Sr. Control Systems Engineer

Application close date:

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

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!  

Blue Origin is pioneering the future of space-based connectivity with TeraWave, a revolutionary satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. This network will service tens of thousands of enterprise, data center, and government users who require reliable connectivity for critical operations.

As a Senior Controls Engineer, you will play a vital leadership role within a team of software engineers, GNC specialists, and mechanisms and RF engineers, contributing directly to the pointing and tracking architecture of the TeraWave constellation. You will use your expertise in control and estimation algorithms, real-time embedded software, and modeling and simulation to develop the software that keeps our antennas precisely pointed and locked on target. You will guide the pointing control architecture from motor control through gimbal and RF closed-loop tracking. You will also work with flight software, avionics, and hardware teams to make sure our systems perform reliably on orbit.

Your ability to innovate, provide architectural direction, and turn complex dynamics into efficient, well-tested code is crucial to managing the full development lifecycle, from simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing through on-orbit commissioning. Successful senior engineers don't just meet demanding pointing requirements. They also propose and build new solutions that push the performance of our systems forward.

Responsibilities:

• Support motor and drive trade studies for the antenna pointing mechanism by defining what the control system needs: torque, speed, position resolution, and bandwidth.
• Define the pointing control architecture for the motor and parabolic antenna system, from motor current control through gimbal position control.
• Design and tune control loops, feedforward, filtering, and compensation for friction, backlash, and structural modes.
• Develop pointing and tracking algorithms, including program track, RF closed-loop tracking, and fast slews between gateways.
• Build models and simulations of the motor, gimbal, and antenna dynamics in MATLAB/Simulink, and own the pointing error budget.
• Implement control algorithms in embedded C/C++ or auto-generated code, and support integration with motor drive electronics and flight software.
• Plan and run lab, hardware-in-the-loop, and environmental tests to tune and verify pointing performance; support on-orbit commissioning and calibration.
• Work with mechanisms, RF, GNC, and avionics teams and with suppliers to define requirements and interfaces.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Applied Mathematics, or a related technical field.
• 5+ years of experience developing control, estimation, or tracking algorithms and putting them into production software for real-time or embedded systems.
• Strong foundation in control theory and digital signal processing, including discrete-time control, filtering, stability analysis, and numerical methods.
• Proficiency in C/C++ for embedded or real-time software, including deterministic timing, fixed-point and floating-point considerations, and resource-constrained environments.
• Experience building models and simulations of dynamic systems in MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or similar tools.
• Experience with software engineering practices: version control, code review, unit and integration testing, and CI/CD.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Controls, or a related field, with a focus on control systems, estimation, or autonomy.
• Experience with flight software or other safety-critical software, ideally with flight heritage on spacecraft gimbals, antenna pointing, or attitude control systems.
• Experience with tracking and estimation algorithms (such as Kalman filtering and sensor fusion) for RF tracking or satellite communications.
• Experience with model-based design and automatic code generation (such as Embedded Coder), including checking that generated code matches the model.
• Experience with real-time operating systems (RTOS), embedded Linux, or bare-metal programming, and with interfaces such as SPI, CAN, or RS-422.
• Experience building software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test setups, automated testing, and test data analysis tools.
• Experience with motor control software (such as field-oriented control, encoder processing, and friction or backlash compensation) and working with motor drive electronics.

 

Base Pay Range for:

WA applicants is $197,529.00 - $276,539.55

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.

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.