Principal Architect, Autonomous Systems (Ground and Space)

Blue Origin LLC; Littleton (CO); On-site; USD 219,000 - 306,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) with match

Paid time off

Job summary

Blue National Security is seeking a technical owner for the autonomy product architecture spanning ground and space systems. You will define how autonomous capability is decomposed, drive implementation across every discipline, and carry it to operational deployment.

You will mentor engineers across the AI, FSW and Autonomy teams, defend architectural decisions, and represent Blue National Security's autonomy capabilities to government customers and partners.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field, or equivalent hands on experience.
• 10+ years developing software or systems for mission or safety critical applications, including architectural ownership of a distributed or multi segment system.
• 3+ years developing and deploying ML systems into production, with deployment on resource constrained targets.
• Proficiency in Python and C/C++, and working expertise with modern ML frameworks and edge optimization toolchains.
• Demonstrated experience leading architecture across multiple engineering disciplines.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national or eligible to work in the U.S.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end autonomy product architecture across ground and space.
• Define the system decomposition, interfaces, and functional allocation between ground and onboard autonomy.
• Make and defend the hard allocation decisions.
• Determine what reasoning executes on orbit versus on the ground, and architect for degraded operations.
• Drive architectural coherence across disciplines.
• Coordinate across ground systems, perception, flight software, electrical hardware, GN&C, simulations and navigation.
• Own the embedded AI/ML realization and model pipelines.
• Build the assurance case for the full autonomy loop and establish V&V practices.

Skills

Python

C/C++

ML frameworks

Architecture leadership

Cross-disciplinary

Education

B.S. in CS/EE/AE

Hands-on safety-critical

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

ONNX Runtime

TensorRT

TFLite

Job description

Role Summary

You are the technical owner of Blue National Security's autonomy product architecture, spanning both ground and space. You will define how autonomous capability is decomposed across the ground segment and the vehicle, drive that architecture through implementation across every contributing discipline, and carry it to operational deployment.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end autonomy product architecture across ground and space.
• Define the system decomposition, interfaces, and functional allocation between ground based and onboard autonomy, and own the technical roadmap that takes it to flight.
• Make and defend the hard allocation decisions.
• Determine what reasoning executes on orbit versus on the ground, and architect for degraded, latent, and communications denied operations.
• Drive architectural coherence across disciplines.
• Coordinate across ground systems, perception, flight software, electrical hardware, GN&C, simulation, and navigation and trajectory functions, translating operational requirements into a single, consistent, buildable architecture.
• Own the embedded AI/ML realization.
• Guide model architecture, training and data pipelines, compression and quantization, and hardware aware optimization, so that models meet real time and deterministic behavior requirements within actual SWaP-C constraints.
• Build the assurance case for the full autonomy loop.
• Establish V&V practices for ML in high consequence systems, including uncertainty quantification, fault detection and isolation, runtime assurance, robustness testing, and simulation to hardware validation.
• Set the technical direction and raise the team with you.
• You own the autonomy architecture baseline and technical roadmap.
• You will mentor and unblock engineers across the AI, FSW and Autonomy team, and represent Blue National Security's autonomy and AI/ML capability to government customers and partners.

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Science, Electrical or Computer Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field, or equivalent hands on experience.
• 10+ years developing software or systems for mission or safety critical applications, including architectural ownership of a distributed or multi segment system.
• 3+ years developing and deploying ML systems into production, with demonstrated deployment on resource constrained or embedded targets such as edge GPUs, FPGAs, DSPs, or radiation tolerant processors.
• Proficiency in Python and C/C++, and working expertise with modern ML frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, or ONNX Runtime) and edge optimization toolchains (quantization, pruning, TensorRT, TFLite, or equivalent).
• Demonstrated experience leading architecture across multiple engineering disciplines, including flight software, hardware, and vehicle dynamics or controls.
• Demonstrated ability to build technical consensus across disciplines, earning influence through depth and credibility, and to brief executives, government customers, and engineering peers with equal clarity.
• 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

• Advanced degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or Aerospace Engineering.
• GN&C, navigation, trajectory, or estimation background for flight vehicles, including experience bringing learning-based methods into classical control and estimation architectures.
• Autonomous spacecraft operations experience: on orbit fault detection and isolation, autonomous mission sequencing, RPO, closed loop vehicle control, or autonomous operations in communications denied environments.
• Ground segment or mission operations experience, including tasking, ground autonomy, or ground to space autonomy handoff.
• Space grade or radiation tolerant compute (NVIDIA Orin, Xilinx Versal, rad hard SoCs); real time and safety critical environments (RTOS, bare metal); hardware in the loop and simulation to hardware workflows; or formal V&V methods for ML.
• DoD, USSF, NRO, or IC program experience, and an active U.S. Secret or TS/SCI clearance.

Base Pay Range

Base Pay Range for: CO applicants is $218,520.00 - $305,926.95

Culture Statement

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! The role is part of the In-Space Systems business unit, which is focused on addressing two of the most compelling challenges in spaceflight today: space infrastructure and increasing mobility on-orbit. We’re building a future as our unique selves. 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. 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. 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.

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.

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 affirmative 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.

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