Principal, Corporate Business Development & Strategic Partnerships

Blue Origin • Arlington, WA

2d

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 Blue Origin corporate functions, providing centralized support across Blue Origin business unit teams, functions, and locations. The Corporate Development team is responsible for generating, managing and executing mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, and strategic partnerships, and supporting the execution of corporate growth initiatives. Within this team, Corporate Business Development & Strategic Partnerships manages Blue Origin’s most complex, cross-business, and high-impact partnerships, joint ventures, and partner-linked financial structures. As a Principal, Corporate Business Development & Strategic Partnerships , you will be a senior leader responsible for defining the strategic partnership agenda, originating and leading Blue Origin’s most important and complex partnership transactions, and building mechanisms that scale our partnership capabilities across the company. You will own a portfolio of high-impact partner relationships and partnership theses that are critical to Blue Origin’s long-term strategy. You will work closely with our business units and senior leadership team by driving industry and ecosystem thinking, shaping and testing partnership theses, leading strategic and financial analysis, orchestrating cross-functional diligence, designing and negotiating term sheets and definitive agreements (often with warrants or other strategic financial instuments), and cultivating deep external relationships with partners, investors, and other ecosystem stakeholders. In this role, you will be an entrepreneurial, highly visible leader who makes convincing, information-based arguments and demonstrates a strong bias for action. 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

• 10+ years of demonstrated experience in business development, strategic partnerships, corporate development, investment banking, venture capital, principal investing, asset management, consulting, or related strategic/transactional roles
• Proven track record of originating, structuring, and closing complex, high-impact strategic partnerships or joint ventures , ideally in aerospace, defense, infrastructure, or adjacent technology sectors
• Deep fluency in financial and investment concepts, including experience with partner-linked financial structures (e.g., warrants, options), cap tables, valuation, and scenario analysis
• Experience leading cross-functional deal teams and driving alignment among technical, commercial, legal, finance, and executive stakeholders
• Highly organized and capable of independently planning and guiding complex, ambiguous, and cross-business initiatives
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated experience preparing and presenting materials for senior executives and, ideally, boards or investment committees
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and to build trusted relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex transactions simultaneously in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

Nice To Haves

• MBA from a top-tier business school or equivalent advanced degree in business, finance, engineering, or related field
• Experience working at or supporting a Fortune 500 company or high-growth, venture-backed startup
• Experience working with U.S. Government agencies or research organizations (e.g., NASA, AFRL, DARPA) and with major aerospace and defense primes or key industry partners
• Experience designing or executing joint ventures, complex strategic alliances, or structured strategic investment transactions that combine commercial and ownership/option components

Responsibilities

• Partner with executive leadership (including business units and the senior leadership team) to define and prioritize Blue Origin’s strategic partnership and ecosystem agenda
• Originate, structure, and lead Blue Origin's most complex and high-impact strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and cross-business alliances, often including financial instruments, strategic rights, or other structured financial arrangements
• Act as a subject matter expert on partnership strategy, deal structuring, valuation, and partner-linked financial structures, in close collaboration with Corporate Development, Legal, Tax, Finance, and other stakeholders
• Lead end-to-end deal teams from thesis development and sourcing through term sheet, definitive agreements, and implementation planning
• Build and maintain deep relationships with senior leaders at key partners, including primes, OEMs, operators, technology and infrastructure providers, investors, and other ecosystem participants
• Develop and maintain multi-year partnership theses and roadmaps for priority partner categories, and translate those theses into concrete deal opportunities
• Lead cross-functional diligence and integration planning teams, including legal, finance & accounting, tax, human resources, operations, IT, sales, engineering, and strategy
• Evaluate opportunities and risks in potential transactions, including strategic, financial, operational, and regulatory dimensions, and articulate clear recommendations to senior leadership
• Present partnership and investment thesis memos and recommendations for all stages of the deal process (from initial concept through implementation planning), including to senior and executive audiences
• Design and institutionalize frameworks, playbooks, standard term sets, and mechanisms that enable BUs and functional teams to execute partnerships more efficiently and consistently
• Mentor and develop more junior Corporate Development and Corporate Business Development team members, contributing to a high-performing, inclusive, and mission-driven culture

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.
• Paid Time Off: 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: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed