Principal Software Engineer – TeraWave RF and Optical Systems

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 Tera Wave, 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.

This role is part of the Emerging Systems business unit, which is focused on developing cutting-edge space technologies including Tera Wave, Blue Origin's revolutionary space-based networking system. Tera Wave is designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps, providing connectivity to locations unreachable by traditional methods and adding a space-based layer to existing network infrastructure.

As a Principal Software Engineer, you will play a vital leadership role within a team of specialists, technicians, and engineers, significantly contributing to the control and data plane architecture of the constellation. Your role will involve utilizing your expertise in software development for constrained environments, real-time operating systems, high-speed handling of data, and encryption to develop and maintain complex software solutions.

You will guide software development and optimization efforts, collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams to ensure optimal quality and performance of our systems.

Your ability to innovate, provide architectural direction, and deliver efficient solutions is crucial to managing the entire development process. Successful senior engineers not only meet complex requirements but also propose and implement innovative, cutting-edge solutions.

• This role will be onsite in one of these locations – Greater Seattle Area, WA;
  Bay Area, CA;
  San Diego, CA. It is approved for temporary remote work exception while our local site is developed
• Relocation assistance available
• Travel may be required up to 10% of the time

• Own software architecture and design one or more system areas and represent them in cross-team discussions with chief architects and peer technical leaders, conduct trade studies and develop prototypes to identify architectural options, and propose the best path forward.
• Collaborate with hardware, silicon and systems engineering teams and lead integration campaigns to bring system up the features, troubleshoot problems, and provide solutions.
• Lead critical systems design and implementation of multi-threaded embedded software in C/C++ to run on Linux/RTOS/Bare-metal platforms, hosted on multi-core SoCs on the Tera Wave satellite payload and ground terminals.
• Define and develop strategies for scaling, fault‑tolerance and recovery.
• Define performance KPIs (processing latencies, throughput, algorithmic efficiency) and develop methods for measurements and optimization of resources (compute, memory, storage, network and I/O).
• Contribute to technical documentation, code reviews, and system architecture decisions.
• Champion embedded software development, testing and troubleshooting best practices – including CI/CD, test and data analysis automation, TDD.
• Lead the team from front in delivering with speed and quality, and mentor a team of highly skilled software engineers, fostering technical excellence and innovation.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field.
• 7+ years of deep experience in embedded software development in C/C++ to run on Linux/RTOS/Bare-metal platforms.
• Strong proficiency in C++ object‑oriented design and implementation.
• Hands‑on expertise in embedded systems debugging…