Principal Hardware Engineer – TeraWave Network Switch Platform

Principal Hardware Engineer – Network Switch Platform

Blue Origin’s Emerging Systems business unit is building Tera Wave, a satellite communications constellation powered by the most advanced optical communications architecture. This role owns the end‑to‑end hardware design of the switching subsystem for high‑speed Ethernet switch and PHY integration, embedded management controllers, and high‑speed PCB layout.

• Architect BMC subsystems using MPSoC, ARM, or RISC‑V microprocessors to monitor card health, thermal sensors, and voltage rails.
• Design and integrate low‑level communication buses (I2C, SPI, PMBus, SMBus, RS‑485, CAN) for hardware telemetry and sequencing control.
• Develop hardware watchdog circuits and redundant boot sequences for fault recovery.
• Enable in‑flight firmware re‑programmability, including secure update and rollback mechanisms.
• Architect high‑reliability power distribution with autonomous sequencing, redundant paths, and fault isolation.
• Specify and integrate radiation‑hardened or radiation‑tolerant components rated for SEE and TID.
• Design power stages for thermal‑vacuum operation, emphasizing high‑efficiency topologies and conduction/radiation thermal transfer.
• Lead SPICE‑based transient analysis and hardware validation of load step responses, switching transients, and voltage ripple to millivolt‑level tolerances.
• Develop EMI/EMC mitigation strategies, grounding architecture, decoupling optimization, and power/signal plane isolation.
• Lead multi‑layer PCB design for switch line cards: stackup definition, impedance‑controlled routing, thermal management, and DFM.
• Manage CCA BOM procurement, vendor coordination, and assembly oversight.
• Integrate BSPs, SDKs, and device drivers for Ethernet switching and network processor components with firmware and software teams.
• Architect and bring up high‑performance Ethernet switching systems, including NPU/switch ASIC integration, PHY and Ser Des tuning, VLAN configuration, and MAC‑level validation across high‑density line cards.
• Resolve complex hardware‑software interface issues across L1 and L2 layers.
• Lead factory acceptance testing, physical layer validation (optical transceivers, high‑density copper), and commissioning of switch hardware.

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience in hardware design, power electronics, or embedded systems in a product development environment.
• Track record of designing and shipping complex electronic products through development into production.
• Experience designing multi‑layer PCBs with high‑speed digital interfaces and mixed‑signal power distribution; proficiency in Altium, Cadence, or equivalent.
• Hands‑on experience designing and integrating high‑speed Ethernet switch hardware, including NPUs, Ser Des interfaces, and optical or copper PHY technologies.
• Strong knowledge of power supply design, DC‑DC converters, LDOs, sequencing, and transient analysis with SPICE simulation.
• Experience with embedded microprocessor design (ARM, RISC‑V, or similar) including BSP integration and peripheral bus bring‑up.
• Practical EMI/EMC mitigation and signal/power integrity analysis experience.
• Excellent technical documentation and communication skills.

• Master’s degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering.
• 15+ years of relevant experience.
• Experience with radiation effects on electronics (SEE, TID, displacement damage) and mitigation techniques.
• Experience designing electronics for space, aviation, or other high‑reliability thermal‑vacuum environments.
• Experience with FPGA or ASIC integration in board management or data‑path contexts.
• Background in production hardware including DFM/DFT practices, supply chain coordination, and yield optimization.
• Hands‑on environmental qualification testing (TVAC, vibration, EMI/EMC).

• Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance.
• Paid parental leave.
• Short‑ and long‑term disability.
• 401(k) with up to 5% company match.
• Education Support Program.
• Stock options for regular employees (at least 20 hours/week).
• Paid Time Off: up to four weeks per year based on scheduled hours and 14 company‑paid holidays.

Blue Origin is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We hire and promote people on the basis of qualifications, performance, and abilities, and we provide equal opportunities for employment regardless of protected characteristics.

Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, or lawful permanent foreign national.

All candidates are subject to Blue’s Standard Background Check.

CA applicants: $ – $.

• Relocation assistance available for qualified candidates.
• Travel:
  Up to 25%.