Manager - Lunar Valves Team

Spacecraft Valve Engineer

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 the leader of a dedicated team of Valve engineers, you will contribute to the definition, development, and delivery of spacecraft valve components. You should be comfortable working in a fast-paced and often uncertain environment, contributing to innovative solutions, while demonstrating personal leadership, technical competence, and attention to detail. You should also feel comfortable leading programs with multiple stakeholders and customers, including Blue Origin's vehicle teams (MK2, Transporter, and more) and be comfortable leading a team comprised of multiple backgrounds and disciplines that are in multiple geographic locations. In this role you will play a pivotal part in the programmatic aspects of project delivery as the single threaded leader for delivering all aspects of your assigned scope. You will manage project execution, ensuring scrappy and cost-effective execution while maintaining a tight grip on all project deliverables needed to meet program objectives. Identifying and mitigating risks are critical tasks, and you'll need to effectively communicate these to leadership and your team. To be successful in this role, it is critical that you have a deep knowledge of aerospace component design (especially valves) that are used in deep space vehicle systems.

You will be responsible for the people management aspect of your team, covering the full employee lifecycle from hiring and development to stringent & thoughtful performance management. Hiring the right talent, fostering their growth, and ensuring they are well-coached is essential for maintaining a high-functioning team. You'll be actively engaged in creating a positive and productive team culture that adheres to all required HR processes and policies.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Manage your project scope by ensuring scrappy and cost-effective execution while maintaining a tight grip on the project deliverables needed to meet program objectives.
• Identify and manage technical and programmatic risks/opportunities. This includes technical, scope (i.e., cost and schedule), asset and safety risks and opportunities specific to program and project execution. Risk management includes identifying, documenting, communicating, developing mitigation plans and collaborating with your peers & program leaders to drive outcomes to program acceptable levels.
• Coordinate and partner with Enterprise functions such as Operations and Supply Chain to drive product cost and meet delivery objectives.
• Track and manage your team execution, and both unit product cost/life cycle cost.
• Create the framework used to develop and drive collection of project data and use this data to inform & monitor key project metrics

• Oversee the full lifecycle of your employees including talent acquisition, employee development, and when needed, performance management.
• Foster an environment of continuous growth and learning, ensuring compliance with HR processes and policies.

• Engage with the team on technical decisions regarding valve design, development, build, and test
• Develop and oversee the technical plan, ensuring it aligns to both negotiated customer requirements and internal design criteria.
• Own the overall lifecycle of your assigned product scope from development through qualification/ rate production and successful cost-optimized commercial flight operations.
• Manage interdisciplinary engineering tasks for overall system success.
• Ensure the quality of engineering outputs, providing technical direction and guidance to the team.
• Support requirement decomposition and allocation, systems engineering, technical design, analysis, and verification/validation including strong management and bi-directional alignment of interfaces between customers and project technical efforts.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Proven track record of leading and managing teams to deliver complex engineering products.
• Minimum of a B.S. degree in Engineering or technical field, or in lieu of a technical degree, must show significant demonstrated experience leading teams designing/ developing complex engineered products.
• 5+ years of experience in a relevant engineering field, with significant experience in aerospace propulsion systems.
• 2+ years of project management experience.
• Basic knowledge across relevant engineering disciplines, including requirements negotiation, design, analysis, manufacturing, testing and vehicle integration.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to effectively communicate across all levels of the organization.
• Hands-on experience with the development lifecycle of valve components
• Experience with working on Cryogenic and/or Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) components used on deep space vehicles

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with resource/budget management and reporting.
• Experience with Agile, IMP-level scheduling, risk management, configuration management, requirements management processes.
• Experience going through an entire design lifecycle for components (especially valves)
• Demonstrated ability to lead change and drive continuous improvement.
• Familiarity with industry-leading tools such as ANSYS, Jules, Windchill, and Creo Parametric.
• Experience in planning and executing test programs for propulsion systems.
• Proven ability to develop and maintain propulsion component roadmaps.

Compensation Range for: CA applicants is $146,352.00-$204,891.75; WA applicants is $146,352.00-$204,891.75 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 granted asylum.

Background Check: Required for all positions: Blue's Standard Background Check Required for Certain Job Profiles: Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS) background check if at any time the role requires one to be on a military installation Required for Certain Job Profiles: Drivers who operate Commercial Motor Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) or combination of power unit and trailer that meets or exceeds 10,001 lbs. and/or transports placardable amounts of hazardous materials by ground in any vehicle on a public road while in commerce, may be subject to additional Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations including: Driver Qualification Files, Medical Certification (obtained before onboarding), Road Test, Hours of Service, Drug and Alcohol Testing (CDL drivers only), vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.

Benefits: Benefits include: Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, paid parental leave, short and long-term disability, 401(k) with a company match of up to 5%, and an Education Support Program. Paid Time Off: Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays. Discretionary bonus: Bonuses are designed to reward individual contributions as well as allow employees to share in company results. Eligibility for benefits varies by role type, please check with your recruiter for a comprehensive list of the benefits available for this role.

Equal Employment Opportunity: Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting, retaining, and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications, performance, and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust, equality, and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire, promotion, and other terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin/ethnicity, age, physical or mental disability, genetic factors, military/veteran status, or any other status or characteristic protected by federal, state, and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws, including the Washington Fair Chance Act