Principal Satellite Flight Software Engineer - TeraWave

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!

Blue Origin is pioneering the future of space-based communications with Tera Wave, a revolutionary satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. This multi-orbit constellation will consist of optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), providing enterprise-grade connectivity for critical operations worldwide.

Job Description:

This position is part of Blue Origin's Tera Wave business unit, a newly announced satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. Tera Wave consists of 5,408 optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), providing enterprise-grade connectivity for critical operations.

We are seeking a Principal Satellite Flight Software Engineer to provide technical expertise for Tera Wave's Satellite Flight Software Subsystem. This role will be instrumental in developing robust, scalable flight software to support the growth of Tera Wave into a 5,408-vehicle constellation. The ideal candidate is a hands-on flight software architect who will shape software architecture, drive cross-functional integration, and establish high standards for software quality, verification, security, and maintainability across the full flight software lifecycle.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Architect, design, develop, and integrate core flight software for a next-generation satellite platform

Define scalable, reusable, and platform-independent flight software frameworks, services, and design patterns to support multiple spacecraft configurations and future growth

Architect, develop, and evolve key flight software components including core services, command and data handling (C&DH), telemetry, health monitoring, and fault-management infrastructure

Establish software architecture standards, coding guidelines, design patterns, and review practices to ensure maintainability, reliability, and mission readiness

Partner closely with systems, avionics, GNC, communications, power, propulsion, thermal, payload, and autonomy teams to translate vehicle and subsystem-level requirements into robust software implementations

Conduct software design reviews, code reviews, and technical trade studies related to performance, fault tolerance, redundancy, scalability, and portability

Support software integration, verification, and validation in software-in-the-loop (SIL), hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), and other mission-representative test environments

Develop and improve software engineering infrastructure including build systems, CI/CD pipelines, automated test frameworks, and debugging/diagnostic tools

Contribute to technical documentation including software architecture descriptions, interface control documents, verification plans, and test procedures

Design and implement secure OTA software update capabilities for spacecraft, including validation, authenticated delivery, rollback, version control, and safe deployment in mission-critical on-orbit environments

Ensure flight software architecture and implementation incorporate cybersecurity principles such as secure communications, access control, interface hardening, and resilient software design

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or related technical field
10+ years of experience developing embedded software for spacecraft or other mission-critical real-time systems

Strong proficiency in C/C++ and Python

Experience with RTOS-based embedded software development with Embedded Linux, VxWorks, or QNXExperience architecting and implementing complex flight software or mission-critical embedded software systems

Demonstrated technical depth across software design, implementation, and cross-functional integration

Experience with software lifecycle, configuration management, CI/CD, and verification/validation practices for mission-critical systems

Familiarity with communication protocols such as TCP/IP, UDP, CAN, I2C, SPI, and RS-422/485

Experience applying secure software development and cybersecurity best practices in embedded or mission-critical systems

Experience with embedded software testing methodologies

Preferred Qualifications:

Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical field

Experience with flight software frameworks such as core Flight System (cFS), F Prime, or similar

Experience developing software for satellite…