Principal Optical Terminal Comms Software Architect

BLUE ORIGIN•Reston, VA

1d•$160,618 - $237,473

About The Position

Blue Origin’s Blue National Security team is developing space-based communications infrastructure for national security missions. The Principal Optical Terminal Communications Software Architect will lead the software architecture for Software Defined Radio (SDR) terminals and optical communication systems, shaping systems designed to operate in demanding space environments. The role focuses on embedded software, communications systems, and space mission engineering, with responsibility for technical leadership and mission readiness. The architect will develop software for next-generation SDR terminals and spacecraft platforms, establish reusable and scalable software frameworks, and collaborate with systems, hardware, and firmware engineers to translate requirements into architectural specifications. The role also leads design and code reviews, supports integration and verification in software- and hardware-in-the-loop environments, improves software engineering infrastructure, maintains technical documentation, and designs secure over-the-air software update capabilities for spacecraft.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field.
10 or more years of experience developing embedded and application software for SDR systems.
Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Python.
Demonstrated technical depth in software design, implementation, and cross-functional integration.
Experience with software lifecycle management, configuration management, CI/CD pipelines, and verification and validation practices for mission-critical systems.
Working knowledge of TCP/IP, UDP, CAN, I2C, SPI, and RS-422/485 communication protocols.
Experience applying secure software development principles and cybersecurity best practices in embedded or mission-critical environments.
Hands-on experience with embedded software testing methodologies.
Active TS/SCI clearance.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field.
Experience developing software for satellite constellations, distributed space systems, or networked embedded platforms.
Knowledge of satellite communications systems, spacecraft networking, and high-throughput data handling.
Background in fault-tolerant computing, redundancy management, and resilient software architecture design.
Familiarity with communication satellite systems, optical inter-satellite links (OISL), or related networking technologies.
Experience designing secure OTA software update mechanisms for embedded or mission-critical systems.
Experience with embedded software build systems, static analysis tools, code quality tooling, or automated verification frameworks.
Familiarity with additional programming languages.

Responsibilities

Architect, develop, implement, verify, and integrate software for next-generation SDR terminals, emphasizing scalability, reliability, and mission readiness.
Design and develop spacecraft SDR capabilities, including waveform processing, modulation and demodulation, and communications protocol development.
Define platform-independent, reusable software frameworks, services, and design patterns that support multiple waveforms, data rates, modulation and coding configurations, and future growth.
Partner with systems, hardware, and firmware engineers to analyze requirements and translate them into detailed architectural specifications.
Establish software architecture standards, coding guidelines, design patterns, and review practices.
Lead software design reviews, code reviews, and technical trade studies involving performance, fault tolerance, redundancy, scalability, and portability.
Support software integration, verification, and validation in software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and other mission-representative test environments.
Build and improve build systems, CI/CD pipelines, automated test frameworks, and debugging and diagnostic tools.
Author and maintain software architecture descriptions, interface control documents, verification plans, and test procedures.
Design and implement secure spacecraft over-the-air software updates, including authenticated delivery, validation, rollback, version control, and safe on-orbit deployment.