Satellite Simulation & Test Software Engineer III - TeraWave

Blue Origin; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Blue Origin in the United States is seeking a Satellite Simulation and Test Software Engineer III to design, develop, and verify simulation environments and models for testing the TeraWave satellite flight software subsystem. This role supports software validation as the constellation scales to 5,408 vehicles, combining hands-on engineering with SME collaboration.

The ideal candidate has experience with spacecraft C&DH, telecommand and telemetry, hardware I/O, and a solid grasp of real-time

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field.
• 3-5+ years of experience in spacecraft software, simulation software, or embedded software development.
• Proven experience with C++ software development for flight or embedded systems.
• Strong programming skills in C, C++, and Python.
• Understanding of Object-Oriented problem solving and software layering to facilitate modularity and reuse.
• Some knowledge of inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms including sockets, shared memory, message queues, or publish‑subscribe middleware.
• Experience with software lifecycle, configuration management (Git), CI/CD, and containerized environments.
• Experience with verification/validation practices for mission‑critical embedded software systems.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and implement simulation software for testing and verifying TeraWave's flight software.
• Collaborate with test team leads to develop a simulation environment that can be deployed on multiple platforms to support software-only test, HWIL test, real-time environment tests, and spacecraft AI&T
• Collaborate with hardware, systems, and autonomy engineers to understand software requirements, interfaces, and behavioral boundaries across subsystems
• Develop and integrate simulation environments and models to test FSW across a range of nominal and off-nominal operational scenarios
• Participate in software integration, verification, and validation testing including software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments

Skills

C++

Python

C

Object-oriented

IPC

Git

CI/CD

Containers

Embedded software

Spacecraft software

Real-time systems

Education

Bachelor's in CS/EE/Aerospace

Master's degree (preferred)

Tools

NASA's Trick

Git

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!

Blue Origin is pioneering the future of space-based communications with TeraWave, a revolutionary satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. This multi-orbit constellation will consist of optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), providing enterprise-grade connectivity for critical operations worldwide.

We are seeking a Satellite Simulation and Test Software Engineer III to design, develop, and verify simulation environments and models for testing TeraWave's satellite flight software subsystem. This role will be instrumental in software validation to support the expansion of TeraWave into a 5,408-vehicle constellation. The ideal candidate is a hands‑on engineer who can think independently and work in collaboration with subject matter experts to build a practical, scalable, flexible simulation environment. This person will have experience with spacecraft command and data handling (C&DH), telecommand and telemetry processing, hardware I/O interfaces, and the physics of spacecraft systems.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Design, develop, and implement simulation software for testing and verifying TeraWave's flight software.
• Collaboration with test team leads to develop a simulation environment that can be deployed on multiple platforms to support software-only test, HWIL test, real-time environment tests, and spacecraft AI&T
• Collaborate with hardware, systems, and autonomy engineers to understand software requirements, interfaces, and behavioral boundaries across subsystems
• Develop and integrate simulation environments and models to test FSW across a range of nominal and off-nominal operational scenarios
• Participate in software integration, verification, and validation testing including software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field
• 3-5+ years of experience in spacecraft software, simulation software, or embedded software development
• Proven experience with C++ software development for flight or embedded systems
• Strong programming skills in C, C++, and Python
• Understanding of Object-Oriented problem solving and software layering to facilitate modularity and reuse
• Some knowledge of inter-process communication (IPC) mechanisms including sockets, shared memory, message queues, or publish‑subscribe middleware
• Experience with software lifecycle, configuration management (Git), CI/CD, and containerized environments
• Experience with verification/validation practices for mission‑critical embedded software systems
• 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

• Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field
• Experience with simulation environments such as NASA's Trick
• Knowledge of orbital mechanics and propagation models
• Understanding of flight software/hardware interfaces including discrete I/O, TCP/IP, UDP, CAN, I2C, SPI, and RS-422/485
• Some experience with real‑time