Senior Optical Communications Design Engineer, Project Sunrise

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 Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering (ACE), supporting Blue Origin's mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. The team fosters innovation and drives engineering workflows of the future, shared solutions and standards, simplicity and lower costs, and manufacturable design.

Join Blue Origin as we build infrastructure in space for the benefit of Earth. We're developing a satellite constellation of orbital data centers, Sunrise, designed to transform how compute infrastructure is deployed and leveraged.

Our team is at the forefront of developing a cutting-edge satellite constellation designed to provide high-bandwidth connectivity across the globe. We are seeking a seasoned and innovative Senior Optical Communications Design Engineer to drive the evolution of our space-based laser communication systems. In this role, you will take ownership of an existing optical communications design, adapting and enhancing it to meet new system requirements and performance targets.

You will lead a multidisciplinary team of hardware and software engineers, guiding the development of pointing algorithms, hardware solutions, and integration strategies to ensure our constellation remains best-in-class.

• Lead the design, analysis, and optimization of free-space optical communication systems, including robust strategies for pointing, acquisition, tracking (PAT), and intelligent failover/redundancy.
• Direct a cross-functional team of hardware and software engineers to develop, implement, and validate optical communication algorithms and hardware.
• Design and validate the end-to-end optical communication pipeline, from the data interface through signal processing, modulation, and the optical front-end.
• Oversee the selection, integration, and testing of optical components and subsystems, including lasers, modulators, detectors, and pointing mechanisms.
• Perform detailed link budget analysis, modeling, and simulation to predict and validate system performance under various operational conditions, including platform jitter and pointing errors.
• Evolve and update existing optical communication hardware and software designs to meet new mission requirements, improve performance, and reduce cost.
• Develop test infrastructure and execute test plans for component and system-level validation, including hands-on lab work and over-the-air testing.
• Collaborate with systems, avionics, and software teams to ensure seamless integration of the optical communications payload with the spacecraft bus.
• Create and maintain comprehensive design documentation, interface definitions, and performance analyses.

• Bachelor of Science degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or a related technical discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in the design and development of optical communication systems.
• Demonstrated experience leading or directing small technical teams comprising both hardware and software specialists.
• Proven experience with optical communication systems for satellite constellations or aerospace applications.
• Strong understanding of pointing, acquisition, and tracking (PAT) systems and algorithm development.
• Proficiency in performing optical link budget and performance analysis.

• Master's or Ph.D. in a relevant field.
• Experience with the full lifecycle of a satellite program, from design and development to in-orbit operations.
• Experience with real-time Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for communication systems, implemented on FPGAs, GPUs, or embedded processors.
• Familiarity with Software-Defined Radio (SDR) architectures and frameworks.
• Proficiency with optical design and simulation software such as Zemax, Code V, or MATLAB/Simulink.
• Experience designing for strict Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) constraints on flight systems.
• Knowledge of high-throughput data systems and low-latency communication architectures.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, with a proven…