MK2 Crew Lander GN&C Flight Software Engineer - Sr Verified today

About the role

Join the Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) team within the Lunar Permanence business unit, developing Blue Origin's Blue Moon landers. You will develop, integrate, test, and mature navigation, guidance, and control software at the intersection of GN&C algorithms, flight software, avionics hardware, camera and sensor systems, and mission operations.

You will focus on software infrastructure and flight implementation for vision-based navigation, computer vision, sensor processing, state estimation, guidance, and flight controls. You will establish reliable, scalable software patterns for deploying advanced GN&C capabilities from laboratory prototypes through integrated vehicle testing and flight readiness.

This role requires independently driving software architecture and implementation decisions for assigned capabilities, identifying and retiring integration risks early, influencing engineering standards and development practices, and delivering high-quality software and test evidence in support of vehicle milestones. While not necessarily having direct people management responsibility, you will mentor teammates, lead technical discussions, and improve the software capabilities of the GN&C organization.

Responsibilities

• Partner with GN&C algorithm developers to transition algorithms from prototype environments into performant, testable, and flight-appropriate software implementations.
• Design, implement, integrate, and maintain GN&C flight software for the MK2 Crew Lander, with emphasis on navigation and computer vision capabilities, including image pre-processing, plugin or modular algorithm architectures, camera interfaces, telemetry, command interfaces, and integration with core flight software.
• Work closely with avionics, embedded software, payload, and flight hardware teams to define camera, sensor, driver, API, communications, timing, synchronization, and data handling.
• Develop hardware-in-the-loop, software-in-the-loop, and laboratory test capabilities that support repeatable validation of GN&C and VBN performance across representative sensors, compute hardware, and mission scenarios.
• Establish robust flight software engineering practices, including automated builds, static analysis, unit and integration testing, code coverage, regression testing, fuzz testing, continuous integration pipelines, configuration control, and acceptance-test planning.
• Contribute to the maturation of software toward safety-critical and human-spaceflight standards, including requirements traceability, verification planning, fault handling, deterministic behavior, and clear interface definitions.
• Mentor and technically guide less experienced engineers in software design, debugging, code review, testing strategy, and disciplined development practices.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in computer science, computer engineering, aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, or a related technical field.
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including substantial experience with embedded, real-time, robotics, aerospace, autonomous-system, or other high-reliability software.
• Production-quality software development in C/C++ and Rust; ability to work effectively in mixed-language software environments.
• Experience integrating software with physical hardware, sensors, embedded compute systems, drivers, and communications interfaces.
• Demonstrated experience designing software architectures, APIs, modular interfaces, and testable systems for complex technical products.
• Strong understanding of software verification practices, including unit testing, integration testing, automated build and test pipelines, code review, debugging, and root-cause analysis.
• Ability to work effectively across algorithm, hardware, systems engineering, test, and software groups.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate technical decisions, risks, and tradeoffs to diverse engineering stakeholders.
• Ability to earn trust through hands-on technical contribution, constructive mentorship, and disciplined engineering execution.
• 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

• Experience with GN&C, navigation, state estimation, sensor fusion, visual odometry, computer vision, terrain relative navigation, robotics, or autonomous vehicles.
• Experience deploying computer vision or machine perception capabilities on embedded or flight-like computing hardware.
• Experience with cFS/cFE, flight software frameworks, real-time operating systems, or spacecraft avionics software.
• Experience developing camera drivers, image acquisition pipelines, camera calibration workflows, or time-synchronized multi-sensor systems.
• Familiarity with spacecraft flight software lifecycle practices, including requirements-based verification, qualification testing, safety-critical development, and mission assurance expectations.
• Experience with hardware-in-the-loop testing, simulation, test automation, or lab infrastructure development.
• Demonstrated use of C++ and Rust in embedded, systems, aerospace, or high-reliability applications.
• Familiarity with software security and robustness practices such as fuzz testing, memory-safety analysis, static analysis, dependency management, and secure build pipelines.
• Experience with lunar, planetary, spacecraft, or human-spaceflight programs.
• Experience serving as a senior technical mentor, technical lead, or engineering coach while remaining primarily hands-on.

Compensation and Benefits

Base pay range for Colorado applicants: $181,626.00 - $254,275.35. Base pay range for Washington applicants: $197,529.00 - $276,539.55. Other site ranges may differ.

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with company match up to 5%, and an Education Support Program. Stock options for all regular employees working at least 20 hours per week. Paid time off up to four weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays. Employees may be eligible for bonuses based on role type and job level.