Blue Origin

Senior Spacecraft Harness Design Lead Engineer - TeraWave

Blue Origin$144K — $201K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical, Aerospace, or Mechanical Engineering or a related field
  • 10+ years of experience in spacecraft or satellite harness design
  • 3+ years of experience managing a harness design team
  • Experience defining harness architecture for complex space programs
  • Proficiency with CAD tools like Creo Cabling or Zuken
  • Strong knowledge of EMI/EMC principles for harness segregation
  • Expertise in connector systems for space applications

Responsibilities

  • Lead and mentor a team of harness design engineers
  • Define harness architecture for the TeraWave satellite constellation
  • Establish design standards and control documents for harnessing
  • Coordinate with subsystem leads as the main technical interface
  • Develop, maintain, and analyze harness diagrams for spacecraft subsystems
  • Support manufacturing and integration teams in harness installation and testing
  • Drive harness design decisions for manufacturability and efficiency

Benefits

  • Medical, dental, and vision insurance
  • Paid parental leave and disability insurance
  • 401(k) with up to 5% company match
  • Education Support Program
  • Up to four weeks of paid time off and 14 company-paid holidays
Full Job Description
Application close date:
Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

About TeraWave

This role is part of TeraWave, a satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. TeraWave consists of 5,408 optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO), providing enterprise-grade connectivity for tens of thousands of enterprise, data center, and government users who require reliable connectivity for critical operations.

Special Mentions

As the Harness Design Lead, you will be the technical authority for all spacecraft harnessing decisions and will lead a team of 5-7 harness design engineers through the full design-to-production lifecycle. You will define the harness architecture, establish design standards, and drive the team to deliver drawings on schedule to support first launch in late 2027.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Team Leadership:
  • Lead and mentor a team of 6-8 harness design engineers
  • Facilitate daily standups and weekly design reviews
  • Assign and prioritize work packages across the team
  • Track schedule milestones and report progress
  • Conduct technical interviews for harness design candidates
  • Establish team processes and design review gate


Architecture & Standards:
  • Define the harness architecture for the TeraWave satellite constellation
  • Establish harness design standards and naming conventions
  • Own the harness-level Interface Control Documents (ICDs) with all subsystem teams
  • Drive harness design-for-manufacturability decisions at the architecture level
  • Lead harness mass budget allocation and tracking


Cross-Subsystem Coordination:
  • Serve as the primary technical interface between the harness team and all subsystem leads (EPS, C&DH, GNC, propulsion, solar array, RF payload, optical payload, thermal)
  • Coordinate with Systems Engineering on harness-related requirements and verification
  • Represent the harness team in program-level design reviews


Technical Design & Analysis:
  • Develop and maintain harness Bundle Interconnect Diagrams (BIDs) and Wire Interconnect Diagrams (WIDs) for all spacecraft subsystems
  • Create detailed harness assembly drawings, installation drawings, and connector pin assignment documentation
  • Perform harness analysis including voltage drop calculations, current derating analysis, and mass estimation
  • Conduct 3D harness routing and clearance verification using spacecraft CAD models
  • Define harness segregation requirements for power, signal, and RF interfaces to ensure EMI/EMC compliance
  • Specify connector types, wire gauges, shielding requirements, and termination methods for all harness branches
  • Support harness design reviews and coordinate resolution of design issues with cross-functional teams


Manufacturing & Integration Support:
  • Collaborate with manufacturing engineering to ensure harness designs are optimized for production
  • Support harness fabrication shops during build activities including first article reviews and nonconformance disposition
  • Participate in spacecraft integration and test activities to verify harness installation and functionality
  • Develop harness installation procedures and work instructions for integration teams
  • Support troubleshooting of harness-related issues during spacecraft assembly and test


Minimum Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field
  • 10+ years of experience in spacecraft, satellite, or automotive harness design, cable routing, or electrical integration
  • 3+ years of experience leading or managing a harness design team
  • Demonstrated experience defining harness architecture for complex spacecraft or satellite programs
  • Extensive experience producing and reviewing harness assembly drawings, BIDs, WIDs, and connector pin assignments
  • Proficiency with electrical harness CAD tools (Creo Cabling / Routed Systems, Zuken, Capital Harness, or equivalent)
  • Deep knowledge of harness fabrication standards
  • Strong understanding of EMI/EMC principles as applied to harness segregation, shielding, and grounding
  • Expert knowledge of connector systems used in space applications (Micro-D, Nano-D, D-sub, circular MIL-DTL-38999, MIL-DTL-83513, etc.)
  • Proven ability to coordinate across multiple engineering disciplines and manage competing priorities
  • Experience with harness design-for-manufacturability in production environments


Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experience standing up a harness design team from scratch - defining processes, tools, and standards
  • Direct experience designing harnesses for satellite constellations or high-rate production environments
  • Experience with Creo Cabling / Routed Systems and Windchill PLM for harness configuration management
  • Experience with high-voltage (>50V) spacecraft power harness design including Paschen discharge and corona considerations
  • Background in harness-level signal integrity analysis for high-speed data interfaces (Ethernet, SpaceWire, LVDS)
  • Experience with harness weight optimization techniques for mass-constrained spacecraft
  • Experience supporting harness fabrication shops - reviewing first articles, dispositioning nonconformances, and developing rework procedures
  • Familiarity with automotive/EV harness design practices and high-rate production techniques


Compensation Range for:
CA applicants is $156,802.00 - $219,522.45CO applicants is $144,179.00 - $201,849.90WA 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.
  • 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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