Blue Origin

Director - TeraWave PoP Infrastructure

Blue Origin$233K — $327K *
Telecommunications & Hardware
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of software engineering experience, with 5+ years in leadership roles managing large teams.
  • Deep knowledge of high-performance networking and SDN, including L2/L3 protocols.
  • Proven record in designing large-scale, precision-based infrastructure projects.
  • Ability to manage budgets and align technical initiatives with strategic business goals.
  • Strong communication skills for influencing diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

  • Define the multi-year technical roadmap for PoP infrastructure and translate mission goals into actionable strategies.
  • Build, mentor, and lead high-performing engineering teams while promoting continuous learning and best practices.
  • Collaborate with Principal Engineers to ensure networking architecture meets performance standards.
  • Drive operational strategies for high reliability with a focus on automation and observability.
  • Act as the liaison to align timelines between PoP and partner organizations across the TeraWave program.
  • Promote a culture of addressing performance bottlenecks as systemic challenges in engineering.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans.
  • Supplemental life insurance and paid parental leave.
  • 401(k) plan with up to 5% company match.
  • Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours/week.
  • PTO of up to four weeks per year plus 14 company-paid holidays.
Full Job Description
Application close date:
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

Blue Origin is pioneering the future of space-based communications with TeraWave, 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.

We are seeking a Director, TeraWave PoP (Point of Presence) Infrastructure to lead the strategic design, delivery, and operational success of our next-generation networking infrastructure.

You will not just manage software; you will architect a high-performance organization capable of engineering systems that handle terabits of traffic with surgical precision. This role requires a leader who understands the mechanics of ultra-low-latency networking at a deep, kernel-level depth but operates primarily by scaling teams, fostering technical excellence, and aligning complex engineering workstreams with the broader TeraWave mission.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Strategic Leadership: Define and own the multi-year technical roadmap for our PoP infrastructure. Translate high-level mission goals into actionable architectural strategies, balancing performance, reliability, and cost.
  • Organizational Scaling: Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of engineers and managers. Foster a culture of technical rigor, continuous learning, and "infrastructure as code" principles.
  • Architectural Oversight: Partner with Principal Engineers to ensure the underlying networking architecture (including DPDK/VPP-based fast paths and IP networking stacks like BGP/OSPF) meets our performance requirements. Make high-level trade-off decisions that span cross-functional domains.
  • Operational Excellence: Drive the operational strategy for five-nines reliability. Implement observability, automated remediation, and testing frameworks that ensure our infrastructure can scale globally.
  • Cross-Functional Partnership: Act as the primary liaison between the PoP team and partner organizations (e.g., RF, satellite systems, and ground stations). Define clear interfaces and align engineering timelines across the program.
  • Performance Advocacy: Instill a culture where performance bottlenecks are treated as systemic challenges to be systematically solved, influencing hardware-software interface decisions for the entire TeraWave program.


Minimum Qualifications:

  • Leadership Experience: 10+ years of experience in software engineering, with at least 5 years managing managers or leading large, complex engineering organizations.
  • Networking Expertise: Deep technical foundation in high-performance networking, Software Defined Networking (SDN), and L2/L3 protocols (BGP, OSPF, MPLS).
  • Technical Vision: Demonstrated ability to lead the design and implementation of large-scale, distributed infrastructure projects that require sub-millisecond precision.
  • Strategic Mindset: Proven ability to manage budgets, set organizational goals, and align technical work with business and program objectives.
  • Collaborative Spirit: Outstanding communication skills, with the ability to influence cross-functional executives, Principal Engineers, and non-technical stakeholders.


Desired Qualifications:

  • Direct experience with DPDK, VPP, or Linux kernel networking stack optimizations.
  • Experience building and operating critical infrastructure for Tier-1 ISPs, cloud providers, or massive-scale distributed constellations.
  • Understanding of hardware-software co-design and performance engineering.
  • A strong passion for the Blue Origin mission and the future of space exploration.


Compensation Range for:
WA applicants is $233,934.00 - $327,506.55

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.

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.


About Blue Origin

Blue Origin is an aerospace company that develops rockets and spacecraft for commercial and government customers. The company's products include the New Shepard suborbital vehicle and the New Glenn orbital rocket. Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos and is headquartered in Kent, Washington.
Learn more about Blue Origin
Size
3,000 employees
Industry
Founded
2000

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