Engineer - Controls & Automation III

BLUE ORIGIN; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 131,000 - 183,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation provided

Interviews will include a technical

On-site role — this hardware cannot be

Job summary

Blue Origin is hiring for a senior control systems role focused on two-controller machine architectures. You will write, commission, and operate real-time software, coordinating motion, safety, and diagnostics on high-precision hardware produced in-house.

You will develop HMI, encoder feedback, and fieldbus integration, while collaborating across mechanical, electrical, and process engineers to deliver reliable production systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in an engineering/computing field.
• 5+ years in machine tool automation and industrial controls.
• Experience with PLC programming and HMI design.

Responsibilities

• Own the control-system architecture of a two-controller machine with a motion controller and PLC.
• Develop and maintain coordinated multi-axis motion control and encoder feedback chains.
• Build and maintain machine-side software in C++ or equivalent real-time languages.
• Design safety logic over fieldbus and ensure compliance with safety regulations.
• Develop operator-facing HMI screens and diagnostics for fault visibility.
• Plan, test, and analyze subsystem- and machine-level performance.

Skills

PLC programming

HMI design

servo motion control

encoder feedback

safety logic

C++

version control

configuring fieldbus

Education

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Computer Science

Tools

TwinCAT 3

Beckhoff

EtherCAT

EtherNet/IP

Modbus TCP

Job description

Application close date:

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

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!

This role is part of Blue Origin Operations, which is comprised of Integrated Supply Chain, Test Operations, Safety, Quality, and Mission Assurance. This includes Manufacturing and Supply Chain support across all Blue Origin facilities.

This role supports the design, development, and sustainment of the integrated control systems behind a family of advanced custom precision machines built entirely in-house at Blue Origin. These are not purchased tools with a service contract behind them — we architect them, build them, instrument them, break them, and make them production-worthy ourselves. Each system is a large-envelope, multi-axis, closed-loop precision platform, coordinating motion, thermal, fluid, and optical subsystems to hold micron-class positional accuracy — continuously, for weeks at a time, without operator intervention. The control system is what makes that possible.

The hardware these machines produce goes directly into flight. When a machine holds its tolerances, we fly a rocket. That is the whole equation, and it is unusually short.

You will join a small, senior, hands-on team that owns its hardware end to end. The machines are in production today and the next-generation configuration is in active design, which means you will work both problems at once: keeping a live fleet at rate while architecting the platform of the future. There is no wall between design and the floor here — you will write the logic, commission it, and stand next to the machine when it runs.

Passion for our mission and vision is required.

Special Mentions

• Relocation provided
• Interviews will include a technical assessment
• On-site role — this hardware cannot be supported remotely

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Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Own the control-system architecture of a two-controller machine — a motion controller carrying the coordinated servo and scanner axes alongside a PLC carrying process, material handling, and safety — including the interface between them and the handshake that sequences a build
• Perform PLC software development and maintenance across numerous subsystems: fluid and gas flow and pressure, material handling, motion control, temperature control, machine and process diagnostics, data and error logging, human/machine interface, and safety logic
• Develop and maintain coordinated multi-axis motion control, including master/slave electronically-coupled axes, separation monitoring, de-skew, and the servo tuning that keeps a large coupled structure stable under continuous duty
• Develop, tune, and troubleshoot high-resolution encoder feedback chains, including diagnosis of intermittent and velocity-dependent feedback faults across an operating fleet
• Build and maintain the error-mapping and calibration routines that correct position-dependent geometric error — squareness, yaw, droop, and thermal-growth effects — in large coupled-axis systems
• Develop and maintain machine-side application software in C++ or comparable languages, including real-time and buffered execution where computation must stay ahead of machine motion
• Build and maintain electrical schematics and P&ID drawings, and drawings of electrical cabinet layout and critical cable and wire routings
• Work with internal and outsourced electricians for electrical cabinet assembly
• Configure and maintain fieldbuses and fieldbus devices
• Select, implement, and tune appropriately sized servo motors and drives as needed
• Select and implement the sensors and actuators required to support machine operation
• Design, implement, and validate machine safety logic over fieldbus — interlocks, emergency stop architecture, and the safe-state behavior a machine must hold on loss of communication or feedback — and verify that the machine and control system adhere to safety regulations and recommendations
• Develop operator-facing HMI screens and diagnostics, with attention to whether the information an operator needs during a fault is actually visible to them
• Instrument the machine for data capture, and build the logging and telemetry that make a fault reconstructable after the fact rather than only observable in the moment
• Own the controls side of cross-discipline integration with mechanical, electrical, and process engineering; machine behavior cannot be understood from any one domain alone
• Participate in subsystem- and machine-level testing including planning, execution, data reduction, and analysis
• Perform and document root-cause analysis on controls-related field failures across an operating fleet, and drive the corrective change through release
• Support commissioning and bring-up of new machines from power-on through production release
• Support the retrofit and upgrade of fielded machines — designing change into hardware that is already in production, where downtime is measured against hardware deliveries
• Maintain tight version control of drawings, source code, and machine configurations
• Plan and manage work in accordance with team and company goals

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Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent
• 5+ years of experience with machine tool automation and industrial controls
• Prior experience with PLC programming and HMI design
• Prior experience creating, modifying, and delivering electrical schematics and P&ID drawings
• Prior experience with industrial control networks (EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP, Modbus TCP)
• Prior experience with servo motion control, including drive sizing, tuning, and encoder feedback
• Working knowledge of machine safety requirements and their implementation in control logic
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot a machine in operation, not only in simulation
• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of inclusion
• 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

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience designing and/or building custom and/or commercial machinery
• Prior education or experience related to Control Theory and its applications
• Prior experience implementing control solutions based on Beckhoff products and toolsets (TwinCAT 3, EtherCAT)
• Prior experience with multi-axis coordinated motion controller platforms
• Experience with dual-motor or gantry-coupled axes, including master/slave configurations, separation monitoring, and de-skew calibration
• Experience with high-resolution linear encoder feedback — installation, alignment, contamination control, and diagnosis of intermittent feedback faults
• Prior experience with coordinated systems where several independently-steered heads share one work envelope
• Prior experience with functional safety over fieldbus (FSoE, SIL-rated architectures) and safety logic validation
• Prior experience with sealed or controlled-atmosphere process equipment, including gas handling, purge, and containment controls
• Prior experience developing production machine software in C++ or a comparable compiled language
• Experience with large precision machine automation
• Prior experience working to best practices of NFPA 70 and NFPA 79
• Prior experience with configuration management of controller parameters and PLC code across a fleet of machines
• Experience with machine commissioning and alignment campaigns
• Experience taking a first-of-its-kind machine from prototype to repeatable production

Base Pay Range for:

WA applicants is $130,706.00 - $182,987.70

Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S.as a refugee or granted asylum.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blue’s Standard Background Check
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

Benefits

• Benefits include: 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.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company’s intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company’s results, or other factors at the company’s sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on “Know Your Rights,” please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origin’s [e-mail]. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.