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Sr. Solid-State Power Amplifier (SSPA) Responsible Engineer - Lunar Permanence Verified today

Blue Origin · 3 Locations · Space Systems · first seen 2026-09-29
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The Role

You will serve as the Box Responsible Engineer for solid-state power amplifier products supporting lunar communication systems within Blue Origin's Lunar Permanence business unit. You own the SSPA as an integrated product, not a single card, leading a team of card-level Responsible Engineers across RF, power supply, and control/digital domains. You are accountable for the box from requirements definition through design, integration, validation, qualification, and flight support.

This is a highly collaborative and technical leadership role. You will understand how amplifiers work while discussing DC-DC converter topologies with the power supply engineer, telemetry and command interfaces with the control card engineer, and firmware architecture with the software team. You will be the technical integrator and single point of accountability for the SSPA.

Responsibilities

  • Serve as Box Responsible Engineer for solid-state power amplifier assemblies, owning box-level architecture, requirements decomposition, interfaces, and budgets (power, thermal, mass, RF performance) and verification.
  • Provide technical leadership to card-level Responsible Engineers spanning RF/power amplifier cards, power conditioning and supply cards, and control/digital cards, plus embedded software developers.
  • Flow down system-level communication requirements to card-level specifications; negotiate and control internal and external interfaces and resolve cross-card technical trades.
  • Lead box-level design reviews, trade studies, and risk management; make and defend architecture decisions balancing RF performance, efficiency, thermal, mass, reliability, and cost.
  • Own the SSPA integration and test campaign: develop test plans and procedures, lead bench bring-up and debug, direct environmental and qualification testing, and disposition anomalies.
  • Define and execute box-level validation and verification, including RF performance characterization (output power, gain, efficiency, linearity, spurious/harmonics, phase noise), power supply and load transient behavior, grounding, thermal performance, multipaction, EMI/EMC, and command/telemetry functional testing.
  • Partition functionality across RF, analog, digital, and software domains in coordination with system architects, RF engineers, modem/DSP, and ASIC/FPGA engineers.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional teams including systems engineering, mission planning, thermal, mechanical, structures, harness, manufacturing, quality, and supply chain.
  • Support supplier and vendor technical management for procured cards, modules, and components.
  • Mentor junior engineers and contribute to building a high-performance, multidisciplinary hardware team.
  • Prepare and present technical reports, design review packages, and project status updates to stakeholders and leadership.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or related discipline.
  • Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience developing RF/microwave hardware.
  • Demonstrated working knowledge across multiple hardware domains beyond RF, specifically including: power supply and power conditioning design (DC-DC converter topologies, EMI filtering, regulation, protection, load transients, efficiency); control/digital card design (microcontroller or FPGA-based control, telemetry and command interfaces, ADC/DAC, serial buses such as SPI, I2C, RS-422/485); embedded software/firmware development and the hardware-software interface.
  • Experience as a box, assembly, or product-level Responsible Engineer with accountability for an integrated multi-card unit through integration and test.
  • Experience with space-grade or high-reliability RF hardware, including radiation-tolerant and radiation-hardened component selection and derating practices.
  • Hands-on experience with RF and electrical test equipment (network analyzers, spectrum analyzers, signal generators, power meters, oscilloscopes, electronic loads) and box-level test automation.
  • Demonstrated ability to lead complex hardware development projects from concept through production.
  • Excellent problem-solving skills with ability to understand and address multidisciplinary challenges.
  • Effective communication and interpersonal skills with track record of leading and collaborating with interdisciplinary teams.
  • 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

  • Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in electrical engineering or related discipline.
  • Experience with SSPAs for space, aviation, defense, or satellite communication applications, including EPC (Electronic Power Conditioner) integration.
  • Familiarity with RF simulation and design tools (ADS, HFSS, CST, Microwave Office) and circuit/power simulation tools (SPICE, PLECS, Simulink).
  • Knowledge of digital communication systems, spread spectrum, single and multi-carrier techniques, and modulation types such as PSK, APSK, and QAM, and their implications for amplifier linearity and backoff.
  • Understanding of thermal and radiation effects on RF and power electronics in space environments; experience with thermal design of high-power RF assemblies.
  • Familiarity with lunar and deep space communication standards and protocols (e.g., CCSDS, DSN/LunaNet compatibility).
  • Experience with reliability analyses such as FMEA, worst-case circuit analysis, derating, and parts stress analysis.
  • Experience with EMI/EMC design and qualification to standards such as MIL-STD-461.
  • Familiarity with configuration management, requirements management, and PLM tools.

Compensation

Base pay range varies by location: CA $156,802.00 to $219,522.45; CO $144,179.00 to $201,849.90; WA $156,802.00 to $219,522.45. 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%.
  • Stock options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week).
  • Education Support Program.
  • Paid Time Off: up to four weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
  • Bonus eligibility dependent on role type and job level.