Lead System Engineer- Mk1

Blue Origin LLC; Seattle, Northern (WA, KY); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 203,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) with match

Paid time off

Stock options

Job summary

Blue Origin is seeking a highly experienced Level 5 Lead Systems Engineer to serve as the vehicle-level technical leader for the MK1-102 mission, delivering NASA's VIPER rover to the lunar surface. You will own end-to-end systems engineering from requirements definition through test and flight readiness, coordinating across IPTs and with mission operations.

The role demands technical depth, leadership maturity, and the ability to drive consensus on complex vehicle decisions, with a focus on

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience in systems engineering roles within aerospace, defense, or related industries.
• Demonstrated experience as a technical lead responsible for full-vehicle or multi-element system development and integration.
• Experience owning a complex system through the development lifecycle.
• Experience developing and executing at least parts of the verification and validation (V&V) plans.
• Experience working directly with subsystems, mission operations and Integration & Test teams to support vehicle assembly, testing and operations.
• Demonstrated ability to drive technical decisions and achieve consensus across large, cross-functional engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Vehicle Lead Systems Engineer for the MK1-102 mission, owning the integrated technical baseline from requirements definition through flight.
• Own the definition, decomposition, allocation, and management of vehicle and mission requirements and design parameter, ensuring they are properly allocated.
• Drive the technical content of the program's Design Analysis Cycles (DACs) toward Critical Design Review, converting mission objectives into a coordinated, executable engineering plan across all IPTs.
• Lead the vehicle into and through Critical Design Review and Integration & Test readiness, driving design close-out and change control to a stable configuration.
• Develop and define the overall verification and validation (V&V) approach for the vehicle, ensuring every requirement, function and design parameter has a defined verification method and driving closure through component, subassembly, and integrated vehicle-level campaigns.
• Accountable for VIPER payload integration, accommodation and overall ability of the vehicle to comply with payload deployment/offloader concept of operations.
• Accountable for mission-enabling and working with mission analysis teams to make sure the vehicle can achieve its mission objectives reliably and with sufficient margins.
• Review and approve vehicle and mission-level Interface Control Documents (ICDs), including interfaces to NASA VIPER and other payloads.
• Review and approve design impacting major vehicle decisions.
• Lead and delegate vehicle and mission-level trade studies, evaluate the cross-system impact of proposed design changes, and recommend disposition; drive configuration freezes and change control.
• Identify, assess, and track integration and mission risks; develop mitigation strategies and drive resolution across functional teams; support risk and non-conformance disposition.
• Collaborate with subsystem leads/REs, and SE leads to ensure integrated vehicle performance meets mission requirements across all mission phases.
• Represent the vehicle and mission in program and customer-level reviews as well as NASA technical interchanges.
• Mentor and guide engineers across the program.
• Sever as vehicle spacecraft engineer during mission operations.
• Drive technical consensus across functional teams on vehicle and mission-level decisions, and serve as a primary technical interface presenting complex trades and status to senior leadership.

Skills

Systems engineering

Technical leadership

Requirements definition

V&V planning

IPTs collaboration

Education

Bachelor's in Aerospace/Mechanical/Electrical Engineering

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

Design Analysis Cycles (DACs)

Interface Control Documents (ICDs)

