Principal Software Engineer - Networking Architecture and SDN - TeraWave

Overview

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!

As a Principal Engineer for Network Architecture & SDN at Tera Wave, you will be the primary architect behind the "brain" of our constellation, designing a dynamic, self-healing network that operates at orbital speeds across our multi-orbit constellation of 5,408 optically interconnected satellites. You will be solving for a topology that changes every second, managing inter-satellite links (ISLs) that move at 27,000 km/h, and ensuring seamless handoffs for users on the ground—all while maintaining strict power and latency budgets.

In this role, you will leverage your deep expertise in networking architecture and software-defined networking to create the foundation for a revolutionary space-based communications system. Networking in LEO is fundamentally different from terrestrial fiber, requiring innovative approaches to routing, traffic management, and network resilience. This position offers a rare opportunity to redefine networking for the space domain, working at the intersection of advanced communications technology and orbital mechanics.

• Lead the end-to-end design of a hybrid space-ground transport network
• Define technical strategy for multi-hop routing, topology management, and fast-reroute strategies tailored for time-varying LEO constellations
• Drive capacity modeling that translates raw RF link characteristics into high-performance network-layer models
• Architect a Software-Defined Networking (SDN) framework to manage centralized and distributed control planes
• Implement real-time Traffic Engineering (TE) and policy enforcement to optimize data flow across constrained satellite payloads and terrestrial backbones
• Design programmable transport solutions that allow for rapid deployment of new protocols and features
• Build a world-class observability stack using in-band and out-of-band telemetry for packet-level visibility
• Develop "Self-Healing" network logic where real-time telemetry feeds directly into SDN controllers for automated congestion management and fault isolation
• Correlate flow-level tracing with link performance to ensure peak efficiency across the constellation
• Design packet forwarding architectures that survive the rigors of space, optimizing for latency and throughput under power-constrained environments
• Lead cross-layer optimization efforts, working alongside RF and Silicon teams to ensure seamless mobility across beams and satellites
• Act as the technical authority for networking across Tera Wave, mentoring senior staff and influencing long-term hardware and software roadmaps

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field with 15+ years of experience in network architecture, large-scale distributed systems, or telecommunications
• Deep expertise in BGP, IS-IS, OSPF, and Segment Routing (SRv6/SR-MPLS) in complex, high-scale environments
• Proven track record of building or managing SDN controllers and programmable data planes (P4, Open Flow, or proprietary frameworks)
• Deep understanding of packet processing, ASIC/FPGA forwarding logic, and high-speed switching
• Experience leading cross-domain architecture for satellite, wireless, or cloud-scale service provider networks
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Excellent technical written and verbal communication skills
• Experience with development in mission and safety-critical environments

• MS/PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field
• Direct experience with LEO/MEO satellite constellations or terrestrial/satellite hybrid networks
• Experience building large-scale telemetry pipelines and analytics for real-time network health
• Background in graph theory or dynamic topology optimization
• Track record of contributing to networking standards (IETF, IEEE) or open-source networking projects
• Experience with…