Flight Controls Engineer III - Lunar (R37719)

This role is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit. To further Blue Origin's mission of having millions of people living and working in space, we are building the sustainable infrastructure for our transport of crew and cargo from Earth to the Lunar Surface. Our Lunar Pathfinder mission will demonstrate the lander’s core capabilities – including the privately funded BE-7 landing engine, precision landing sensors, and integrated power and propulsion architecture – on an early New Glenn flight. The team building this vehicle is rethinking how space systems are designed, with a high-performance architecture, efficient reusability, and rapid design iteration. Join our team and pave the road to a permanent lunar presence!

As part of a hardworking and growing team of diverse lunar spacecraft development engineers, you will join our Flight Controls group within the Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GN&C) section. Your responsibilities will include the development of advanced flight control algorithms, performing analyses and trade studies, verifying subsystem requirements, applying Model Based Development practices to build GN&C flight software, and supporting the full lifecycle of GN&C subsystem design through flight completion.

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:

• Apply innovative techniques to control algorithm development to accomplish sophisticated mission objectives
• Prototype algorithms in MATLAB/Simulink
• Conduct early feasibility studies and definition of subsystem and component trade space
• Perform linear stability analyses using classical and modern approaches
• Collaborate closely with other subsystems and spacecraft systems engineers to support the development of subsystem boundaries, interfaces, and performance
• Define, develop, and implement simulations and tools vital for analysis and verification of subsystem functionalities
• Auto-generate flight software code in a Model Based Development environment
• Perform verification and testing, ensuring the subsystem aligns with its requirements
• Support hardware-in-the-loop testing, system certification, and flight readiness activities
• Assist in real-time flight support during mission operations

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.S. degree in Aerospace, Mechatronic, or Electrical engineering or closely related subject areas with at least 2 years of relevant design experience
• 5 years of proven experience in development, implementation and testing of GN&C systems for aerospace vehicles
• Knowledgeable in frequency domain analysis techniques
• Proven experience in GN&C algorithm development specifically for flight and attitude control using classical and modern control methods
• Robust understanding of controller stability derivatives and stability margins with respect to flexible body dynamics, slosh dynamics, and spacecraft dynamics
• Demonstrated experience with control law design for aerospace vehicles
• Familiarity with development of requirements, interfaces, trades and analyses for aerospace GN&C applications
• Understand the relationship between attitude control, vehicle configuration, spacecraft dynamics, actuators, sensors, and automation
• Expertise in MATLAB/Simulink and Model Based Development
• Robust understanding of software and data configuration management techniques and tools
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Highly organized and capable of planning and completing sophisticated technical work
• Ability to perform in a dynamic, fast-paced, and driven work environment
• Ability to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and participate in a culture of inclusion
• 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:

• M.S. degree in Aerospace, Mechatronic, Electrical Engineering or closely related technical subject area
• Demonstrated technical experience through the full lifecycle of system development
• Proficiency in different control law schemes such as PID, Phase-Plane, H-Infinity, Lead and Lag Compensators, Dynamic Inversion, etc...
• Experience with reaction control systems (RCS), cold or hot gas thrusters, thrust vector control (TVC), etc...
• Deep knowledge of astrodynamics, orbital mechanics, attitude kinematics and dynamics
• Experience with spacecraft control system design considerations vital for Rendezvous and Proximity Operations and Docking (RPOD).
• Experience synthesizing and evaluating Monte Carlo simulations, hardware-in-the-loop, and software-in-the-loop testing
• Experience with real-time flight software and Simulink/Embedded Coder
• Experience in spaceflight GN&C hardware, software, operations, and/or ground support
• Experience with performing system safety analyses including Functional Hazard Assessments; Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analyses; and Fault Tree Analysis
• Experience with collaboration tools such as Gitlab, Confluence, and JIRA