modeling tools

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 the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers and related products. To further Blue Origin's mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth, we are building sustainable infrastructure for our transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the lunar surface. Blue Origin is seeking a highly experienced Level 5 Lead Systems Engineer to serve as the vehicle-level technical leader for MK1-102, the mission that delivers NASA's VIPER rover to the lunar surface.
In this critical senior leadership role, you will own the end-to-end systems engineering responsibility for the vehicle as it matures through Critical Design Review toward integration, test, and flight: how its requirements are defined and baselined, how the design is closed out, how the VIPER payload is integrated, and how the integrated vehicle is verified and validated from component test through mission and landing readiness. You will work with MK1 Chief engineer and be responsible for major design and mission impacting technical decision. Your work will directly determine how MK1-102 comes together, physically and functionally. You will serve as the technical decision-maker across all Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) for the mission, driving Design Analysis Cycles (DACs) toward CDR and partnering closely with Build Operations & Vehicle Test (I&T) for mission success. This is a highly visible role that demands technical depth, leadership maturity, and the ability to drive consensus across a complex vehicle program on a path to launch.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the Vehicle Lead Systems Engineer for the MK1-102 mission, owning the integrated technical baseline from requirements definition through flight.
• Own the definition, decomposition, allocation, and management of vehicle and mission requirements and design parameter, ensuring they are properly allocated.
• Drive the technical content of the program's Design Analysis Cycles (DACs) toward Critical Design Review, converting mission objectives into a coordinated, executable engineering plan across all IPTs and holding the design to its exit criteria.
• Lead the vehicle into and through Critical Design Review and Integration & Test readiness, driving design close-out and change control to a stable configuration.
• Develop and define the overall verification and validation (V&V) approach for the vehicle, ensuring every requirement, function and design parameter has a defined verification method and driving closure through component, subassembly, and integrated vehicle-level campaigns.
• Accountable for VIPER payload integration , accommodation and overall ability of the vehicle to comply with payload deployment/offloader concept of operations.
• Accountable for mission-enabling and working with mission analysis teams to make sure the vehicle can achieve its mission objectives reliably and with sufficient margins.
• Review and approve vehicle and mission-level Interface Control Documents (ICDs), including interfaces to NASA VIPER and other payloads.
• Review and approve design impacting major vehicle decisions.
• Lead and delegate vehicle and mission-level trade studies, evaluate the cross-system impact of proposed design changes, and recommend disposition; drive configuration freezes and change control.
• Identify, assess, and track integration and mission risks; develop mitigation strategies and drive resolution across functional teams; support risk and non-conformance disposition.
• Collaborate with subsystem leads/REs, and SE leads to ensure integrated vehicle performance meets mission requirements across all mission phases.
• Represent the vehicle and mission in program and customer-level reviews as well as NASA technical interchanges.
• Mentor and guide engineers across the program.
• Sever as vehicle spacecraft engineer during mission operations.
• Drive technical consensus across functional teams on vehicle and mission-level decisions, and serve as a primary technical interface presenting complex trades and status to senior leadership.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field.
• 12+ years of experience in systems engineering roles within aerospace, defense, or related industries.
• Demonstrated experience as a technical lead responsible for full-vehicle or multi-element system development and integration.
• Experience owning a complex system through the development lifecycle.
• Experience developing and executing at least parts of the verification and validation (V&V) plans.
• Experience working directly with subsystems, mission operations and Integration & Test teams to support vehicle assembly, testing and operations.
• Demonstrated ability to drive technical decisions and achieve consensus across large, cross-functional engineering teams.
• Excellence in technical communication, including presenting complex technical challenges and solutions to senior leadership and customers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with lunar or planetary landers, spacecraft, launch vehicles, or NASA HLS / Artemis / CLPS program requirements.
• Experience integrating NASA or commercial payloads, including payload-to-vehicle interface management and deployment or offloading concepts of operations.
• Experience taking a vehicle through Critical Design Review and into integration, test, and launch operations, including verification closure activities.
• Background in one or more analysis disciplines (GN&C, propulsion, thermal, structural, or performance) as applied to integrated vehicles, particularly Descent, Deorbit & Landing (DDL).
• Familiarity with cryogenic propulsion systems (e.g., LH2/LOX).
• Experience with deployable mechanisms (e.g., solar arrays, payload offloaders) through development test and qualification.
• Experience with requirement definition and verification management.
• Familiarity with NASA systems engineering processes, including NPR 7123.1.
• Familiarity with GD&T principles and their application to mechanical interfaces.
• Experience with system modeling tools and practices.
• Master's degree in Aerospace, Mechanical, Electrical Engineering, or related technical field.

Base Pay Range for: WA applicants is $145,188.00 - $203,263.20

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

• 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 Affiantive Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.

We’re committed to building the road to space so our children can build the future. We are a mission-driven company focused on ideas and innovation, and encourage fresh perspectives from bold voices. At Blue, our team is building the future as their unique selves. Thank you for your interest in working at Blue Origin! Blue Origin was founded with a vision to enable a future where millions of people are living and working in space to benefit Earth. In order to preserve Earth, Blue Origin believes in the need to enable humanity to expand, explore, find new energy and material resources, and move industries that stress Earth into space. Blue Origin believes it has an important role in building a road to space and lowering the cost of getting there. At Blue Origin, we’re working on this today by developing fully reusable launch vehicles and systems that are safe, reliable and affordable. Every launch vehicle is designed for human spaceflight from the beginning and able to ferry payloads to space.

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