Principal Architect, Product Integrity

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!

Blue Origin is pioneering the future of space-based connectivity with TeraWave, a revolutionary 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.

Blue Origin is building TeraWave, a multi-thousand-satellite communications constellation delivering symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps worldwide. The constellation spans low Earth orbit and medium Earth orbit with optical inter-satellite links, and is designed from the ground up to achieve high reliability through data-driven engineering rather than front-loaded predictions.

As a Principal Engineer for Product Integrity, you will be the team's deepest technical contributor on reliability and thermal analysis -- personally working the hardest design and qualification problems across the satellite and its subsystems. You will spend the majority of your time embedded in specific technical challenges for weeks at a time: modeling failure physics, analyzing thermal margins, supporting root-cause investigations, and helping subsystem teams finalize designs that survive launch and long-duration orbital environments.

When not solving specific problems, you will build the reliability engineering methodology that subsystem teams execute in their own verticals. This means designing accelerated life test programs, defining failure mode assessment frameworks, establishing physics-of-failure analysis tools, and shaping how test data feeds back into design decisions. You create the playbook and the tools -- subsystem owners run them. The goal is a reliability culture where teams are equipped and accountable, not dependent on a central authority.

This role sits within the Chief Systems Architecture office and works closely with domain architects, subsystem leads, and the integration and test organization.

Responsibilities

**Deep Technical Contribution (~50-70%)**

- Perform thermal analysis and reliability modeling on the most challenging design problems across the satellite, spending sustained periods embedded in specific subsystem challenges

- Develop and apply physics-of-failure models for critical failure modes -- solder fatigue, mechanism wear-out, radiation degradation, thermo-mechanical stress -- tied to specific hardware and environments

- Support subsystem teams through qualification and design finalization with hands-on analysis, not oversight

- Lead root-cause investigation and failure analysis for test anomalies and, eventually, on-orbit events

- Assess thermal and reliability margins for designs under launch and orbital environments, identifying where margins are thin and where they are adequate

**Reliability Methodology and Mechanisms (~30-40%)**

- Direct the accelerated life testing (ALT) program: define what tests are needed, what they must demonstrate, and how results translate into design or process changes

- Design and lead HALT campaigns to identify design margins and unknown weaknesses; collaborate with integration and test leads where HALT findings inform acceptance screening criteria

- Establish the failure mode assessment framework -- how teams identify credible failure modes, classify consequences, rank criticality, and score mitigations before and after

- Create practical tools and methods for subsystem teams to assess specific failure mechanisms (e.g., solder fatigue life estimation, thermal cycling margin evaluation, radiation susceptibility screening)

- Define how reliability data from testing and flight operations feeds back into design decisions -- closing the loop between what we learn and what we change

- Shape the program's approach to reliability growth: conservative initial goals informed by real test and flight data, with structured improvement as the fleet matures

Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Electrical Engineering, Physics, or related field; MS or PhD preferred

- 12+ years of experience in reliability engineering, thermal analysis, or physics-of-failure modeling for high-reliability hardware

- Hands-on expertise in accelerated life testing (ALT), HALT, and environmental stress testing -- designing programs, not just reviewing results

- Strong background in thermal analysis for electronics or spacecraft systems (analytical and/or FEA-based)

- Experience with failure analysis and root-cause investigation across thermal, mechanical, electrical, or materials domains

- Demonstrated ability to work as a deep individual contributor on sustained technical problems, not solely in leadership or oversight roles

- Familiarity with space environments: thermal cycling, radiation, vacuum, launch loads

- Strong technical communication skills -- able to convey failure mode implications and test results clearly to both subsystem engineers and program leadership

Desired

- Experience with automatoive, satellite or constellation programs.

- Expertise in solder-joint reliability, advanced packaging integrity, or thermo-mechanical analysis of electronic assemblies

- Background in designing reliability test programs that generate quantitative life data (Weibull analysis, acceleration factor modeling)

- Experience with materials characterization or failure mode testing for mechanisms, optics, or RF components

- Track record of building reliability frameworks or test methodologies adopted across multiple teams or product lines

Base Pay Range for:
WA applicants is $157,059.00 - $219,882.60

Other site ranges may differ

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.

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