Engineering Operations Manager – Solar Center of Excellence

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 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.

As part of a hardworking team of technicians and engineers, you will own the factory infrastructure, equipment lifecycle, and business-system integration behind Blue Origin's Solar Center of Excellence (Solar COE) production capability, leading Operations Engineers and Technicians from facility build-out through high-rate production of high-performance space solar modules.

This highly visible role spans operations, engineering, and information systems. You bring production-floor credibility, systems thinking, and the drive to eliminate downtime, compress equipment delivery cycles, and build the digital backbone (MES, ERP, mBOM) that lets the Solar COE scale.

Responsibilities:

Facility Setup & Readiness

- Own facility setup for the Solar COE production floor: space planning, utilities (power, ESD, cleanroom zoning), and phased buildout aligned to ramp milestones.
- Maintain the Facility Readiness Matrix, tracking civil, MEP, and infrastructure deliverables against equipment installation schedules.
- Partner with Facilities, EHS, and Site Operations to meet safety and workmanship standards; define zone acceptance criteria and drive walk-downs, punch-list closure, and handoff to Production.

Equipment Setup, Delivery & Qualification

- Own the equipment lifecycle for Solar COE production assets: sourcing support, Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT), shipping, installation, Site Acceptance Testing (SAT), and production qualification.
- Maintain the Equipment Master Register: asset status, warranty, calibration, preventive maintenance, and spares for production and metrology equipment.
- Develop Equipment Installation Plans for each new asset, coordinating utilities, personnel, software, and tooling for on-schedule first-article capability. Track deliveries and mitigate critical-path risks.

Business-System Infrastructure (MES, ERP, Jules & Digital Backbone)

- Lead setup and deployment of the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) for the Solar COE, including traveler workflows, genealogy/traceability, electronic work instructions (EWI), and production data collection.
- Integrate MES, ERP, PLM, and quality systems for a paperless data flow from order release through final test and ship.
- Work with IT and Digital Manufacturing to prioritize Solar COE enhancements and resolve integration issues.
- Define and monitor system KPIs: traveler completion rate, data-entry cycle time, genealogy completeness, and MES-ERP sync accuracy.
- Partner with Manufacturing Engineers to translate eBOMs into manufacturing BOMs (mBOMs), including routings, work centers, and labor standards.

Equipment Reliability & Downtime Reduction

- Establish and own the Solar COE Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) framework, set baselines, and lead cross-functional OEE improvement.
- Build a preventive and predictive Planned Maintenance (PM) program for all production, metrology, and test equipment; set availability targets, track compliance, and escalate gaps.
- Lead root-cause analysis (5-Why, Fishbone, Fault Tree Analysis) for repetitive equipment failures and verify corrective action effectiveness.
- Manage critical spares and supplier SLAs to minimize mean time to repair (MTTR).

Development & New Product Introduction (NPI) Support

- This role bridges steady-state production and the Development & NPI team, ensuring smooth transition of new products and process changes into production.
- Provide operations readiness input at NPI gate reviews: facility, equipment, tooling, and system status against milestones.
- Own the critical-path equipment schedule within the NPI program plan and report delivery progress.
- Escalate compliance issues and bottlenecks (EHS, FOD, calibration, quality escapes) that could delay NPI transition or production release.
- Give Development capacity, cycle time, and equipment utilization data to inform Design for Manufacturability (DFM) and Assembly (DFA) decisions.
- Own the operations readiness checklist for Production Readiness Reviews (PRR) and support pilot-line builds with staffing, equipment access, and process documentation.

Team & Leadership

- Manage Operations Engineers and Production Technicians supporting facility operations, equipment maintenance, and system administration.
- Set performance expectations and development goals; conduct regular 1:1s and formal reviews. Foster continuous improvement, safety ownership, and data-driven decisions.

Minimum Qualifications

- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Electrical, or Systems Engineering, or a closely related field.
- 10+ years of progressive manufacturing or production operations experience, owning facility setup, equipment deployment, or factory infrastructure programs.
- Verifiable experience supporting mid- or high-rate production lines.
- Hands-on MES configuration, deployment, or administration, including routing, electronic work instructions, and traceability.
- Experience creating and managing mBOMs in a PLM or ERP system (Windchill, Arena, SAP, Oracle, or equivalent).
- Leadership of engineering and/or technician teams in a production setting.
- Experience with equipment FAT/SAT, production qualification, and OEE/uptime improvement.
- Strong project management: scheduling, risk tracking, stakeholder communication, and cross-functional coordination.
- 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

- Aerospace, defense, or space manufacturing experience (AS9100, MIL-SPEC, or equivalent).
- Solar module, solar array, or photovoltaic (PV) production experience.
- Capital equipment installation and commissioning in a precision or clean manufacturing environment.
- Digital manufacturing infrastructure experience: ERP-MES integration, IoT equipment monitoring, SCADA, or digital twins.
- Lean or Six Sigma certification (Green Belt or Black Belt); VSM or similar methods.
- NPI experience in an operations capacity, including DFM/DFA, pilot builds, and PRRs.
- Proficiency with MS Project, Smartsheet, JIRA, and PLM, ERP, and MES systems.
- PMP (or equivalent) certification, Master’s degree in Engineering or Engineering Management, or MBA is a plus.

Special Mentions

- Relocation provided
- Travel expected (up to 25% during ramp, ~10% steady-state)
- Interviews will include a technical assessment

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.

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