Senior Design Rate Engineer - BNS Job Seattle area,Washington USA,Engineering

Position: Senior Design For Rate Engineer - BNS

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!

The role is part of the In-Space Systems business unit, which is focused on addressing two of the most compelling challenges in spaceflight today: space infrastructure and increasing mobility on-orbit.

Role Summary

As a Senior Design For Rate Engineer within Blue National Security's Core Components team, you will bridge the gap between engineering design and high-rate, flight-quality production. You'll be responsible for developing designs for reaction wheels, solar array drives, optical communications gimbals, and torque rods into hardware that can be manufactured at scale - targeting multiple satellites per day. This role drives Design-For-X requirements (producibility, cost, quality) back into the design domain while defining the pilot factory flow, tools, and processes that Operations and Engineering will build upon.

Because our automated production capability is co-developed in parallel with the products themselves, you'll serve as the critical bi‑directional link ensuring our designs and our automation evolve together - a cornerstone of achieving Blue Origin's cost-of-space targets.

Key Responsibilities

Lead the transition of engineering designs (reaction wheels, solar array drives, optical communications gimbals, torque rods) from development into high-rate, flight-quality production.
Drive Design-For-X requirements - producibility, cost, and quality - back into the Engineering design process to ensure products are compatible with automated manufacturing.
Define the pilot factory flow, tooling, and processes that Operations and Engineering will build upon.
Serve as the bi-directional bridge between product design and pilot automation development, ensuring the two co-evolve as they are developed in parallel.
Collaborate cross-functionally with Motion Control Operations, Motion Controls Engineering, Blue National Security Engineers, and the project Single-Threaded Leader to align on production readiness.
Establish rate-readiness criteria and identify design changes needed to meet the ~10 satellites/day production target.
Identify and mitigate risks to producibility, cost, and quality early in the design cycle.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
10+ years of experience with space integrated electromagnetic products (e.g., reaction wheels, solar array drives, gimbals, torque rods, or similar motion control / electromagnetic mechanisms).
Experience transitioning engineering designs into production hardware (design-to-manufacturing transition).
Working knowledge of Design-For-X principles (Design for Manufacturability, Assembly, Cost, and Quality).
Experience defining or improving manufacturing flow, tooling, and/or production processes.
Experience with robotics systems and/or automated production technology.
Experience in industrial / high-volume manufacturing environments, with the ability to bridge modern production technology into aerospace applications.
Experience working in a cleanroom environment.
Familiarity with writing work instructions using paperless workflow systems.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate across engineering, operations, and program teams.

Preferred Qualifications

MBA or advanced business/technical degree - highly desired.
Six Sigma Black Belt certification.
Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) experience.
Experience specifically with satellite mechanisms or motion control components in a flight environment.
Experience standing up a pilot production line or factory from the ground up.
Familiarity with high-rate / high-cadence production (automotive, consumer electronics, or similar industrial scale).
Experience with DFMEA, PFMEA, or other structured design/process risk methods.
Background in cost modeling or design-to-cost initiatives.
Experience integrating automation with…