Senior Mechanical Engineer TeraWave Customer Terminals

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!

Blue Origin is pioneering the future of space-based communications with TeraWave a revolutionary satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. This multi-orbit constellation will consist of optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO) providing enterprise-grade connectivity for critical operations worldwide.

We are seeking a Senior Mechanical Engineer to join the Customer Terminals team and own terminal mechanical design.

This is a founding hire on a young team and it is a genuinely different job from spacecraft mechanical work. A terminal is a consumer-grade product that has to behave like infrastructure: manufactured in very high volume at an aggressive unit cost shipped through normal logistics unboxed and installed by a two-person crew with ordinary tools in a couple of hours and then left outdoors on a roof to survive years of weather without a service visit. Every one of those constraints is a mechanical constraint.

The design space is unusually rich because the requirements pull against each other:

• It has to survive real weather. Wind and ice and snow loading hail impact driving rain salt-fog corrosion near the coast UV exposure that degrades polymers and seals and lightning. The enclosure has to keep water and dust out for the products full life while remaining radio-transparent where the antenna needs to see the sky sealing and RF performance are in direct tension and that tension is yours to resolve.
• It has to reject heat without help. Active phased arrays are power-dense and unlike a satellite you cannot design a radiator into deep space you are working with ambient air solar loading and a sealed enclosure at the same time. Getting heat out while keeping water out is the central thermal-mechanical problem of the product.
• It has to be liftable and installable. Weight and size are hard human-factors limits not preferences: if two people cannot safely carry and mount it the product does not work commercially. Mounting has to adapt to flat roofs pitched roofs poles and walls using standard hardware and the installation has to be fast obvious and hard to get wrong including cable entry sealing strain relief and grounding done correctly by an installer who has never seen your drawings.
• It has to be cheap to build at volume. Part count fastener count casting and molding decisions and assembly sequence are evaluated against unit cost and cycle time as seriously as against structural margin. We deliberately reach for terrestrial COTS and automotive-industry approaches rather than traditional aerospace practice. This is a design-for-manufacturing role as much as a design role.
• It has to last. Enterprise-grade reliability expectations over a multi-year service life with no scheduled maintenance in environments ranging from desert to near-shore to severe winter.

We are developing a family of terminals at different capability and cost points so you will carry a design from concept through prototype qualification and production then apply what you learn to the next variant. Our RF antenna ASIC electrical and thermal teams are all in-house you will co-design with them directly rather than across a supplier boundary. And because the team is small and the product is early you will help define the mechanical practices standards and supplier relationships the program runs on.

• Own mechanical design of customer terminal enclosures antenna housings radomes internal structure and component mounting provisions from concept through production release.
• Design for environmental survival ingress protection sealing and gasket design corrosion resistance UV-stable material selection impact resistance and lightning and grounding provisions.
• Design mounting systems and installation hardware for varied site conditions including roof pole and wall mounts with the anchor and load-path guidance installers need.
• Own structural analysis for wind ice snow and shipping loads including modal and vibration assessment and safety margin substantiation.
• Partner closely with thermal engineering on enclosure-level thermal design heat extraction from a sealed housing heat spreading thermal interface selection solar load management and cold-start behavior under ice and snow.
• Collaborate with RF and antenna engineers on radome and enclosure design ensuring mechanical and sealing choices preserve antenna performance.
• Drive design for manufacturability assembly and test with contract manufacturers and tooling suppliers including material and process selection tolerance strategy and yield at high volume.
• Lead cost reduction across design generations part consolidation process changes and assembly simplification with measurable results.
• Design for the out-of-box experience: packaging palletization shipping protection human factors lift and handling and installation ergonomics.
• Support qualification campaigns including environmental structural shipping and reliability testing and correlate analysis to test results.
• Develop and maintain CAD models drawings and Bills of Materials in the programs PLM system.
• Contribute to serviceability tamper resistance and physical security considerations for equipment deployed at customer premises.
• Present technical content and recommendations at design reviews.
• Help establish mechanical design standards review practices and supplier processes for the terminal program.

• Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• 7 years of experience in mechanical design and development of production hardware.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD tools for detailed part and assembly modeling.
• Experience performing structural and thermal analysis using analytical or finite element methods.
• Demonstrated experience designing enclosures or housings for outdoor weather-exposed or otherwise harsh service environments.
• Working knowledge of GD&T and engineering drawing standards (ASME Y14.5).
• Strong working knowledge of high-volume manufacturing processes and materials injection molding die casting sheet metal extrusion and machining and of design for manufacturability.
• Experience taking a product from concept through qualification into volume production.
• Experience with PLM and configuration management systems.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to document and defend technical work.
• Ability to work effectively across disciplines with requirements still maturing.

• Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• Experience designing outdoor telecommunications or RF equipment antennas radomes base station hardware satellite terminals or comparable customer-premises equipment.
• Experience with ingress protection and sealing design gasket and O-ring selection and IP-rating qualification.
• Experience with environmental qualification to commercial standards including salt fog UV thermal cycling hail or impact wind loading and shipping test profiles.
• Thermal-mechanical design of sealed passively cooled enclosures containing high-power-density electronics.
• Experience with radome design or mechanical design constrained by RF transparency and antenna performance.
• Experience designing mounting and installation systems for field deployment by non-specialist installers.
• High-volume consumer automotive or telecom hardware experience with a record of taking cost out of a design across generations.
• Experience working with overseas contract manufacturers and tooling suppliers.
• Familiarity with product safety and regulatory requirements for commercial electronic equipment (IEC 62368-1 CE marking RoHS WEEE or equivalent).
• Experience with human factors packaging design or out-of-box experience for physical products.
• Experience standing up engineering processes standards or supplier relationships on a new product program.

Base Pay Range for:

CA applicants is $145188.00 - $203263.20 WA applicants is $145188.00 - $203263.20

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.

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