Senior Software Engineer - TeraWave PoP Control-Plane Network Services

Blue Origin; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 249,000 - 348,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental/vision insurance

Life insurance

Parental leave

Disability insurance

401(k) with company match

Education Support Program

Stock options

Paid time off

Job summary

Blue Origin is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to architect and build the PoP Control-Plane Network Services for a space-based communications network. You will help design a distributed, highly available control plane that coordinates customer terminals across terrestrial and orbital nodes.

As a founding member of the PoP infrastructure team, you will implement microservices, ensure five-nines availability, and advance observability with Prometheus, Jaeger, and OpenTelemetry.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in software engineering.
• Expert-level proficiency in C++, Rust, or Go.
• Deep experience with distributed systems and consensus algorithms (Raft, Paxos).
• Familiarity with Kafka, gRPC, Kubernetes, and service mesh technologies.

Responsibilities

• Architect highly available, low-latency control plane services.
• Build and maintain stateful distributed components across data centers and orbital nodes.
• Design scalable databases (SQL/NoSQL/Time-Series) for telemetry data.

Skills

C++

Rust

Go

Distributed Systems

Raft Paxos

Kafka

gRPC

Kubernetes

Service Mesh

Observability

Tools

Prometheus

Jaeger

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 looking for a Senior Software Engineer to architect and build the PoP Control-Plane Network Services - the software layer that manages, routes, and controls a dynamic mesh network of satellite customer terminals in real-time.

The Role

You will be a founding member of our next-generation PoP infrastructure team working on the Control Plane that orchestrates end to end connectivity across the entire network. Your work will ensure that customers maintain a highly available satellite connection between all their different end points as you build the "distributed brain" of a space-based ISP.

Key Responsibilities

• Architect the Control Plane: Design and implement highly available, low-latency control plane services using microservices patterns to handle subscriber provisioning and session management.

• Distributed Systems at Scale: Build and maintain stateful distributed services that operate across terrestrial data centers and orbital nodes.

• High-Throughput Database Design: Develop and optimize database schemas (SQL, NoSQL, and Time-Series) to track billions of telemetry points.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 8+ years

• Languages: Expert-level proficiency in C++, Rust, or Go.

• Distributed Systems: Deep experience with consensus algorithms (Raft, Paxos), distributed caching, and message brokers (Kafka, gRPC).

Preferred Skills (Microservices & Distributed Systems Focus)

• Cloud-Native Architecture: Extensive experience designing and deploying microservices architectures within containerized environments using Kubernetes (EKS/AKS or bare-metal).

• Service Mesh & Discovery: Proven track record with service mesh technologies (e.g., Istio, Linkerd) and service discovery mechanisms in highly dynamic, multi-region environments.

• Resiliency Patterns: Expert knowledge of distributed system patterns including circuit breakers, retries with exponential backoff, and bulkhead isolation to ensure "five-nines" availability.

• Event-Driven Design: Experience building reactive, asynchronous systems using event-sourcing or CQRS patterns to manage high-velocity network state changes.

• Observability at Scale: Familiarity with high-cardinality monitoring and tracing (e.g., Prometheus, Jaeger, OpenTelemetry) to debug complex distributed interactions across orbital and ground segments.

Base Pay Range for: CA applicants is $248,830.00 - $348,361.65 WA applicants is $248,830.00 - $348,361.65

Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement

Don't meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blue's Standard Background Check
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

Benefits

• Benefits include: Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%, and an Education Support Program.
• Stock Options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on "Know Your Rights," please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origin's Affiantive Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at [e-mail]. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.