MK2 Crew Lander GN&C Flight Software Engineer - Sr

Application close date:

Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

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!

This role is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers and related products. To further Blue Origin's mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth, we are building sustainable infrastructure for our transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the lunar surface.

As part of a hardworking team of engineers, you will join our Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GN&C) team. You will share in the team’s impact on Flight Software as you develop, integrate, test, and mature navigation, guidance, and control software. You will work at the intersection of GN&C algorithms, flight software, avionics hardware, camera and sensor systems, and mission operations to enable robust, safe, and certifiable lunar landing capabilities.

The role will focus on the software infrastructure and flight implementation needed to support solutions such as vision-based navigation (VBN), computer vision, sensor processing, and state estimation, as well as guidance and flight controls capabilities. The successful candidate will help establish reliable, scalable software patterns for deploying advanced GN&C capabilities from laboratory prototypes through integrated vehicle testing and flight readiness. This position is ideal for a senior software engineer who enjoys solving difficult software problems, improving engineering practices, and mentoring engineers in modern safety-critical software development.

The role is expected to independently drive software architecture and implementation decisions for assigned capabilities; identify and retire integration risks early; influence engineering standards and development practices; and deliver high-quality software and test evidence in support of vehicle milestones. This role will not necessarily have direct people management responsibility, but will be expected to mentor teammates, lead technical discussions, and improve the software capabilities of the GN&C organization.

We are looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality to positively impact safe human spaceflight. Passion for our mission and vision is required!

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• •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.
• •Experience developing production-quality software 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.

Base Pay Range for:

CO applicants is $181,626.00 - $254,275.35
WA applicants is $197,529.00 - $276,539.55

Other site ranges may differ

Culture Statement

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.

Export Control Regulations

Applicants for employment at Blue Origin must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident (i.e. current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or gran