Structural Loads Engineer III

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!

This role supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single‑configuration, heavy‑lift orbital launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to low‑Earth orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, cislunar, and beyond. Its first stage is fully reusable, and the vehicle was designed from the beginning to be human‑capable.

This role supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a heavy‑lift launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to Earth’s orbit and beyond. Engineered with a reusable first stage and a seven‑meter payload fairing, New Glenn is building the road to space.

As part of a small team, you’ll work to generate, communicate, and validate structural loads to support the development of new space vehicles and test/launch facilities. Proficiency in loads analysis, to include physics‑based hand calculations, finite element methods, static and dynamic structural analysis, and forcing function development is needed. Experience with simulation, mathematical modeling, data analysis, and technical writing is preferred.

Candidates must have a willingness to take ownership of unfamiliar and complex problems, communicate effectively, and deliver technically excellent results in an ambitious and dynamic environment.

• Launch vehicle Coupled Loads Analysis (CLA) development and execution, including cross-discipline interactions to ensure proper analysis inputs/assumptions and to ensure generation of desired outputs.
• Documentation and communication of CLA and other loads results for internal, government, and commercial customers.
• Finite Element Model development/refinement, validation, and correlation to modal tests.
• Finite Element Model reduction using Component Modal Synthesis methods (e.g., Craig-Bampton).
• General loads development for launch vehicles and related ground systems.
• Development of mathematical models and simulations for loads analysis.
• Resource-intensive computing, management of large datasets, reduction, and post-processing of data for engineering applications.
• Other low and high frequency structural loads tasks as required.

• B.S. degree in Mechanical or Aerospace engineering.
• 5+ years of relevant engineering experience.
• Passion for aerospace vehicle structural loads and analysis.
• Finite Element Modeling experience.
• NASTRAN and MATLAB proficiency.
• Ability to solve a variety of static and dynamic structural problems using physics-based analytical methods (hand calculations, in-house tools, and 3rd party commercial analytical tools).
• Ability to process and present data for engineering applications.

• 3+ years of experience in launch and/or space vehicle structural loads prediction/analysis/measurement/testing.
• Spacecraft and launch vehicle loads experience.
• Spacecraft and launch vehicle structural analysis, design, build, and test experience.
• Experience with fatigue analysis and development.
• Experience with dynamic (modal) testing and correlation of structures.
• Experience with instrumentation for ground and flight tests.
• Experience with mathematical modeling, simulation, and control algorithms.
• Experience with high performance computing, management of large sets of data, AI, data science, and cloud computing.
• Experience with the following commercial software tools: HYPERMESH, ANSYS, DMAP, IMAT, PYTHON, FORTRAN, LS-DYNA.

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…