Senior Mechanical GSE Engineer for Solar Arrays & Testing

Blue Origin LLC; United States; On-site; USD 121,000 - 169,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical benefits

Dental benefits

Vision benefits

401(k) match

Paid time off

Job summary

Blue Origin LLC seeks a mechanical engineer to own the ground support equipment for large-format solar array wings. You will design, prototype, test, and release fixtures, jigs, and test stands, collaborating with manufacturing, mechanisms, and test teams to ensure safe, manufacturable tooling and processes.

The role requires 5+ years of mechanical design experience, CAD proficiency (Creo), GD&T expertise, and vendor coordination. Relocation may be provided; travel up to 20% may be required.

Qualifications

• BS in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering
• 5+ years of mechanical design experience focusing on tooling, fixtures, GSE
• Experience designing and building mechanical hardware, including hands‑on prototyping and acceptance testing
• Ability to own and deliver fully commissioned machines, fixtures, structures, and test equipment starting from a clean‑sheet design
• Experience working with vendors to size, specify, purchase, and commission large‑scale equipment
• Proficiency in 3D CAD using Creo (or equivalent); experience with Windchill or similar PDM
• Proficiency in GD&T per ASME Y14.5 and tolerance stackup analysis across multi‑part assemblies
• Working knowledge of structural analysis to size load‑bearing members and verify load paths

Responsibilities

• Design, analyze, fabricate, and verify the full suite of mechanical ground support equipment (GSE) for large-format solar array wings, from prototype assembly through engineering build and into qualification test
• Design and develop breakover and repositioning fixtures to handle solar wings during ground integration without damaging photovoltaic assemblies
• Design, build, and validate electro‑mechanical test stands for testing spacecraft mechanism performance using force gauges, temperature sensors, motors, limit switches, and microcontrollers
• Design and conduct experiments to quantify test stand and GSE performance and inform flight hardware testing procedures
• Collaborate with manufacturing and operations engineers to build early‑stage assembly machinery and jigs with scalable production potential
• Design and release wing assembly fixtures including integration stands, alignment fixtures, drill jigs, harness routing guides, and panel handling aids
• Apply Design for Manufacturability; write manufacturing specs and work with machinists and vendors to close on fabrication
• Communicate lessons learned from GSE integration to improve solar array manufacturability and handling
• Lead design and analysis of gravity off‑load systems, including dynamic load analysis and deployment simulation
• Validate off‑load accuracy via rigid‑body kinematic analysis and instrumented checkout
• Support miscellaneous GSE needs as programs mature: TVAC fixtures, transport containers, vibration interfaces
• Generate component drawings, assembly drawings, and interface control documents with GD&T per ASME Y14.5
• Perform structural analysis to size load‑bearing members and verify load paths
• Collaborate cross‑disciplinary with manufacturing, mechanisms, test, and technicians to ensure GSE is safe and ready
• Coach, mentor, and assist junior mechanical engineers

Skills

Mechanical design

GSE tooling

Creo CAD

GD&T ASME Y14.5

Mechanical hardware prototyping

Vendor coordination

Finite element analysis

Structural analysis

Team mentorship

Education

Bachelor of Science in Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Windchill

Creo

Job description

Blue Origin LLC seeks a mechanical engineer to own the ground support equipment for large-format solar array wings. You will design, prototype, test, and release fixtures, jigs, and test stands, collaborating with manufacturing, mechanisms, and test teams to ensure safe, manufacturable tooling and processes.

The role requires 5+ years of mechanical design experience, CAD proficiency (Creo), GD&T expertise, and vendor coordination. Relocation may be provided; travel up to 20% may be required.