Sr. RF Communications Systems Engineer, TT&C Lead, Project Sunrise

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.

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

Job Summary: As the Senior RF Communications Systems Engineer and TT&C Technical Lead, you will have primary technical responsibility for the architecture, design, development, integration, verification, and operation of the spacecraft Telemetry, Tracking, and Command (TT&C) communications subsystem.

You will lead the development of the end-to-end TT&C architecture, translate mission and spacecraft requirements into subsystem requirements and interfaces, and lead the RF communications engineering team responsible for delivering the subsystem. This role requires a combination of strong RF/microwave technical expertise, spacecraft communications systems engineering, architectural thinking, and technical leadership.

The successful candidate will work closely with spacecraft systems, avionics, GNC, flight software, power, thermal, ground systems, and mission operations teams to develop a robust, reliable, and scalable TT&C solution from concept through on-orbit operations for a large scale constellation.

Responsibilities

- Own and lead the TT&C subsystem architecture, including RF communications, antennas, transceivers, amplifiers, filters, frequency conversion, interfaces, and ground-system connectivity.
- Define the end-to-end TT&C communications architecture based on mission requirements, spacecraft operational concepts, link availability, data rates, coverage, reliability, Swap-C, and risk.
- Lead development and allocation of TT&C subsystem requirements, including performance, interface, environmental, reliability, and verification requirements.
- Develop TT&C CONOPS and communication scenarios, including command, telemetry, tracking, acquisition, safe modes, nominal operations, contingencies, and ground-station interactions.
- Lead RF communications architecture and technology trade studies, evaluating alternative architectures and technologies against mission requirements and system-level constraints.
- Lead end-to-end RF link budget and communications performance analysis, including transmit power, antenna gain, path loss, atmospheric losses, noise temperature, receiver sensitivity, link margin, data rate, and availability.
- Lead RF cascade analysis, including gain, noise figure, dynamic range, compression, phase noise, spurious performance, and intermodulation products.
- Define and manage RF and TT&C interfaces with the spacecraft bus, avionics, flight software, GNC, power, thermal, and ground systems.
- Lead and mentor the RF communications engineering team, establishing technical direction, priorities, development plans, and engineering processes.
- Provide technical direction for the design and development of RF/microwave hardware, including amplifiers, filters, frequency converters, receivers, transmitters.
- Review and approve RF designs, analyses, simulations, test plans, and verification results.
- Lead the development and execution of TT&C integration and verification plans, including component, subsystem, spacecraft-level, and end-to-end testing.
- Support spacecraft integration, test, troubleshooting, launch readiness, commissioning, and on-orbit TT&C operations.
- Lead resolution of complex RF and communications system issues and coordinate technical decisions across engineering disciplines.
- Establish and maintain TT&C architecture documentation, requirements, interface control documents, link budgets, CONOPS, trade studies, test plans, and verification matrices.
- Identify technical risks and develop mitigation strategies throughout the TT&C development lifecycle.
- Work with program and systems engineering leadership to establish team staffing, technical capabilities, and resource requirements for the RF/TT&C organization.
- Mentor engineers and develop the technical capabilities of the RF communications team.

Minimum Qualifications

- Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, or a related discipline.
- 10+ years of professional experience in RF communications systems engineering, RF/microwave engineering, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience leading or owning the architecture of RF communications or TT&C systems.
- Demonstrated experience developing end-to-end RF communications architectures and link budgets.
- Experience defining, allocating, and verifying system and subsystem requirements.
- Strong experience with RF/microwave systems, including antennas, transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, filters, frequency conversion, and analog signal chains.
- Strong understanding of antennas, RF propagation, microwave engineering, and communications systems.
- Experience with RF simulation and analysis tools such as Keysight ADS, AWR Microwave Office, or similar.
- Experience with RF test equipment, including VNAs, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, and power meters.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional technical teams and make system-level engineering decisions.
- Excellent technical communication and documentation skills.

Preferred Qualifications

- Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, RF/Microwave Engineering, or a related discipline.
- Experience serving as a TT&C subsystem lead, RF communications lead, or communications systems architect.
- Experience developing spacecraft communications architectures and mission/constellation CONOPS.
- Experience with satellite-to-ground and/or inter-satellite communications systems.
- Experience designing and testing RF communications systems for space or aerospace applications.
- Experience with spacecraft antennas, antenna characterization, and RF link performance.
- Familiarity with digital communications, including modulation, coding, synchronization, and data-link protocols.
- Experience with spacecraft environmental qualification and acceptance testing.
- Proficiency in Python, MATLAB, or similar tools for engineering analysis and test automation.
- Experience with PCB schematic capture and RF/microwave PCB design.
- Experience building and leading RF engineering teams.
- Experience using generative AI tools to improve engineering analysis, automation, documentation, and engineering workflows.

Base Pay Range for:
CO applicants is $181,626.00 - $254,275.35
WA applicants is $197,529.00 - $276,539.55

Other site ranges may differ

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