Sr Software Engineer - Network & SDN - TeraWave

Blue Origin•Cupertino, WA

About The Position

Blue Origin is developing TeraWave, a satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps to enterprise, data center, and government users. The Senior Network Engineer for Network Architecture & SDN will contribute technical expertise to the design and implementation of the network architecture for a multi-orbit constellation of 5,408 optically interconnected satellites. The network must adapt to rapidly changing topology, inter-satellite links moving at 27,000 km/h, and seamless user handoffs while meeting strict power and latency budgets. The role applies networking architecture and software-defined networking expertise to develop components of a space-based communications system. The engineer will collaborate with principal engineers and technical leaders on routing, traffic management, and network resilience, and will provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, and 8+ years of experience in network engineering, distributed systems, or telecommunications.
Strong knowledge of BGP, IS-IS, OSPF, and Segment Routing (SRv6/SR-MPLS) in network environments.
Experience implementing or working with SDN controllers and programmable data planes such as P4, OpenFlow, or proprietary frameworks.
Solid understanding of packet processing, ASIC/FPGA forwarding logic, and high-speed switching.
Experience implementing network solutions for wireless, cloud, or service provider networks.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Good technical written and verbal communication skills.
Experience developing in mission-critical environments.

Nice To Haves

Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
Experience with satellite communications networks or terrestrial/satellite hybrid networks.
Knowledge of telemetry pipelines and analytics for network monitoring.
Background in graph theory or network optimization.
Contributions to networking projects, internally or open-source.
Familiarity with satellite communications systems.
Understanding of regulatory considerations for communications systems.
Experience with modeling and simulation tools for network performance analysis.

Responsibilities

Implement designs for key components of the hybrid space-ground transport network.
Develop routing solutions, topology management systems, and fast-reroute mechanisms tailored for time-varying LEO constellations.
Create capacity models that translate raw RF link characteristics into network-layer implementations.
Implement SDN frameworks supporting centralized and distributed control planes.
Develop real-time traffic engineering and policy enforcement mechanisms to optimize data flow across constrained satellite payloads and terrestrial backbones.
Implement programmable transport solutions that enable deployment of new protocols and features.
Develop observability-stack components using in-band and out-of-band telemetry for packet-level visibility.
Implement self-healing network logic that uses real-time telemetry and SDN controllers for automated congestion management and fault isolation.
Develop methods to correlate flow-level tracing with link performance to improve constellation efficiency.
Implement packet-forwarding solutions for space environments, optimizing latency and throughput under power constraints.
Support cross-layer optimization with RF and Silicon teams to ensure mobility across beams and satellites.
Provide technical guidance within the team and mentor junior engineers on networking best practices.

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.
Paid time off of up to four weeks 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 based on individual contributions and company results.