Principal PNT Engineer, Space Constellation Timing

Blue Origin; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 170,000 - 237,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) with company match

Stock options

Job summary

Blue Origin in Seattle seeks a Principal Engineer for Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) to define timing and synchronization architecture for the TeraWave constellation and lead resilient PNT methods. You will write estimation algorithms, build simulation frameworks, run trade studies, and shape the small focused team that will follow.

Collaborate with payload, flight software, ground systems, and network teams to ensure interfaces meet timing requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or related field; MS or PhD preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in PNT systems, navigation algorithm development, or timing and synchronization engineering for satellite or distributed systems.
• Hands-on experience developing estimation algorithms for orbit determination, clock estimation, or sensor fusion.
• Working knowledge of time transfer methods and clock characterization.
• Experience with GNSS-based navigation and performance under degraded or denied conditions.
• Proficiency in MATLAB and/or Python for algorithm development, simulation, and analysis.
• Ability to frame and close architectural trades with defensible outcomes.
• Strong technical communication skills to present PNT architecture to domain specialists and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Define and own timing/synchronization architecture for the TeraWave constellation and onboard timing synchronization.
• Develop and validate PNT estimation algorithms orbit determination, clock estimation, and sensor fusion approaches using inter-satellite link measurements, GNSS observables, and ground-based tracking data.
• Build simulation frameworks to characterize estimation filter performance, timing stability, and sensitivity to degraded or denied external references.
• Conduct architectural trades across PNT approaches and document trade outcomes as the basis for design decisions.
• Define the PNT resilience posture for constellation operations: what accuracy and availability the system must maintain, under what denial or degradation conditions, and what architectural features provide that assurance.
• Develop the execution plan and build the technical case for a focused PNT team scoping the skills, sequencing the work, and defining what must be proven before committing to implementation.
• Work across payload, flight software, ground, and network teams to ensure PNT and timing requirements are understood, allocated, and verifiable at the interfaces.

Skills

Estimation algorithms

MATLAB/Python

Architectural trades framing

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor's degree; MS/PhD preferred

Tools

MATLAB

Python

Job description

Blue Origin in Seattle seeks a Principal Engineer for Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) to define timing and synchronization architecture for the TeraWave constellation and lead resilient PNT methods. You will write estimation algorithms, build simulation frameworks, run trade studies, and shape the small focused team that will follow.

Collaborate with payload, flight software, ground systems, and network teams to ensure interfaces meet timing requirements.