Battery Responsible Engineer

Application close date:

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!

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 sits in the development organization responsible for Blue Origin's battery products. We take energy storage from concept through qualification and into volume production, and we do it for every program in the company: launch vehicles, spacecraft, landers, and ground systems.

As part of a small, hard-working, and accomplished team of experts, you will be the Responsible Engineer for one or more battery products, accountable for their technical success and on-time delivery. You own the product from requirements through qualification and into delivery to the vehicle. You are the single point of contact for the programs that depend on your hardware, and the engineer who makes sure the design, analysis, test, and build activities come together on schedule.

This is an ownership role. You will lead a multidisciplinary team of mechanical, electrical, software, test, and manufacturing engineers without directly managing them. You will make technical decisions, surface risks early, and hold the team and programs to commitments. When the schedule is threatened, you are the person who finds the path to recover it.

We are looking for someone to apply their deep technical expertise, natural leadership and interpersonal skills, and commitment to quality to positively impact the aggressive missions at Blue Origin. Passion for our mission and vision is required!

As the Battery Responsible Engineer, you will:

Own the product

• Serve as the technically accountable owner of assigned battery products from concept through qualification, production, and delivery
• Lead the multidisciplinary product team, coordinating design, analysis, software, test, and manufacturing activities toward integrated milestones
• Own technical decisions and trade studies for your product, and drive closure of open issues, action items, and design review findings
• Lead design reviews and present product status, risks, and readiness to program and engineering leadership
• Maintain configuration control of the product baseline, and own disposition of changes, nonconformances, and material review actions

Interface with programs

• Serve as the primary technical point of contact for vehicle programs using your product, representing the battery team in program reviews, integration meetings, and working groups
• Negotiate requirements, interfaces, and delivery dates with programs, and manage expectations when needs change
• Define and maintain interface control documents with vehicle, avionics, power, thermal, and structures teams
• Support integration into the vehicle and lead resolution of battery-related integration and anomaly issues

Develop requirements

• Develop, decompose, and maintain product requirements from program and vehicle-level needs, including performance, environments, safety, interfaces, and life
• Define the verification method for each requirement and ensure traceability from requirements through design, analysis, and test
• Drive verification closure and own the evidence package supporting qualification and acceptance

Own reliability and safety analysis

• Develop and maintain the product FMECA, identifying failure modes, effects, criticality, and mitigations at the cell, module, pack, and system level
• Use the FMECA to drive design changes, test content, and acceptance screening, and keep it current as the design and test results evolve
• Support hazard analyses, thermal runaway propagation assessments, and safety reviews for human-rated and energetic hardware
• Partner with Safety and Mission Assurance on reliability predictions, critical items lists, and failure reporting and corrective action

Drive schedule and delivery

• Build and own the integrated product schedule, working with program planning to align development milestones with vehicle need dates
• Track progress against plan, identify schedule risk early, and drive recovery plans when milestones are threatened
• Manage technical, schedule, and cost risk through a maintained risk register with defined mitigations and burn-down
• Coordinate with Supply Chain and Manufacturing on long-lead procurement, cell supply, build readiness, and production capacity
• Report status, risks, and needs clearly and honestly to program and engineering leadership

We are looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality to positively impact safe human spaceflight. Passion for our mission and vision is required!

Minimum Qualifications:

• Undergraduate degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Aerospace Engineering or related field
• 5+ years of direct experience in battery or electrical power hardware development
• Experience acting as a Responsible Engineer, product owner, or technical lead on hardware taken through qualification and delivery
• Experience developing and decomposing hardware requirements and managing verification traceability
• Experience developing FMEA or FMECA for electrical or electromechanical hardware
• Familiarity with lithium-ion batteries, battery design, and battery test methods
• Experience building and managing development schedules and driving teams to meet milestones
• Experience interfacing directly with internal or external customers, including negotiating requirements and delivery commitments
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct authority
• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of inclusion
• Highly organized teammate with excellent technical interpersonal skills (written and verbal)
• Ability to travel to and work at remote sites supporting test integration, commissioning, and training
• 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:

• Master's Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Aerospace Engineering or related field
• 3+ years in space applications; experience with human spaceflight or high-performance aircraft systems
• Experience in development of launch vehicles, spacecraft, or landers
• Experience supporting multiple programs or customers from a shared product or platform
• Experience with battery safety analysis, including thermal runaway propagation and hazard analysis (e.g., NASA JSC-20793)
• Experience with reliability engineering methods and standards (e.g., MIL-STD-1629, SAE ARP4761, reliability predictions, critical items lists)
• Experience leading formal design reviews and managing configuration control, nonconformances, and material review
• Experience with earned value or integrated master schedule practices
• Experience across multiple portions of the product life cycle
• Experience with Primavera (P6), DOORS, CREO, Windchill

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 your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blue’s Standard Background Check
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation
• Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

Benefits

• Benefits include: Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%, and an Education Support Program.
• Stock Options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on “Know Your Rights,” please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origin’s Affirmative Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at [email protected]. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.