Principal Systems Integrator

Application close date:

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We’re working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight! 

The TeraWave Chief Systems Architecture (CSA) Office owns the integrated technical picture for a multi-thousand-satellite communications constellation — system-level requirements, reference missions, physics-based system models, standards, and architecture compliance. Leverage comes from artifact ownership, clear decision rights, and domain architect engagement across all VP organizations.

As the Principal Systems Integrator, you will be the operational engine that drives system-level decisions from identification to closure. You will own the cadence and rigor of periodic architecture compliance reviews, track the system-level implications of technical changes, maintain the architecture trades log, and ensure cross-functional trade teams converge on documented outcomes. You are the person who ensures nothing stalls — pulling inputs from domain architects, assembling the right people when a trade needs closing, and maintaining the artifacts that give the program a current, honest picture of its technical state.

This is not a domain architecture role, nor is it a program management role. You will work across all domains — spacecraft, payload, silicon, software, ground, and operations — with enough technical depth to judge when a decision is well-founded versus when it needs more analysis before it can close. The distinction matters: this role requires the ability to challenge technical conclusions, not just track their status.

The role carries an explicit dual mandate, balanced approximately 70/30. The majority of your time drives current-system integration — compliance reviews, trades, and decision closure. The remaining allocation is dedicated to forward-looking concept work: rapid technical feasibility assessments for new business ideas, constellation evolution paths, or novel mission applications. This work must be executed quickly and honestly, without creating demand on domain engineering teams. We intend to hire a small cohort into this role, deliberately assembling complementary technical backgrounds so the group can collectively span the breadth of the system and self-form into lightweight study teams for concept assessments.

If you thrive on driving clarity in complex technical programs, excel at getting cross-functional teams to converge, and want a role that balances execution rigor with the creative challenge of evaluating what comes next, we would love to hear from you.

Special Considerations

- Relocation provided
- Travel expected up to 10% of the time

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

**System Integration & Architecture Compliance (~70%)**

- Drive periodic architecture compliance reviews through preparation, execution, and action closure — assembling inputs from domain architects and VP organizations, identifying gaps against top-level system requirements, and tracking resolution.
- Own the architecture trades log: ensure trades are scoped, staffed, converged, and documented per standards.
- Monitor whether accumulated technical changes and requirement relaxations are collectively eroding top-level system compliance; flag cumulative drift that may not be visible at the individual-decision level.
- Maintain the system-level artifact suite — architecture summary documents, technical risk register, performance budget inventory, and decision records — keeping them current and accessible.
- Coordinate cross-functional trade teams assembled from VP organizations: define the question, drive the work, ensure convergence, and document outcomes.
- Bridge outputs from the program's integrated system models (physics, network, and operations simulations) to architectural decisions — translating analytical results into actionable inputs for compliance reviews and trade closure.
- Identify when domain architect inputs are missing or stale and drive engagement to close gaps before they become program surprises.
- Support the CSA in preparing system-level positions for executive design reviews, risk reviews, and program-level decision forums.

**Forward-Looking Concept & Feasibility Work (~30%)**

- Conduct rapid technical feasibility assessments for new business concepts, constellation evolution scenarios, or novel mission applications — providing the CSA and product leadership with defensible go/no-go inputs without creating demand on domain engineering teams.
- Collaborate with other Principal Systems Integrators to self-form into small, multidisciplinary study teams for concept work, leveraging the group's aggregate domain coverage to produce integrated assessments.
- Translate early-stage concept questions into structured feasibility frameworks — identifying the binding technical constraints, required modeling fidelity, and key assumptions that must hold for a concept to be viable.
- Produce concise concept assessment artifacts suitable for executive decision-making — clearly distinguishing "definitely won't work" from "could work if these assumptions hold" from "viable with defined investment."

Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in engineering, physics, or equivalent technical field; master's degree preferred.
- 10+ years of systems engineering experience in complex multi-domain programs (space, defense, telecommunications, aviation, or electric vehicles).
- Demonstrated experience driving trade studies, design reviews, or architecture decisions to closure across organizational boundaries.
- Strong technical writing skills — architecture documents, compliance assessments, and decision records.
- Sufficient technical breadth across multiple domains (spacecraft, payload, software, ground systems) to independently assess whether a technical conclusion is sound, not merely whether it has been documented.
- Ability to produce rapid, structured feasibility assessments under ambiguity — distinguishing binding constraints from open trades without requiring full program-level analysis.
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to drive convergence among senior technical staff across organizations.

Desired:

- 15+ years in systems engineering roles with increasing scope across satellite or constellation programs.

- Demonstrated proficiency in leveraging AI-assisted tools to accelerate documentation, analysis, and program coordination at scale.
- Experience in architecture governance — compliance review boards, change control, or equivalent mechanisms for periodically re-attesting that the system still meets its top-level objectives.
- Familiarity with integrated system modeling environments (mission simulation, link budgets, orbital mechanics) and their use in informing architecture trades.
- Experience in advanced concepts, new business development support, or pre-Phase A mission studies where speed and intellectual honesty matter more than design maturity.
- Depth in at least one and breadth across several of: RF/communications link analysis, orbital mechanics and constellation design, spacecraft bus disciplines, ground system architecture, or network/software architecture — enabling productive collaboration within a multidisciplinary peer group.
- Experience with space sustainability, debris mitigation, or regulatory compliance architecture.
- Background in configuration management and technical baseline control for large-scale programs.

Base Pay Range for:

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.