Senior Reaction-Wheel Controls Engineer

Blue Origin; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 157,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

Parental leave

Disability insurance

401(k) with match

Education assistance

Stock options

Paid time off

Job summary

Blue Origin in Seattle, WA seeks a Senior Controls Engineer to lead architecture, development, integration, and qualification of spacecraft attitude-control actuators and momentum-management systems, focusing on Reaction Wheel Assemblies and embedded flight software.

You will drive system-level design, control algorithms, motor-control solutions for PMSM/BLDC, FPGA design, real-time software, and cross-domain integration across hardware, firmware, and software teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering or related technical discipline.
• 15+ years of direct experience with Reaction Wheel Assemblies or related spacecraft actuators.
• Experience in control algorithms and real-time control systems for precision electromechanical systems.
• Extensive motor-control experience: PMSM/BLDC drives, FOC, space-vector PWM, current/torque control, speed-control loops.
• Embedded control systems design: hardware/software partitioning, processor selection, timing architecture, real-time execution.
• FPGA-based controls implementation and development workflows.
• Proficiency in C and/or C++ for embedded applications.
• MATLAB/Simulink for controls modeling, simulation, analysis, and embedded code generation.
• Experience with embedded processors, DSPs, microcontrollers, and FPGA platforms.
• Experience with real-time operating systems and deterministic embedded architectures.
• Ability to read electrical schematics and mechanical drawings.
• Hands-on lab experience with test equipment.

Responsibilities

• Lead system architecture, requirements, design, integration, test, and qualification of reaction wheels and momentum-control systems.
• Develop and mature control algorithms for reaction wheel applications.
• Design motor-control solutions for spacecraft actuators (PMSM/BLDC, FOC, PWM).
• Develop real-time embedded control architectures and hardware partitioning.
• Oversee FPGA design and implementation for motor-control and actuator systems.
• Lead embedded flight software development including bootloaders and mode control.
• Define and implement FDIR strategies for actuators.
• Model, simulate, and validate controls with MATLAB/Simulink.
• Lead integration and test of motors, sensors, power electronics, FPGA firmware, and software.
• Oversee cross-functional teams to deliver robust flight hardware.

Skills

Reaction Wheel Assemblies

Control algorithms

Motor-control drives

Embedded systems

FPGA design

C/C++ embedded

MATLAB/Simulink

Real-time OS

Schematic/PCB reading

System-level integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering

Advanced degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Controls, Robotics, or related discipline

Tools

Xilinx FPGA

TI DSP

ARM processors

Verilog/VHDL

Job description

Blue Origin in Seattle, WA seeks a Senior Controls Engineer to lead architecture, development, integration, and qualification of spacecraft attitude-control actuators and momentum-management systems, focusing on Reaction Wheel Assemblies and embedded flight software.

You will drive system-level design, control algorithms, motor-control solutions for PMSM/BLDC, FPGA design, real-time software, and cross-domain integration across hardware, firmware, and software teams.