Principal Engineer – TeraWave RF and Optical Systems

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 diverse team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

This role is part of the Emerging Systems business unit, which is focused on developing cutting-edge space technologies including TeraWave, Blue Origin's revolutionary space-based networking system. TeraWave is designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps, providing connectivity to locations unreachable by traditional methods and adding a space-based layer to existing network infrastructure.

As a Principal Engineer for RF and Optical System Integration & Verification, you will own the end-to-end integration, bring-up, and verification strategy for TeraWave's RF and optical communications payloads, user/gateway terminals, and ground segment. You will be the technical authority who proves that the constellation's links work - from first light in an anechoic chamber and Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR), through hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) emulation of orbital dynamics, to on-orbit commissioning and steady-state flight operations.

This is a Principal-level individual contributor and technical leadership role. You will oversee systems and projects across a broad domain, directing system owners across multiple teams on the design, delivery, and planning of integration and verification capability with no day-to-day oversight. You will set the technical direction for how Blue Origin verifies space-based RF and optical links, drive operational excellence across organizational boundaries, and serve as an advisor to leadership and customers on advanced technical studies. Success in this role means not only closing verification against complex requirements, but proactively identifying problems no one has yet identified and proposing novel, cutting-edge solutions where the path forward is not clear.

Special Mentions

• This role will be onsite in one of these locations - Greater Seattle Area, WA, Cupertino CA. It is approved for temporary remote work exception while our local site is developed
• Relocation assistance available
• Travel may be required up to 25% of the time (test ranges, ground station sites, vendor facilities, mission operations centers, and standards bodies).

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Technical Ownership & Architecture

• Own the integration and verification (I&V) architecture and test automation framework for the TeraWave RF and optical system areas (payload, terminals, ground stations, links).
• Conduct trade studies, build prototypes, and provide early feasibility analysis to identify I&V architectural options across low-, medium-, and high-performance/high-cost test approaches, and propose the best path forward.
• Define and own the verification strategy and requirements traceability from ConOps and link budgets through subsystem test, system-level HITL emulation, environmental/chamber campaigns, and on-orbit validation.
• Develop, apply, and teach advanced technical principles across the full development cycle - requirements, design, analysis, build, verification, and test.
• Develop and deploy Agentic-AI systems for on-ground automated system validation, data acquisition, analysis, troubleshooting, identifying optimizations and executing test campaigns.

Integration, Bring-Up & Test Execution

• Lead cross-functional integration campaigns with hardware, silicon, RF/antenna, optical, modem/DSP, flight software, SDN, networking, and systems engineering teams to bring up system features, troubleshoot problems, and deliver solutions.
• Direct lab- and site-level satellite and terminal bring-up, including RF line-up, optical bench alignment, clock/timing distribution, power, thermal, and networking test infrastructure, and rooftop/ground antenna integration.
• Own RF payload line-up and link budget verification: EVM, ACLR, PAPR, Tx power and spectral flatness, Rx sensitivity, adjacent channel selectivity, linearity/compression, phased-array beam formation, sidelobes, and pointing accuracy.
• Own optical link verification: coherent optical transceiver (ACO/DCO) characterization, pre-/post-FEC BER, OSNR and power budget margin, acquisition/tracking and pointing-jitter performance, and terminal-to-terminal cross-link closure.
• Own PHY layer verification: achieved data rates and throughput, BLER across all MCS points, and quantification of residual timing error, CFO/SFO, phase noise, and Doppler effects in a LEO channel.
• Own MAC -layer and network-layer verification: initial network entry, power control, link adaptation, scheduling, handover, and make-before-break continuity under representative constellation dynamics.

Simulation, Emulation & Automation

• Direct the architecture of high-fidelity HITL frameworks that replicate orbital dynamics - delay/Doppler profiles, azimuth/elevation tracking, handovers, and real-time kinematics - using CATR/anechoic ranges, channel emulators, GNSS simulators, hexapods/positioners, and precision RF and optical reference instrumentation.
• Model constellation geometry, antenna ground projections, and SINR variation to predict and validate data-rate performance across latitudes, beam configurations, and orbital/launch phases.
• Lead the design, evolution, and continuous improvement of the verification SDLC across multiple teams: automated CI/CD pipelines for waveform, modem, and terminal regression; test-vector generation; instrument abstraction layers; and automated data reduction and analysis.
• Champion software and test engineering best practices - version-controlled test assets, TDD, code review, reproducible test environments, and telemetry-driven data analysis - and evangelize the use of data across teams to assess and measure impact.
• Contribute production-quality code and tooling in Python, C/C++, and MATLAB/Simulink for test automation, signal processing, and analysis; define performance KPIs (latency, throughput, link margin, algorithmic efficiency) and the methods used to measure and optimize them.

