Manager, Flight Software - Project Sunrise – Orbital Data Centers
About The Position
Blue Origin is hiring a Manager of Flight Software for Project Sunrise, a constellation of orbital data centers. The position is part of Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering (ACE), a team focused on engineering innovation, shared solutions and standards, simplicity, lower costs, and manufacturable design. The manager will lead the team responsible for the core software of Sunrise satellites, initially focusing on power management, active thermal control, large-scale deployment, and autonomous operations. This leadership role is responsible for defining the reliability and performance of the constellation. The role requires collaboration with hardware and systems engineers to define spacecraft software requirements, interfaces, and operational concepts. It also supports on-orbit operations, anomaly resolution, and flight-software troubleshooting. Travel may be required up to 25% of the time. Relocation assistance is available. Applicants must meet the stated U.S. citizenship, permanent-residency, refugee, or asylum eligibility criteria.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field.
- At least 8 years of experience in real-time embedded software development.
- At least 3 years in a technical leadership or management role.
- Deep understanding of spacecraft flight software, with demonstrated experience in GNC, C&DH, or FDIR.
- Strong programming skills in C/C++.
- Experience with real-time operating systems (RTOS).
- Experience with the full software development lifecycle, from requirements through testing and deployment.
- Must be a U.S. citizen or national, a U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
Nice To Haves
- Master's degree or PhD in a relevant field.
- Experience with control systems for high-power electrical distribution or active thermal systems.
- Proven experience with GNC for large, flexible space structures.
- Knowledge of building and managing software for large-scale, fault-tolerant distributed systems.
- Experience with spacecraft autonomy or multi-satellite constellations.
- Familiarity with spacecraft communication protocols such as CCSDS or SpaceWire.
- Familiarity with software assurance standards such as NASA-STD-8739.8, NPR 7150.2, ECSS-Q-ST-80C, or equivalent standards such as DO-178C.
- Familiarity with embedded coding standards such as the JPL Institutional Coding Standard, MISRA C/C++, or CERT C/C++.
- Experience with simulation environments and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
Responsibilities
- Lead and mentor flight software engineers, fostering technical excellence, innovation, and ownership.
- Own the architecture, design, and implementation of Command & Data Handling (C&DH) and Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) software.
- Architect and develop software for a high-power distribution system supporting a multi-kilowatt AI compute payload.
- Design and implement control software for the active thermal system to manage heat dissipation from compute hardware.
- Oversee development of Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) software for spacecraft deployment and attitude control.
- Collaborate with hardware and systems engineers to define software requirements, interfaces, and operational concepts for spacecraft subsystems.
- Develop and implement the flight-software verification and validation strategy, including unit, integration, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.
- Support on-orbit operations, anomaly resolution, and flight-software troubleshooting.
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 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 and company results; amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed.
- Relocation assistance is available.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
