Flight Dynamics & Conjunction Assessment Software Engineer III - Project Sunrise - Orbital Data Centers

As a Flight Dynamics & Conjunction Assessment Software Engineer, you will be responsible for building the software that ensures the safety and orbital precision of our entire constellation. This software is a critical component for the long-term success of our operational fleet. You will develop the automated systems that predict satellite trajectories, assess the risk of collision with other objects in orbit, and generate the optimal maneuvers to maintain a safe and stable constellation. This is a role for a software engineer who is passionate about orbital mechanics and is excited to build a scalable, automated solution to a complex astrodynamics problem.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Design and develop the software for high-precision orbit determination and prediction for a large-scale satellite constellation.

• Build and maintain an automated conjunction assessment system to screen for, track, and manage potential collision events.

• Implement and verify algorithms for maneuver planning and optimization to support collision avoidance and station-keeping.

• Develop high-fidelity simulations to validate the performance of the flight dynamics and conjunction assessment software.

• Create data pipelines to ingest and process external data sources, such as public satellite catalogs and space situational awareness feeds.

• Collaborate with the GNC and ground software teams to integrate maneuver plans into the operational workflow.

• Contribute to the full lifecycle of the flight dynamics software, from algorithm development and prototyping to operational deployment and support., 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

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Physics, or a related technical field.

• 3+ years of professional experience developing software for astrodynamics, flight dynamics, or a related domain.

• Strong understanding of orbital mechanics, state estimation, and trajectory modeling.

• Proficiency in a language commonly used for scientific and numerical computing, such as Python, C++, or MATLAB.

• Experience with data processing and analysis.

• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree or PhD in a relevant field.

• Direct experience developing or operating a conjunction assessment system.

• Deep knowledge of orbit determination techniques and the associated statistical methods.

• Experience working with space situational awareness (SSA) data and tools (e.g., STK, GMAT).

• Familiarity with cloud computing environments (AWS, GCP) for large-scale data processing and simulation.

• Familiarity with conjunction and orbit data standards and orbital safety requirements, including CCSDS 508.0 (CDM) and 502.0 (ODM), NASA-STD-8719.14, the U.S. Government Orbital Debris Mitigation Standard Practices, and FCC 47 CFR Part 25.

• A passion for building automated, reliable systems to solve complex and critical problems.

• Travel may be required up to 10% of the time.

• Relocation assistance available.

Base Pay Range for: VA applicants is $164,652.00 - $230,512.80 CO applicants is $150,931.00 - $211,303.05 WA applicants is $164,652.00 - $230,512.80, * 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.

Flight Dynamics & Conjunction Assessment Software Engineer III - Project Sunrise - Orbital Data Centers, This role is part of Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering (ACE), supporting Blue Origin’s mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. The team fosters innovation and drives engineering workflows of the future, shared solutions and standards, simplicity and lower costs, and manufacturable design.

Join Blue Origin as we build infrastructure in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re developing Project Sunrise, a constellation of orbital data centers designed to transform how compute infrastructure is deployed and leveraged at an unprecedented scale.