Senior Director - TeraWave Ground Terminals

Blue Origin • Bay Area, CA

4d

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! Blue Origin is pioneering the future of space-based communications with TeraWave, a revolutionary satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. This multi-orbit constellation will consist of optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), providing enterprise-grade connectivity for critical operations worldwide. We are seeking a Senior Director to lead the development of a next-generation satellite communications ground systems including the RF user terminal and RF gateway, from concept through manufacturing transfer. This leader will own a multidisciplinary team responsible for hardware architecture, embedded software, systems integration, validation, and production readiness at a contract manufacturer.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in hardware and embedded systems development, with at least 8 years leading technical teams.
• Proven success bringing complex connected hardware products from prototype to mass production.
• Strong background in embedded systems, board design, system integration, and production test.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers and driving design transfer to manufacturing.
• Familiarity with RF-enabled products, high-speed digital design, power electronics, thermal design, and ruggedized consumer or industrial hardware.
• Experience with Linux-based embedded platforms, real-time constraints, boot flows, device provisioning, and firmware update mechanisms.
• Strong understanding of reliability engineering, root cause analysis, and failure analysis.
• Ability to lead across hardware, firmware, operations, and quality functions in a fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication and organizational skills, with a track record of delivering on aggressive timelines.

Nice To Haves

• Master’s degree in electrical, mechanical or software engineering, or related field.
• Experience with satellite communications, antenna systems, phased arrays, or wireless networking hardware.
• Background in secure hardware, cryptography, anti-tamper, or device identity systems.
• Familiarity with regulatory and compliance requirements for consumer electronics and radio products.
• Experience scaling production from low-volume engineering builds to millions of units.
• Hands-on experience with contract manufacturing test development and factory yield improvement.

Responsibilities

• Lead hardware, embedded software, and systems engineering teams developing compact, rugged, high-performance communications terminals.
• Define product architecture across RF, digital, power, thermal, mechanical, firmware, and manufacturing domains.
• Drive execution from prototype to high-volume production, including design for manufacturability, testability, reliability, and cost.
• Partner with manufacturing and supply chain teams to select components, qualify suppliers, and transfer designs to a contract manufacturer.
• Establish program plans, technical milestones, risk management, and cross-functional coordination with operations, quality, and product management.
• Own system-level integration, bring-up, debugging, and validation strategy for hardware and firmware.
• Ensure embedded software supports secure boot, device provisioning, field updates, telemetry, diagnostics, and factory test.
• Build and mentor a high-performing team of engineers and technical leads.
• Manage external partners, including contract manufacturers, test labs, and specialist consultants.
• Create and maintain engineering processes for requirements management, change control, verification, and release readiness.

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: Senior