Electromechanical Packaging Engineer III Electro-Optical Components

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. Were 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 Blue National Security (BNS) where our focus is the design development and delivery of launch and spacecraft systems for national security missions. Through Blue Ring our all-in-one high-powered hybrid solar-electric and chemical-propelled spacecraft we provide unmatched mission maneuverability versatility and capacity at dramatically lower-profile costs.

Build the Hardware That Survives Space

Space is unforgiving: extreme temperatures violent vibration and shock radiation and vacuum. The electronics and photonics flying on Blue Origin spacecraft have to survive all of it. We need an experienced packaging engineer to own ruggedized enclosures electro-optical assemblies and fiber-optic integration from concept through flight release.

This role supports classified programs. Candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance. An existing clearance is preferred but not required; were glad to sponsor the right candidate.

The Mission

Blue Origin is building the infrastructure for humanitys future in space. Optical communications is becoming a core capability for high-rate space networking and the hardware that makes it work has to hold tight thermal stability and precise optical interfaces while surviving launch and years on orbit. Thats fundamentally a mechanical and thermal problem and its the one this team solves.

Youll own the mechanical design of the electro-optical units at the center of that system: modem processing and photonics units electro-optic assemblies transceiver hardware and optical amplifier assemblies plus the chassis and stacked-unit architectures that house them. The thermal paths that keep lasers modulators and receivers stable enough to close a link are yours along with the fiber optic tray and every fiber run splice and junction inside the box and the interfaces that let your units mount to the optical payload and host spacecraft. Youll work closely with electrical engineers and PCB designers throughout because on hardware this dense mechanical thermal and electrical design converge or fail together.

As the senior technical voice for electro-optical packaging on a team with deep spacecraft avionics structures and thermal heritage youll set the design standards analysis methods and process baselines the team builds on.

What Youll Do

Own complex packaging assemblies including enclosures chassis card-cage and stacked-unit architectures mounting systems and fiber junction housings across the full lifecycle from requirements through production support.

Lead the mechanical and thermal design of modem processing and photonics units integrating high-speed digital boards photonics boards electro-optic daughter cards and power conversion slices into flight-qualifiable mass- and volume-efficient packages. Package optical amplifier and transceiver-class hardware addressing high optical power handling fiber end-face reliability hermeticity and moisture control.

Own the mechanical thermal design with thermal engineering: heat rejection paths mounting materials heater placement thermal isolation and thermal control of tunable lasers modulators and TEC-cooled devices where drift drives calibration burden and link margin.

Own fiber optic tray design and all internal fiber management: layout routing bend-radius control strain relief splice retention and connector selection. Define the splicing and workmanship processes and specify the equipment to execute them. Define mechanical and installation requirements for electrical harnesses and carry them through detailed design with harness designers.

Collaborate with electrical engineers and PCB designers from architecture through layout fabrication and ECAD/MCAD co-design converge board outline component floor planning heat-source placement and connector location and weigh in on component and BOM decisions where mechanical and thermal factors matter including junction-temperature margin and derating trades. Define board-level protection and workmanship: staking conformal coating bonding and component restraint for vibration and shock.

Drive thermal structural vibration shock and fatigue analyses. Own tolerance stack-ups and thermo-elastic stability budgets that protect optical interfaces and coupling efficiency across environments. Lead trade studies balancing mass thermal and structural performance EMI/EMC manufacturability cost schedule and risk.

Own the mechanical thermal environmental EMC mass and envelope requirement set. Decompose host requirements into verifiable requirements maintain traceability and report mass properties against host allocations. Negotiate host vehicle accommodation including mounting interfaces mass and CG envelopes thermal limits and dynamic environment levels. When hardware qualified to one standard meets a different host spec quantify the gap and drive it closed.

Deliver models drawings specifications and release packages including mechanical and thermal ICDs. Apply GD&T per ASME Y14.5. Address space-optics risks such as contamination control outgassing hermeticity and radiation-induced fiber attenuation and support radiation and reliability teams on part selection and long-lead procurement.

Design for production. Apply DFM/DFA specify fiber and optical assembly processes and partner with fabrication and assembly suppliers on producibility. Own test and integration support including fixtures and optical loopback setups and shape environmental test campaigns from planning through anomaly closeout.

