VP Networking, TeraWave

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!  

This role is part of TeraWave, a 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.

This role is part of TeraWave, a 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. 

We are a mission-driven team of collaborators, doers, and problem-solvers relentlessly committed to a culture of safety and operational excellence. As part of a passionate and accomplished team of engineers, you will directly impact the future of space flight and help us make progress towards our mission of building advanced optical communications for space. Join us in advancing our vision of revolutionizing space-based communications to benefit Earth! 

We are building TeraWave's executive leadership team and looking for a VP of Networking to lead the network architecture, control planes, and ground systems that transform our 5,408-satellite constellation from a bent-pipe relay into a global, enterprise-ready network. Your team will design and optimize the routing infrastructure—spanning on-orbit routing across optical crosslinks and RF fallbacks, ground segment integration with carrier networks and cloud providers, and customer-facing APIs for provisioning and traffic management—that delivers carrier-grade service reliability.

This leader will be responsible for end-to-end system latency (space + ground), network routing efficiency, and customer service operations. Your early leadership is critical to ensure that payload and terminal decisions align with carrier-grade networking requirements and long-term service reliability across enterprise, data center, and government markets worldwide.

Role Responsibilities:

As VP Networking, your technical execution responsibilities span designing ground network architecture including gateway placement strategies, routing protocol selection, and traffic engineering frameworks. You'll develop the control plane and orchestration software that manages routing across the constellation, optimizes traffic flows, and ensures quality of service (QoS) delivery. You'll architect on-orbit routing capabilities leveraging optical inter-satellite links and RF fallback mechanisms to maximize throughput and minimize latency. You'll establish ground segment integration with terrestrial carrier networks and cloud providers, building the interconnection fabric that extends TeraWave's reach into global internet infrastructure.

You'll own the Network Operations Center (NOC), which maintains customer-facing service operations including traffic routing, QoS management, SLA monitoring, and service provisioning. This is distinct from the Mission Operations Center (MOC) owned by Spacecraft Systems—your NOC ensures customers receive their contracted service levels while the MOC maintains satellite infrastructure health.

For cross-functional integration, you'll receive payload waveform capabilities from the Payload team and define network software requirements for payload processors to enable routing and traffic management. You'll work with the Spacecraft team to receive spacecraft capabilities (data rates, latency, availability) and provide constellation management requirements. Your partnership with the Product team will translate customer SLAs into network performance requirements including routing efficiency and failover times.

Your organization will scale strategically with talent evolving from initial SDN architects and secure routing engineers to cloud integration specialists, OSS/BSS developers, and AI-driven networking teams. You'll build NOC automation and AI Ops capabilities to manage network complexity at constellation scale, implementing predictive analytics, automated remediation, and intelligent traffic optimization.

You'll manage system-level cybersecurity across the network stack, establishing security architectures, threat monitoring systems, and incident response protocols that protect customer data and network integrity. Your security framework will span ground gateways, space segment communications, and customer interfaces.

Your business responsibilities include managing NRE budgets across network development programs, driving operational efficiency through automation and AI Ops, and optimizing network economics through topology optimization and capacity planning. You'll balance performance, reliability, security, and cost tradeoffs to deliver network infrastructure that meets constellation deployment schedules while ensuring carrier-grade service quality.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 15+ years engineering experience with large-scale network architecture, routing protocols, and distributed systems
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or related technical discipline
• Experience leading organizations through rapid scaling from R&D through production operations
• Experience managing 100+ person technical organizations across software, network engineering, and operations disciplines
• Prior experience building and operating Network Operations Centers for high reliability services
• Strong systems engineering fundamentals with ability to manage complex network-payload-spacecraft interfaces
• Experience with SDN (Software-Defined Networking), traffic engineering, and QoS frameworks
• Demonstrated ability to balance latency/throughput/reliability/cost tradeoffs in network systems
• Experience with network security architecture and operations

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's degree or PhD in related engineering field
• Experience with satellite network architectures or space-based communications systems
• Proven track record of carrier-grade network operations and SLA management
• Experience with cloud provider interconnection and internet peering architectures
• Background in AI/ML-driven network automation and predictive operations
• Familiarity with OSS/BSS systems for telecommunications
• Experience with constellation management software and dynamic routing optimization
• Knowledge of cybersecurity frameworks, threat detection, and incident response
• Experience in enterprise, data center, telecommunications, or government/defense networking markets
• Background with API design and customer-facing provisioning systems

Compensation Range (Base Salary) for:

CA applicants is $275,500.00 - $384,300.00

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 (CDL drivers only), 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.

• 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 EEOCompliance@blueorigin.com. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.

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