BE7 Valves – Propulsion Engineer II

Blue Origin • Southgate, WA

22h • Onsite

About The Position

This role is part of the Blue Origin Engines business unit, where our focus is the design, development, manufacturing, and testing of engines and propulsion systems. Built for multiple uses, our family of engines is powering the next generation of rockets for commercial, civil, national security, and human spaceflight. BE7 Valves – Propulsion Engineer II As part of a passionate and hardworking team of engineers and specialists, you will take ownership of a valve component on the BE-7 Engine Program. This responsibility will cover the full development lifecycle of the valve, including early conceptual trades, detailed design, manufacturing, test, final qualification, and production support.

Requirements

• B.S. degree in engineering discipline (aerospace, mechanical, or physics desired)
• 2+ years of professional engineering experience with valves, pumps, mechanisms, electromechanical actuation, or fluid control systems
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
• Possess high attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• Strong communication skills and ability to coordinate with stakeholders across a large program to facilitate tactical planning and deliver successful outcomes
• Ability to own and execute development activities without granular direction on approach to problem solving or low impact decision making
• Say-Do mentality to work planning and tracking
• Strong technical fundamentals in mechanical design, fluid mechanics, structural mechanics, and thermodynamics
• Direct experience with design, manufacturing, and test of valves operating with either incompressible or compressible flow
• Knowledge of fluid control components and purpose in achieving system-level operation
• Familiarity with common valve architectures to deliver specific fluid control functions, key performance parameters, and trade-offs in performance as constrained by design elements
• Knowledge of valve design processes, methodologies, and techniques to analytically predict performance and verify compliance to key requirements
• Knowledge of common seal designs / polymers and their application in a valve component based on desired leak performance and operating conditions (static vs dynamic, pressures, temperatures, fluid compatibility, wear)
• Knowledge and selection of part materials and processes, taking into consideration valve load paths, joint design, tribological wear, structural limits, thermal conditions, material fluid compatibility, corrosion, and electrical bonding
• Interpretation and application of technical requirements into a product design, using margin / factors of safety to deliver a robust, reliable product with known technical risks
• Proficiency in 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) Modeling
• Proficiency in part and assembly drawing drafting
• Experience with data processing and analysis
• Experience in evaluation of non-conforming hardware and preparation of disposition rationale based on part inspection and impact on product form, fit, and functionality
• Knowledge of subtractive cutting or forming manufacturing processes to produce complex custom metal parts and features (turning, milling, grinding, honing, bending, tapping, etc)
• Knowledge of quality processes and requirements used after manufacturing hardware at both the part-level and assembly-level
• Experience with test planning, execution, data analysis, and reporting of results
• Experience with component-level testing for verification of compliance to valve requirements including flow rate, leakage, dynamic environments (shock / vibe), thermal environments, and operational life
• Experience with the design of test setups to conduct pressurized fluid flow testing, including the ability to select control valves, duct lengths / sizes, fittings, and instrumentation to achieve test objectives
• Exposure with fluid flow and leak testing of component hardware using cryogenic fluids and high-pressure gases

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree in engineering discipline
• Experience with rocket engines or jet engines
• Experience designing products with exposure to cryogenic fluids and high-pressure gases
• Experience in Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Assembly (DFA)
• Knowledge of methodology and application of FEA analysis tools (ANSYS preferred)
• Experience with Creo 10 or greater, and Windchill 12 or greater
• Familiarity with ASME Y14.100 Std for Engineering Drawing Practices
• Familiarity with ASME Y14.5 Std for Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing (GD&T)
• Experience in supplier management
• Experience with project management principles for managing scope, schedule, cost
• Experience with creating and managing schedules for project of moderate complexity
• Experience working within a scrum-based agile project management framework

Responsibilities

• Design of valve parts, assemblies, selection of materials and processes, while taking into consideration manufacturability, mass, and recurring cost impacts.
• Use CAD modeling to define part feature definition and layout of component assemblies, including preparation of drawing drafts for parts, subassemblies, and the top-level component assembly.
• Various analysis deliverables, including performance predictions, tolerance stack-ups, test data analysis, and final review of structural, thermal, and fluids analyses delivered by FEA / CFD specialists on the team.
• Work closely with manufacturing engineers to peer review manufacturing plans, build procedures, tool designs, and other discrete deliverables defining the full process to produce the valve component.
• Plan, setup, and execute component-level testing, including data analysis, and reporting of results to achieve goals for technical risk mitigation and requirements verification.
• Work with Blue’s supply chain organization and directly with suppliers to ensure on-time delivery of procured parts, including definition of requirements for development of more complex parts and assemblies.
• Coordinate with team members to address quality issues by supporting troubleshooting and disposition of non-conformities.
• Collaborate closely with program leaders and engineers from other component teams like Systems Engineering, Avionics, Integration, and Engine Test to understand and action decisions with cross-program impacts.
• Coordinate closely with value stream leaders, production control, technicians, and other Operations stakeholders at the Valves Factory to support hardware manufacturing and delivery of valves to meet demand.
• Responsible for tactical planning to meet team and program-level objectives, trading scope, schedule, cost, and risk by conducting impact assessments.
• Manage scope of development activities, using a schedule to forecast and track progress towards key milestones.

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.
• Stock Options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level