GN&C Navigation Engineer III

Application close date:
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

This role is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Origin's Blue Moon landers and related products. To further Blue Origin's mission, we are building sustainable infrastructure for transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the lunar surface.

As part of a hardworking team of spacecraft development engineers, you will directly contribute to the development and assembly of the Navigation system on multiple lunar missions. You will impact these systems by providing high quality engineering support by developing software and sensor integration solutions to complex navigation problems and developing these systems through the full lifecycle including flight operations. You will need to be proficient at cross‑discipline interactions to ensure proper design solutions are compatible with design for manufacture and environmental conditions.

Proficiency in flight dynamics, navigation principles and applications, algorithm development, and software development. Experience with simulation, mathematical modeling, data analysis, and technical writing and presentation preferred. Your efforts will further the design of Blue Origin versatile spacecraft that will serve a wide variety of customers. On this program, you will experience the full lifecycle from initial architecture to flight in a short time, while achieving historic milestones!

We are looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality to positively impact the safe human exploration of the solar system. Passion for our mission and vision is required!

• Design, develop, test, and deploy production navigation software for lunar spacecraft including sensor I/O and state estimation algorithms using C, C++, Rust, and Python.
• Support the development of navigation and sensor fusion algorithms, and execute component‑level test programs including sensor characterization, modeling, and integrated on‑vehicle testing.
• Develop and maintain navigation simulation environments and perform system analysis including error budgets, sensitivity studies, and performance predictions.
• Interface with navigation hardware vendors to integrate sensors into spacecraft systems.
• Support flight operations including pre‑flight planning, real‑time monitoring, and post‑flight analysis.
• Collaborate with cross‑functional teams including GNC, Flight Software, Systems Engineering, and Operations.
• Embody the Blue Origin leadership principles.

• M.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or related STEM field with 5+ years of professional experience in navigation systems or related field.
• Strong programming skills in Rust, C++, or
  
  C.
• Shown experience in synthesis of state estimation algorithms and Kalman filters for spacecraft navigation, and experience with navigation sensors (IMUs, star trackers, optical sensors).
• Understanding of spacecraft dynamics, kinematics, and coordinate systems.
• Ability to earn trust and maintain positive and professional relationships.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

• Ph.D. with 3+ years of experience in navigation systems or related field.
• Experience with Rust for embedded or flight software development.
• Experience with Python for navigation analysis and algorithm development.
• Experience in development of navigation systems that include measurements from optical sensors.
• Experience with vision‑aided navigation, computer vision, or sensor fusion algorithms.
• Experience with flight software development for spacecraft or aircraft, and hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing.
• Knowledge of orbital mechanics, mission design, and flight operations support.
• Familiarity with DO-178C or similar software development standards.

Base Pay Range for: CA applicants is $ - $, CO applicants is $ - $, WA applicants is $…