineer for a complex flight system or subsystem from concept through qualification.
- Proven customer-facing technical interface experience negotiating and defending requirements, interfaces, and resource allocations such as mass, power, and envelope.
- Strong working knowledge of thermodynamic cycles and cryogenic or thermal-fluid systems, including building, running, and interpreting cycle performance models using MATLAB or equivalent.
- Experience defining and managing system-level requirements, ICDs, traceability, and V&V strategies across large, multi-source requirement sets.
- Experience leading technical gate reviews, including entry/exit criteria and action closure.
- Working knowledge of P&IDs and fluid system design, with familiarity across avionics, electrical power, and controls.
- Familiarity with launch vehicle or space system CONOPS and flight environments.
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted as a refugee or granted asylum.
Nice To Haves
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Aerospace, Mechanical, or a related technical field.
- 15+ years in systems engineering roles of increasing scope on space flight hardware.
- Depth in cryogenic or thermal-fluid systems, such as cryogenic fluid transfer, long-duration cryogenic storage, or cryocooler systems including pulse-tube, Gifford-McMahon, Joule-Thomson, and Reverse Brayton.
- Proven ability to lead a product through the full lifecycle: concept, design, qualification, integration, launch, and operations.
- Experience with MBSE tools such as Cameo, Rhapsody, or MATLAB and requirements/configuration management tools such as Jama, DOORS NG, or Windchill.
- Experience with physics-based or thermal-fluid modeling tools such as Simulink, Thermal Desktop, ANSYS, Fluent, CFX, or equivalent, and scripting with Python or equivalent.
- Experience with motor controllers, high-speed motor drives, or power electronics for flight systems.
- Experience developing product roadmaps, technology maturation plans, and technical strategies for new-technology products.
- Familiarity with NASA systems engineering processes and review standards, such as NPR 7123.1.
- Startup or small-team experience building processes and products from the ground up.
- Experience applying AI-assisted tools to accelerate design, analysis, or technology maturation.
Responsibilities
- Drive end-to-end thermal-cycle system requirements for flight, including architecture, technical baseline, performance, and margins across cryocooler products; understand thermodynamic cycles such as Reverse Brayton and Joule-Thomson.
- Serve as technical authority during flight hardware design, with signature authority for system-level changes, risk dispositions, nonconformances, and failure review boards.
- Act as the primary technical interface to vehicle customers; elicit, negotiate, and document requirements and mechanical, fluid, electrical, power, controls, data, mass, envelope, thermal, and materials interfaces.
- Develop and maintain launch and in-space CONOPS covering ground processing, launch, ascent, coast, long-duration operations, operating modes, and off-nominal scenarios.
- Develop and maintain MBSE and physics-based system models that characterize architecture performance; lead performance trade studies and translate results into architecture and design decisions.
- Provide technical oversight across avionics, software, fluids, thermal, and turbomachinery engineering to ensure cohesive collaboration.
- Lead ZBO systems engineering activities and define the team's weekly technical rhythm across design, analysis, and test.
- Develop ZBO product roadmaps and technical strategies, including future capability evolution, new vehicle applications, and rapid feasibility assessments.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- 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 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
- Potential eligibility for benefits and bonuses based on role type and job level; amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
