RF/Microwave Systems Engineer III — Space & Defense

Blue Origin LLC; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 183,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Blue Origin LLC seeks a Systems Engineer III (RF/Microwave Systems) to advance space-based sensing architectures. You will craft and verify system requirements, perform trade studies, and produce key SE artifacts in collaboration with payload, spacecraft, and ground teams.

Role requires 5+ years in aerospace/system engineering, UHF antenna and phased-array expertise, and a TS/SCI clearance. Travel up to 10% and relocation support are offered; position can be performed at multiple U.S. locations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in systems engineering within aerospace, defense, or national security.
• Experience with UHF-band antenna design and performance parameters in space or airborne environments.
• Experience with phased array antenna systems and ESAs at UHF frequencies.
• RF system performance analysis, including link budgets and noise figure calculations.
• Experience with requirements management tools (DOORS, Jama, or equivalent).
• Familiarity with NASA/DoD SE frameworks and MIL-STD-499 or equivalent.
• Experience with space-based RF sensing or surveillance system architectures.
• Familiarity with GMTI or AMTI concepts and implications on system design.
• Strong written and verbal communication; able to present to diverse audiences.
• Active TS//SCI security clearance.
• U.S. citizen or eligible national / permanent resident.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain system-level requirements for space-based sensing systems with traceability from objectives to subsystems.
• Perform architecture trade studies to evaluate design options, margins, and feasibility.
• Create and review CONOPs, SRDs, ICDs, and SEMP artifacts.
• Collaborate with payload, spacecraft, ground systems, and operations teams for end-to-end coherence.
• Support design reviews and provide inputs to R&D milestones.
• Perform link budget analyses and RF performance assessments for space sensing.
• Study and optimize UHF antenna systems, including aperture sizing and beam patterns.
• Evaluate antenna integrations: deployable structures, phased arrays, feed networks.
• Engage government customers to translate needs into system requirements.
• Support risk mitigation and TPM tracking through the program lifecycle.

Skills

UHF antenna design

Phased arrays

RF system analysis

Requirements management

SE frameworks

Space-based RF sensing

GMTI/AMTI concepts

Security clearance TS/SCI

US citizenship / national status

Technical writing

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering

Job description

Blue Origin LLC seeks a Systems Engineer III (RF/Microwave Systems) to advance space-based sensing architectures. You will craft and verify system requirements, perform trade studies, and produce key SE artifacts in collaboration with payload, spacecraft, and ground teams.

Role requires 5+ years in aerospace/system engineering, UHF antenna and phased-array expertise, and a TS/SCI clearance. Travel up to 10% and relocation support are offered; position can be performed at multiple U.S. locations.