Senior Mission Operations Engineer – TeraWave

About this role

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 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.

As a Senior Mission Operations Engineer, you will ensure readiness to execute on-orbit TeraWave operations by contributing to ConOps development, preparing operations products, forming and leading on-console crews, and executing early on-orbit mission operations. You will lead small teams of mission operations engineers in accomplishing these tasks throughout the program lifecycle, while also collaborating extensively with engineers from across the space and ground segments. As a result of your technical leadership, Blue Origin will field and efficiently operate game-changing new capabilities in space to serve a variety of customers. The ideal candidate is a systems-thinker possessing a strong end-operator and customer focus, along with the persistence and passion to build space operations capabilities from the ground up.

We are looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and dedication to quality to positively impact TeraWave. Passion for our mission and vision is required!  

Responsibilities include but are not limited to: • Develop mission plans, operations concepts, tools, and processes that enable highly effective and labor-efficient real-time spacecraft and ground system operation through automation • Lead small teams in the development and implementation of detailed operations procedures, executables, telemetry displays, technical documentation, and other products. • Ensure deliverables meet applicable quality standards, while promoting maximum reuse and backward compatibility. • Conduct testing and validation of ops products using a variety of hardware and software simulation environments that span the space and ground domains. • Support systems engineering and other disciplines in developing a spacecraft concept of operations, ensuring efficiency and operability for the end-user. • Implement meaningful progress tracking to provide realistic completion forecasts and inform basis-of-estimates provided for new business pursuits. • Create detailed test procedures to validate end-to-end system capabilities. • Analyze and assess ground station selection for optimal communications availability. • Support communications spectrum licensing efforts through coordination with internal and external regulatory authorities. • Coordinate staffing for mission operations events and work with our training team to ensure certification of on-console personnel. • Support mission readiness activities including mission rehearsals, mission timeline development, and post-launch test development. • Provide real-time leadership during spacecraft launch and early orbit phase, including shift work, from Blue Origin’s mission control facilities in Texas and elsewhere. • Monitor spacecraft state-of-health across all subsystems, perform trending and analyses, and track spacecraft and ground system configurations. • Support the troubleshooting and resolution of on-orbit anomalies as part of an anomaly response team. • Foster continuous improvement by contributing, tracking, and implementing lessons-learned for the benefit of future missions. • Provide instruction and mentorship to early career engineers, building depth of expertise and capability within the mission operations engineering team.

Minimum Qualifications • B.S. in Aerospace, Electrical, Computer Science, Systems, or related fields • 3+ years of experience managing technical teams. • 12+ years of proven experience in spacecraft operations development and execution, including real-time support for on-orbit operations in a flight director or comparable leadership role. • Extensive development of spacecraft operations products, including procedures, telemetry displays, scripts, and other technical documents. • Experienced in configuration and product data management.

Preferred Qualifications • M.S. in Space Systems, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or Aerospace Engineering • Direct support for a commercial or government spacecraft operations organization, as well as a deep understanding of their use cases and approach to operations. • Proficiency with command-and-control scripting languages, such as Python, SPELL, STOL, or JAS • Experience working with virtualized Ground Software (e.g., Command & Control, Mission Planning, Flight Dynamics, Electronic Procedures, Software Simulators) • Experience with mission planning and contact planning tools. • Experience with scrum methodology and agile product development. • Experience in full development lifecycle of space systems’ ground segments. • Mission analysis, flight planning and timeline development (tool and analysis) • Experience designing and evaluating operational readiness tests integrated with hardware-in-the-loop, and software-in-the-loop simulators. • Experience with operational fault and anomaly management. • Experience with performing system safety analyses including Functional Hazard Assessments (FHA), Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analyses (FMECA), and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) • Excellent verbal and written communications skills, including ability to make persuasive presentations to external custo

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