Solar Panel Engineer

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 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 of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth, we are building sustainable infrastructure for our transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the lunar surface.

As part of a hardworking team of multi-disciplinary engineers, you will drive the development of Solar Panels for Blue Origin's spacecraft. You will participate in the full product life cycle from early concepts to prototypes to qualified and deployed flight hardware. This is a technical leadership role, responsible for planning and coordinating the efforts of cross-discipline engineers supporting the development, procurement, fabrication, integration, test, qualification, and mission operation of Solar Panels.

You will work closely with the Power Generation & Energy Storage team and adjacent core component and vehicle teams to seamlessly integrate Solar Panels with multiple vehicle subsystems. This role requires coordination among a group of internal stakeholders and external suppliers. Your leadership and technical contributions will enable flight of state-of-the-art aerospace vehicles and missions.

• Drive the short- and long-term new product development (from requirements definition through production readiness) of solar panels for current and next-generation spacecraft
• Exemplify technical excellence and be accountable for your own work
• Perform due diligence analysis including hand calculations and computational models in a rapidly changing environment to ensure design compliance
• Analyze, track and report key performance metrics contextualized against vehicle requirements
• Lead internal design reviews and participate in reviews with suppliers and customers
• Be responsible for the delivery timeline through development, production, launch, and in-flight operations
• Effectively communicate development status, risks, and challenges to management
• Apply subject matter expertise (SME) to drive solar array architecture trade studies, analyses, performance characterization and specifications, and component selection
• Research and communicate the current and trending advancements of solar technology; contribute to solar energy collection roadmap direction
• Support risk analyses, failure modes effects and criticality analyses (FMECA), design for test/manufacture/cost (DFx), and root-cause analysis of test discrepancies
• Write cogent and succinct technical memos and devise innovative, intuitive, and creative ways to visualize quantitative information
• Support the development and execution of component-level test programs, including characterization, risk reduction, qualification, and integrated on-vehicle testing
• Routinely collaborate with manufacturing operations, supply chain, and other teams within the company to ensure smooth execution

• B.S. in Electrical, Mechanical, Physics, or Aerospace Engineering or related areas of study
• 5+ years of experience in solar energy collection development (level commensurate on experience)
• Demonstrated experience with the design, specifying, procurement, and testing of space grade solar panels
• Background developing solar panels for aerospace applications, including familiarity with photovoltaic cells, design/construction of solar panels, and associated test methods
• Knowledge of space environment effects on solar panels (vacuum, radiation, UV, temperature cycling)
• Desire to work hands-on, both independently and as part of a team, throughout the development and production phases
• Self-starting who thrives in a fast-paced new product development environment
• Ability to earn trust and maintain positive and professional relationships
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

• Advanced graduate degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Physics, or Aerospace Engineering or related areas of study with 8+ years of relevant experience
• Familiarity with solar panel standards such as AIAA S-112
• Background with spacecraft avionics systems hardware development, integration, and test
• Experience across the full product development lifecycle, including concept definition, architecture, requirements capture and development, implementation, verification, system integration, qualification, and release
• Proficiency with common electrical engineering design and simulation software (e.g. MATLAB, Simscape, STK)

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