Senior Optical Communications Engineer - Satellite Constellation

Blue Origin; Hutto (TX); On-site; USD 182,000 - 277,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k) with company match up to 5%

Paid time off & holidays

Education Support Program

Stock options

Job summary

Blue Origin is seeking a Senior Optical Communications Design Engineer to own and evolve an existing space-based optical link design for our global satellite constellation. You will lead a multidisciplinary team to deliver high-bandwidth, robust free-space optical links, guiding hardware and software integration and testing.

The role emphasizes hands-on design, modeling, and system-level validation, with responsibility for performance under jitter and dynamic conditions.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years in the design and development of optical communication systems.
• Experience leading small technical teams of hardware and software engineers.
• Proven experience with optical communication systems for satellite constellations or aerospace applications.
• Strong understanding of PAT systems and algorithm development.
• Proficiency in optical link budget and performance analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, analysis, and optimization of free-space optical communication systems with PAT and redundant strategies.
• Direct cross-functional hardware/software teams to develop and validate optical communication algorithms and hardware.
• Design and validate the end-to-end optical communication pipeline from data interface to signal processing and front-end.
• Oversee selection, integration, and testing of optical components and subsystems (lasers, modulators, detectors, pointing mechanisms).
• Perform detailed link budget analysis, modeling, and simulation under jitter and platform variation.
• Evolve designs to meet mission requirements and reduce cost.
• Develop test infrastructure and execute component and system-level validation, including hands-on lab work and OTA testing.
• Collaborate with systems, avionics, and software teams for payload integration with spacecraft bus.
• Create and maintain design documentation and performance analyses.

Skills

5+ years optical comms design

Leadership

PAT systems

Optical link budget

System performance analysis

Education

Bachelor of Science in Optical Engineering / Electrical Engineering / Physics

Master's or Ph.D. in a relevant field

Tools

Zemax

Code V

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

Blue Origin is seeking a Senior Optical Communications Design Engineer to own and evolve an existing space-based optical link design for our global satellite constellation. You will lead a multidisciplinary team to deliver high-bandwidth, robust free-space optical links, guiding hardware and software integration and testing.

The role emphasizes hands-on design, modeling, and system-level validation, with responsibility for performance under jitter and dynamic conditions.