Principal Software Engineer – TeraWave Vehicle Platforms (Infrastructure)
About The Position
Blue Origin is seeking a Principal Software Engineer to join the Vehicle Platforms team supporting TeraWave, a satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps to enterprise, data center, and government users. The role will design and build foundational platform infrastructure across satellites, user terminals, and gateways, supporting reliable, secure, and high-performance operations. The position focuses on Linux-based embedded systems, full-lifecycle software ownership, and autonomous execution in a fast-paced, mission-critical environment. The engineer will own software from initial design through deployment on satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related STEM field, or 10+ years of professional software development experience.
- 8+ years of experience with C or C++ in a Linux or embedded environment.
- Deep proficiency with the Linux kernel, including driver development, memory management, and system-level debugging tools such as GDB, perf, and eBPF.
- Experience with build systems such as Buildroot, Yocto, or Bazel.
Nice To Haves
- Proven experience building infrastructure for large-scale distributed systems or device fleets.
- Proficiency in Rust or Python for systems-level tooling and automation.
- Strong understanding of the Linux networking stack, including TCP/IP, UDP, Ethernet, and custom routing protocols.
- Experience developing software for mission-critical systems in aerospace, automotive, or medical industries.
- A first-principles engineering mindset and comfort analyzing assembly code or hardware-level diagnostics to solve complex problems.
Responsibilities
- Design and implement Linux-based platform infrastructure, including process management, custom init systems, and IPC frameworks.
- Lead architecture for global image management and over-the-air update systems, enabling safe, frequent, zero-downtime updates across a multi-thousand-vehicle fleet.
- Build high-throughput, low-overhead logging and telemetry pipelines that report edge-device health and performance metrics to ground-based data centers.
- Partner with Silicon, Electrical, and RF Engineering teams to bring up hardware prototypes and optimize the Linux kernel and drivers for custom SoC designs.
- Debug and optimize system-level performance, including minimizing context switches and tuning the networking stack for high-frequency satellite links.
- Implement secure boot flows, runtime security monitoring, and hardware-backed credential management for vehicle components.
- Own the full software lifecycle from initial design through deployment on satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit.
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.
- Up to four weeks of paid time off 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 tied to individual contributions or company results.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Principal
