Lidar and Camera Development Engineer - Lunar Avionics Verified today
About the role
You will join the Optical Systems group within Lunar Avionics as part of Blue Origin's Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Moon landers and related infrastructure. You will develop advanced lidar and camera systems for rendezvous, navigation, proximity operations, docking, and crewed applications across Blue Origin's lunar vehicles. You will work through the full system lifecycle from early concepts to prototypes to qualified flight hardware.
This is a deeply interdisciplinary role requiring coordination across internal teams, integrated product teams, and suppliers.
What you will do
- Collaborate in developing lidar and vision-based optical sensor hardware for guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) of crewed and uncrewed lander systems
- Coordinate multi-disciplinary design of lidar systems incorporating lasers, optics, optomechanical elements, electronics, and FPGAs
- Support fabrication and lab testing of prototype hardware
- Lead or contribute to procurement, vendor coordination, delivery, acceptance, installation, verification, validation, qualification, and certification of component hardware
- Develop and execute component-level test programs including sensor characterization, calibration, performance modeling, and integrated on-vehicle testing
- Guide environmental testing (shock/vibration, thermal vacuum) and flight tests to validate specifications and establish sensor performance requirements
- Support design risk analyses, failure modes effects and criticality analyses (FMECA), design for test/manufacture/cost (DFx), and root-cause analysis
- Participate in technology development, mission assurance, safety initiatives, and avionics process improvements
- Communicate development status, risks, and challenges to management
Minimum qualifications
- B.S. in Physics, Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Imaging Science, or related field
- 5+ years working with lidar, laser systems, image sensors, vision-based guidance systems, or related areas
- Experience developing, prototyping, testing, calibrating, and verifying lidar/optical imaging or guidance systems for aerospace, automotive, medical, or robotics applications
- Knowledge of receiver systems and optical detectors
- Understanding of atmospheric propagation, target interaction (speckle, reflectivity, BRDF), and optical link budgets
- Background with multidisciplinary optical-based systems involving complex electronics, signal processing, and/or precision opto-mechanical assemblies
- Exposure to product schedule, cost, delivery, and supplier management
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to reach across discipline boundaries to solve integration issues spanning hardware, firmware, and controls
- Hands-on experience working independently and as part of a team throughout development and production phases
- Ability to earn trust, maintain positive professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of collaboration
- 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
- M.S. in Physics, Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or equivalent
- 7+ years of experience in design, development, test, and operation of complex opto-electrical systems
- Experience designing and integrating sensors, cameras, or instruments for space vehicles and/or space environments
- Experience with optical system design and simulation using Zemax OpticStudio, Code V, FRED, or LightTools
- Knowledge of signal processing and/or image processing techniques
- Knowledge of MATLAB/Simulink, Python, or other programming languages
- Experience with analog, digital, or mixed-signal circuit design including analysis, simulation, test, troubleshooting, and part selection
- Knowledge of signal integrity, power, grounding, and board layout principles
- Knowledge of radiation effects on electronics and space application design
Compensation
Base pay range for Washington applicants: $130,706.00 to $182,987.70. Other site ranges may differ.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance
- Paid parental leave
- Short and long-term disability
- 401(k) with company match up to 5%
- Education Support Program
- Stock options for all regular employees working at least 20 hours/week
- Paid time off: up to four weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays
- Potential bonuses based on role type and job level