Sr. Mechanical Engineer, RF Payloads - TeraWave Verified today

About TeraWave

Blue Origin is building TeraWave, a revolutionary satellite communications network delivering symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. The constellation consists of optically interconnected satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO).

The Role

You will own the mechanical design and packaging of RF payload hardware. This is a mechanical role where thermal performance is a primary design driver, not a downstream check. Active phased arrays concentrate significant power into a small area in vacuum inside tightly packaged satellites, so how hardware is mounted, clamped, and coupled to structure determines both capacity and lifetime. Mechanical and thermal problems are genuinely coupled: improving a heat path is usually also a structural question, and often a manufacturing one.

You will work as the mechanical technical point of contact for RF payload hardware, holding the mechanical baseline and negotiating it across RF, ASIC, electrical, thermal, and spacecraft structures teams. This role has real technical authority over a defined scope.

Because we are building a constellation rather than a handful of bespoke payloads, fastener count, panel construction, thermal interface application, and assembly sequence are evaluated against cost and cycle time as seriously as against structural margin. Manufacturability is treated as part of design, not a separate downstream activity.

Responsibilities

• Own mechanical design and packaging of phased array antenna panels and RF payload assemblies, from architecture through detailed design, release, and production support
• Drive thermal management strategy for high-power-density RF electronics: conduction paths, thermal interface materials, heat spreading, heat pipe integration, thermal energy storage, and radiator coupling
• Design PCBA mounting and retention approaches that satisfy thermal preload, flatness, and structural strain requirements simultaneously
• Lead architecture and trade studies defining packaging approaches for RF payload hardware and carry them to documented, defensible recommendations
• Perform and interpret structural and thermal analysis, including tolerance stack-ups, to validate designs
• Own mechanical interface definition for RF payload units: envelope, mass, center of gravity, mounting and fastener interfaces
• Support structural and thermal test campaigns, including test article definition, instrumentation interfaces, and model correlation
• Serve as mechanical technical point of contact for RF payload hardware, coordinating with RF, ASIC, electrical, thermal, spacecraft structures, and integration teams
• Provide technical direction to suppliers and manufacturing partners on producibility, panel fabrication, and assembly processes
• Present technical content and recommendations at program design reviews and product baseline reviews
• Mentor engineers on RF payload packaging and thermal-mechanical design practice
• Contribute to mechanical design standards and review practices for the program

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field
• 8+ years of experience in mechanical design and packaging of complex electronic hardware
• Proficiency with 3D CAD tools for detailed part and large-assembly modeling
• Experience performing structural and thermal analysis using analytical methods or finite element tools
• Demonstrated experience with thermal management of high-power-density electronics, including conduction path design, heat sinking, and thermal interface material selection and application
• Experience applying GD&T and engineering drawing standards, including ASME Y14.5
• Experience with PLM and configuration management systems such as Windchill or Teamcenter
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with ability to present and defend technical positions to cross-functional stakeholders
• Ability to operate effectively with requirements still in flux, and judgment to make design decisions that hold up as they firm

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related technical field
• Phased array mechanical integration, including panel-level packaging, antenna-in-package integration, beamforming and front-end module thermal design, and tile or panel array construction
• Transient and cycled thermal design, including thermal mass sizing, thermal energy storage integration, and thermal fatigue life assessment
• Heat pipe integration into structural hardware and lightweight structural panel design incorporating embedded thermal hardware
• Experience packaging electronics for space environments, including thermal vacuum, vibration, shock, radiation, and outgassing and materials constraints
• Experience with spacecraft-level thermal architecture, including radiator sizing, coatings, MLI, and radiative coupling
• Experience correlating thermal or structural models to test data
• Design for high-rate production from aerospace, automotive, or high-volume electronics, with a record of taking cost and cycle time out of a design across generations
• Experience leading DFM/DFT efforts with contract manufacturers or PCB fabricators for RF hardware
• Experience mentoring engineers and establishing design or analysis practice on a new program or team

Compensation and Location

Base pay range for CA and WA applicants: $145,188.00 - $203,263.20. Other site ranges may differ.

Employment Details

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin 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.

Background check required for all positions. DBIDS background check required if role requires access to military installations.

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with company match of up to 5%, Education Support Program, and stock options for regular employees working at least 20 hours/week. Paid time off up to four weeks per year and up to 14 company-paid holidays based on weekly scheduled hours. Employees may be eligible for bonuses based on role type and job level; bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change.