Mentor engineers lead design reviews and build team capability in electro-optical packaging. Perform all work in accordance with applicable security requirements protecting classified information and controlled technical data.

What You Bring

B.S. in Mechanical Aerospace Optical or Photonics Engineering or a related discipline plus 3 to 5 years designing electromechanical or electro-optical assemblies electronics or photonics packaging or comparable high-reliability hardware with a track record of owning designs from requirements through production.

Hands-on experience packaging electro-optical hardware (coherent or high-speed optical modems transceivers optical amplifier assemblies photonic devices lasers or detectors or fiber-optic assemblies) including the thermal optical-interface and contamination challenges that come with it.

Demonstrated experience designing fiber management inside a constrained enclosure: tray layout routing bend-radius and strain-relief strategy splice retention and connector selection plus thermal management of temperature-sensitive photonics including TEC integration and thermal isolation.

Experience integrating PCBAs connectors and cable or fiber interfaces into mechanical assemblies with a history of close collaboration with electrical engineers and PCB designers on dense high-reliability boards participating in layout reviews and influencing component selection before layout locks. Experience specifying mechanical and installation requirements for electrical harnesses.

Knowledge of ruggedized electronics and photonics design: thermal management structural protection vibration and shock survival vacuum compatibility and EMI/EMC shielding plus experience conducting or directing the supporting analyses.

Ability to define and hold mechanical and thermal interfaces in both directions: specifying what your hardware requires from the host vehicle and negotiating with the engineers who own adjacent optical structural and payload hardware.

Strong 3D CAD skills (Creo/Pro-E a plus) and solid command of GD&T tolerance stack-ups and ASME Y14.5 drawing practice.

Eligibility to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.

Comfort in a fast-moving program with evolving requirements and open trades: the judgment to make defensible decisions before every input is final and the communication skills to make technical risk clear.

Bonus Points For

An active U.S. government security clearance and/or an M.S. in a relevant discipline.

Experience with optical communications hardware (coherent or IM-DD transceivers silicon photonics optical modems optical amplifiers or pluggable form factors) and experience building modems transceivers or optical terminal electronics to standards such as SIS-002 OpenZR SDA optical communications terminal standards or CCSDS optical standards including how changes there propagate into mechanical and thermal design.

Working knowledge of laser communications terminal architecture and coherent link building blocks such as integrated coherent receivers modulators tunable sources and amplifiers and what each demands mechanically and thermally.

Experience developing hosted payloads or line-replaceable units against a spacecraft bus interface specification and familiarity with spacecraft environmental specifications and qualification tailoring such as NASA GEVS and SMC-S-016 including payload isolation as a way to reconcile hardware capability with host environments.

Experience maturing prototypes into producible qualifiable flight products including reconstructing design documentation for hardware you didnt originally design.

Fiber-optic depth: splicing connector and termini selection (MIL-PRF-29504 ARINC 801) cleaning and inspection practice (IPC-8497-1) link loss budgeting and familiarity with IPC-A-620 and J-STD-001 plus experience with photonic and semiconductor assembly processes such as die attach wire bond flip chip hermetic sealing and fiber alignment.

Analysis depth in electronics thermal structural vibration shock or fatigue work including solder-fatigue methods such as Steinberg or Engelmaier and FEA/thermal simulation in ANSYS or FloTHERM plus hands-on familiarity with ECAD tools such as Altium or Mentor xPedition and PLM tools such as Windchill.

Familiarity with qualification and reliability standards such as Telcordia GR-468-CORE and GR-1221 MIL-STD-883 MIL-STD-1678 or JEDEC plus experience with radiation-tolerant part selection and contamination control for space optics including outgassing screening per ASTM E595.

Background in spacecraft national-security space human spaceflight launch vehicle or other extreme-environment hardware ideally on long-duration or high-radiation missions beyond LEO plus a track record of mentoring engineers and building new design or analysis capability on a team.

Base Pay Range for:

CO applicants is $119814.00 - $167738.55

Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement

Dont 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 youre excited about this role but your past experience doesnt 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 a refugee or granted asylum.

Background Check

• Required for all positions: Blues 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 10001 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 companys intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the companys results or other factors at the companys 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 Origins Affirmative Action Plans or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process please contact us at. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.