Infrastructure, Anomaly Resolution & Operational Excellence

• Define and direct multi-year lab, chamber, and ground-station infrastructure roadmaps, including capital planning, vendor selection, procurement, and deployment of permanent, mobile, and field test capability.
• Lead anomaly investigations and root cause analyses on the most complex and ambiguous RF/optical, digital, and software-interaction failures, spanning commercial, open-source, and custom solutions; drive corrective and preventive actions to closure.
• Drive operational excellence initiatives across the organization, especially where processes, tooling, or test capability are slowing innovation or blocking delivery for other teams.
• Support on-orbit commissioning and flight operations, including test-as-you-fly validation, on-orbit performance characterization, and handoff of runbooks and operational procedures.

Leadership & Influence

• Provide mentoring and technical leadership to engineers and projects across Blue through design reviews, technical forums, mentoring relationships, and setting of technical direction; be accountable for the technical accuracy of others' work through review.
• Guide the successful completion of major programs through formal technical leadership roles on project and test teams; direct and drive updates on schedule, budget, milestones, and risk for the systems you own.
• Develop and manage relationships across the company and with external partners, vendors, and standards bodies, often serving as organizational spokesperson and advisor to leadership and customers on advanced technical studies.
• Own technical documentation, verification reports, ICDs, and test plans/procedures, including release criteria for deliverables.
• Build technical influence as an internal and industry subject-matter expert through IP invention, publications, and leadership or committee participation

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Physics, or a related field.
• 7+ years of experience in RF and/or optical communications system integration, test, and verification for complex hardware/software systems.
• Demonstrated ownership of end-to-end I&V lifecycles: requirements/ConOps → design and simulation → lab/chamber verification → HITL emulation → field or on-orbit validation.
• Deep hands-on expertise with RF test and reference equipment (signal generators/analyzers, VNAs, oscilloscopes, channel emulators, noise/power meters, phase-noise analyzers) and with anechoic chamber, CATR, or OTA test methodologies.
• Strong working knowledge of link budgets and modem/PHY performance metrics (EVM, ACLR, PAPR, sensitivity, BER/BLER, MCS/FEC behavior, CFO/SFO, timing recovery).
• Proficiency developing test automation and analysis software in Python and MATLAB/Simulink, with working knowledge of C/C++ and Linux-based test and networking environments.
• Experience leading cross-functional technical teams and mentoring senior engineers, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• 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 or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
• 10+ years of experience verifying mission-critical communications systems, including satellite communications, LEO mega-constellations, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), cellular wireless, or terrestrial telecom.
• Experience with one or more of: software-defined radios; RF transceivers and antenna system control (phased arrays, parabolic/gimbaled antennas); optical transceivers (ACOs/DCOs) and free-space optical/laser communication terminals with acquisition, pointing, and tracking (APT).
• Experience with TT&C, feeder/gateway, user link, and inter-satellite/optical cross-link verification, and with satellite bring-up and on-orbit commissioning at constellation scale.
• Experience building HITL/digital-twin test frameworks that emulate orbital dynamics with GNSS simulators, hexapods, and positioners; precision timing (ns-class), and positioning verification.
• Experience with 3GPP NTN, Release 17+ callbox/UE emulation, DU/CU vendor evaluation, or hosted-payload integration on a satellite bus.
• Experience defining and deploying large-scale lab, ground-station, and mobile test infrastructure, including RF, power, clock/timing, thermal, and network architecture.
• Familiarity with formal verification methods for safety-critical software, radiation-hardened computing environments, and spectrum/regulatory compliance (ITU/FCC) coordination.
• Track record of publications, patents, or standards-body participation (3GPP, IEEE, AIAA, CCSDS).

Why Blue Origin

At Blue Origin, we are driven by our company motto, Gradatim Ferociter, meaning "Step by Step, Ferociously." We believe that humanity's future is in space, and we're committed to building the road to get there. As a Senior Embedded Software Developer on our In-Space Systems team, you'll be at the forefront of developing next-generation space networking capabilities that will enable unprecedented connectivity and mobility in space. You'll work with world-class engineers and scientists who are passionate about solving complex challenges and pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Join us in our mission to build a future where millions of people are living and working in space to benefit Earth.

We invite you to be part of this extraordinary journey as we develop the technologies that will connect humanity across the stars. Apply today and help us build the infrastructure for humanity's future in space.

Base Pay Range for:

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 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.