Mission Design and Ground Navigation 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 engineers, you will join our Mission Design and Ground Navigation team within the Mission Operations System IPT. You will share in the team’s impact on all aspects of the trajectory for spacecraft from the Earth to the Moon!

Expect to be a technical contributor to the Blue Moon program within the Lunar Permanence business unit. You will develop reference trajectories, perform ground navigation analysis, and support integrated vehicle trade studies. Additionally, you will perform dispersed trajectory analysis and develop off-nominal concept of operations. Cross-subsystem collaboration will be common, as you work to design a trajectory which meets full vehicle and mission needs.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Optimizing Earth-to-Moon trajectories

Analyzing dispersed trajectories and delta-v budgets

Performing ground-based navigation and orbit determination analysis

Conducting analyses and trades to validate mission requirements

Presenting results at gated reviews

Developing flight dynamics operational software

Supporting flight operations during missions

Minimum Qualifications B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related fields4+ years of proven experience focused on trajectory analysis, flight dynamics, or mission design

Strong fundamentals in orbital mechanics and astrodynamics

Understanding of the mission design lifecycle from concept through operational flight

Understanding of ground-based navigation and statistical orbit determination

Applied experience in one or more mission design and trajectory optimization tools, such as:
Monte, Copernicus, EMTG, STK/ODT, Free Flyer, or GMAT Applied experience in one or more of the following languages:
Julia, Python, C++, Rust, or MATLAB Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Preferred Qualifications M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related fields7+ years of proven experience focused on trajectory analysis, flight dynamics, or mission design

Applied experience in the ground-based navigation and statistical orbit determination processes

Applied experience in trajectory optimization

Experience using the Monte software package

Experience performing spacecraft operations

Experience with Dev Ops processes including configuration control, continuous development and deployment workflows, Agile methodologies, and software code review.

Previous experience with software development tooling such as Jira, git, Jenkins, Docker, Visual Studio, or VSCodeBase Pay Range for:

WA applicants is $ - $Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but…