Blue Origin

Senior Avionics Hardware Technical Design Lead - TeraWave

Blue Origin$156K — $219K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field with 8+ years of electrical/avionics design experience and leadership skills.
  • Experience in analog, digital, or mixed-signal circuit design with a focus on analysis, simulation, and troubleshooting.
  • Expertise in power electronics hardware development, specifically for high voltage and power regulation electronics.
  • Strong understanding of signal and power integrity, grounding, and EMI/EMC best practices for PCB design.
  • Knowledge of communication protocols like RS-232, I2C, and Ethernet.
  • Proficient in PCB design tools such as Altium Designer or Cadence Allegro for complex layouts.
  • Familiarity with DFM, DFT principles, and IPC standards.

Responsibilities

  • Lead design efforts for Power Management and Distribution electronic components of the TeraWave spacecraft bus.
  • Collaborate with mechanical teams to enhance the scalability and manufacturability of the PMAD system.
  • Define electronics requirements and manage the design from concept through verification and testing.
  • Drive cost and mass-reduction initiatives while simplifying architecture and minimizing part counts.
  • Oversee the completion of designs through formal verification and environmental qualification processes.
  • Coordinate with PCB fabricators and component manufacturers to resolve fabrication issues and ensure timely availability of parts.
  • Design PCBs with considerations for thermal management, radiation tolerance, and stress in space environments.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance options.
  • Paid parental leave and short/long-term disability coverage.
  • 401(k) plan with up to 5% company match.
  • Education support program for professional development.
  • Stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours/week.
  • Up to four weeks of paid time off annually along with 14 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.

As the Senior Avionics Hardware Technical Design Lead for the TeraWave spacecraft bus Electrical Power Subsystem (EPS), you will lead a team of experienced PCB and circuit design engineers focused on optimizing the TeraWave Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) electronics for cost, mass and producibility. You and your team will be responsible for complex PCB layouts for high/low voltage, and high power applications.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:
  • Lead the design of a PMAD satellite component, including board architecture, power distribution, connectorization, signal routing, current paths, protection interfaces, serviceability, and manufacturability
  • Work closely with mechanical packaging and harness teams to make the TeraWave PMAD scalable and buildable
  • Lead and manage electronics requirements definition, trading architecture concepts, and overseeing detailed design development, design verification and test
  • Own cost and mass-reduction trades, architecture simplification, modularity, producibility, reduced part count, test simplification, and recurring manufacturing cost reduction
  • Follow designs through formal verification, environmental qualification, release, and participate in integration and flight support activities
  • Work with PCB fabricators and CM vendors to ensure manufacturability and resolve fabrication issues
  • Work with TeraWave supply chain to ensure parts and components on-time availability
  • Design for space environment considerations including thermal management, radiation tolerance, and mechanical stress
  • As required, support the following design activities:
    • Design of multi-layer PCBs for complex digital, mixed-signal and high voltage/high power systems
    • Develop PCB layouts with careful attention to considerations for electromagnetic compatibility, creepage clearance and thermal management
    • Conduct power integrity analysis and design power distribution networks (PDN) for low-noise, high-current applications
    • Collaborate with electrical engineers on component selection, schematic review, and design optimization
    • Generate fabrication and assembly documentation including Gerber files, drill files, and assembly drawings
    • Board bring-up activities, debugging hardware issues related to PCB design

Minimum Qualifications
  • B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related field with 8+ years of electrical/avionics design experience, including demonstrated team leadership experience spanning performance development, technical guidance, and cross-functional coordination
  • Experience with analog, digital, or mixed-signal circuit design-including analysis, simulation, test, troubleshooting, and component selection across common parts such as ADCs, DACs, op amps, power supplies (linear, LDO, DC/DC), processors, and MOSFETs
  • Experience in power electronics hardware development, including high voltage switching, power regulation, and PCB layout with considerations for creepage, clearance, and thermal management; experience with thermal analysis tools and techniques for high-power designs
  • Strong understanding of signal integrity, power integrity, grounding, and EMI/EMC best practices for high-power and mixed-signal PCB designs
  • Knowledge of common communication protocols such as RS-232, RS-422, I2C, SPI, LVDS, Ethernet, or CAN
  • Proficiency with PCB design tools (Altium Designer, Cadence Allegro, or similar), including layout experience for mixed-signal and high-power designs
  • Familiarity with DFM, DFT principles, and IPC standards (IPC-2221, IPC-6012, IPC-A-610)


Preferred Qualifications
  • Experience designing for space or aerospace environments (vacuum, thermal cycling, radiation, vibration)
  • Knowledge of power integrity analysis tools (e.g., HyperLynx, Ansys SIwave, Cadence Sigrity)
  • Experience performing worst-case analysis, circuit FEA, and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
  • Knowledge of conformal coating, potting, and other space-qualification techniques
  • Background in fault detection, redundancy strategies, and system-level reliability modeling
  • Familiarity with MIL-STD or NASA standards for PCB design
  • Desire to work hands-on, both independently and collaboratively, throughout development and production phases


Base Pay Range for:
WA applicants is $156,802.00 - $219,522.45

Other site ranges may differ

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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