Reliability Engineer - Satellite & Payloads - TeraWave Verified today

About TeraWave

Blue Origin is developing 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).

The Role

As the TeraWave Reliability Engineer for Satellite and Payloads, you will serve as the hardware reliability technical focal point across spacecraft bus electronics, RF and optical payload hardware, avionics, electrical power systems, propulsion electronics, GNC hardware, thermal-control hardware, structures and mechanisms, harnesses, connectors, and EEE parts.

You will translate mission availability and lifetime objectives into actionable hardware reliability requirements, analyses, design decisions, and verification evidence across a high-rate constellation product lifecycle.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, maintain, and execute the TeraWave hardware reliability and maintainability approach across satellites, spacecraft bus systems, and RF and optical payload hardware, aligned with program mission-success objectives
• Derive and allocate quantitative reliability, availability, and mission-life requirements from system objectives to spacecraft and payload hardware, LRUs, CCAs, EEE parts, mechanisms, harnesses, and critical hardware interfaces
• Build and maintain reliability block diagrams, functional failure analyses, FMEAs/FMECAs, fault trees, critical-item lists, and single-point-failure assessments for nominal, degraded, contingency, and safe-mode operations
• Partner with system and hardware subsystem architects to improve design robustness through derating, redundancy, cross-strapping, electrical and mechanical isolation, protective circuitry, design margins, parts selection, and graceful degradation
• Perform reliability predictions and sensitivity studies using appropriate component, test, supplier, and field/heritage data; clearly state model assumptions, uncertainty, confidence, and limitations
• Quantify the reliability and availability impact of satellite and payload hardware trades, including redundancy and sparing, RF and optical terminal architecture, avionics and EPS topology, propulsion capability, sensor and actuator selection, electrical protection, and hardware partitioning
• Integrate radiation-induced failures, EEE part degradation, thermal and mechanical cycling, optical and RF degradation, mechanism wear, connector and harness failure modes, latent defects, and manufacturing variation into hardware reliability analyses
• Define hardware reliability demonstration, growth, and verification plans; support qualification, acceptance, highly accelerated, environmental, life, and integrated hardware testing
• Review requirements, schematics, drawings, interface-control documents, test plans, nonconformances, waivers, and supplier data for hardware reliability impacts
• Establish reliability metrics and evidence packages for program reviews, architecture closure, PBRs, design reviews, and flight-readiness decisions
• Communicate technical risk and residual risk in decision-ready terms, balancing mission success, constellation availability, cost, schedule, producibility, and fleet operations

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, systems engineering, reliability engineering, applied mathematics/statistics, or a related technical field
• 7 or more years of experience in reliability, systems, spacecraft, payload, avionics, or mission-assurance engineering for aerospace or another high-reliability product
• Hands-on experience with FMEA/FMECA, fault-tree analysis, reliability block diagrams, critical-item management, or quantitative reliability prediction
• Working knowledge of spacecraft bus and payload hardware such as avionics, EPS, propulsion electronics, GNC sensors and actuators, thermal-control hardware, structures and mechanisms, RF communications, or optical communications
• Ability to derive clear, verifiable requirements and connect those requirements to analysis, test, inspection, or demonstration evidence
• Ability to work across hardware design, manufacturing, supplier, test, quality, and operations teams and to present risk to technical and program leadership
• 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

• M.S. or Ph.D. in a relevant engineering or reliability discipline
• Experience with large satellite constellations, long-life LEO/MEO missions, fleet availability, or high-rate aerospace production
• Experience applying NASA-STD-8729.1, MIL-STD-1629A, ECSS dependability practices, or comparable reliability standards
• Experience with probabilistic methods, Monte Carlo analysis, Bayesian updating, reliability growth, accelerated-life testing, or physics-of-failure methods
• Familiarity with radiation effects, EEE parts assurance, derating, worst-case circuit analysis, EMI/EMC, harness design, and materials/process controls
• ASQ Certified Reliability Engineer or equivalent demonstrated expertise
• Experience with requirements and lifecycle tools such as DOORS/Next Generation requirements systems, Jira, Windchill/PLM, Python, MATLAB, or statistical analysis software

Compensation

Base pay range varies by location: CA and WA applicants $156,802.00 to $219,522.45; CO applicants $144,179.00 to $201,849.90. 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 (20+ hours/week)
• Paid time off: up to four weeks per year and up to 14 company-paid holidays
• Performance bonuses (eligibility and amounts not guaranteed)
• Relocation provided