Senior Space Optical Communications Engineer

Blue Origin LLC; Denver (CO); Hybrid; USD 182,000 - 254,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401(k) with company match

Paid parental leave

Stock options

Paid time off

Job summary

Blue Origin LLC is developing a cutting-edge satellite constellation for high-bandwidth global connectivity. We seek a Senior Optical Communications Design Engineer to own and evolve an existing optical design, guiding cross‑disciplinary hardware and software engineers to meet demanding mission requirements.

You will help develop pointing algorithms, test infrastructure, and integration strategies to ensure robust, cost-effective spaceborne laser communication systems for Sunrise and related

Qualifications

• BS in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or Physics.
• 5+ years in design/development of optical communication systems.
• Experience leading small cross-functional hardware/software teams.
• Experience with satellite constellations or aerospace applications.
• Strong understanding of PAT and link-budget analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, analysis and optimization of free-space optical comms with robust PAT strategies.
• Direct cross-functional hardware/software team to develop algorithms and hardware.
• Design end-to-end optical comms pipeline from interface to front-end.
• Oversee selection and testing of lasers, modulators, detectors and pointing mechanisms.
• Perform link-budget modeling to predict performance under jitter and pointing errors.
• Develop test infra and conduct lab/OTA validation.
• Collaborate with systems, avionics and software for payload integration.

Skills

Optical communications design

PAT algorithms

Link budget analysis

Team leadership

Satellite/aerospace experience

DSP on FPGA/GPUs

Python/MATLAB

Education

BS in Optical/Electrical Engineering or Physics

MS or PhD preferred

Tools

Zemax

Code V

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

Blue Origin LLC is developing a cutting-edge satellite constellation for high-bandwidth global connectivity. We seek a Senior Optical Communications Design Engineer to own and evolve an existing optical design, guiding cross‑disciplinary hardware and software engineers to meet demanding mission requirements.

You will help develop pointing algorithms, test infrastructure, and integration strategies to ensure robust, cost-effective spaceborne laser communication systems for Sunrise and related