Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer – New Glenn 9X4 Landing Gear Subsystem

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 supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single-configuration, heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to low-Earth orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, cislunar, and beyond. Its first stage is fully reusable, and the vehicle was designed from the beginning to be human-capable.

Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer –New Glenn 9X4 Landing Gear Subsystem

Role Summary

This role supports the development and operations of New Glenn — a heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle. The fully reusable Stage 1 booster (GS1-9E, powered by nine BE-4 engines) is central to Blue Origin's mission of dramatically lowering the cost of access to space through rapid reuse.

As a Sr. Mechanical Design Engineer on the New Glenn Stage 1 Landing Gear Subsystem, you will own the design, analysis, and qualification of clean-sheet landing gear hardware for the New Glenn 2.0 booster. You will join a small, high-performing team of approximately ten engineers driving a design philosophy centered on reusability, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness — hardware that lands a booster and flies again with minimal touch labor.

This is a hands-on design role with end-to-end ownership: you will take components from requirements and concept through detailed design, development test, qualification, and rate production, and you will stay with your hardware through post-flight inspection and refurbishment.

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

Responsibilities

• Own the complete lifecycle of assigned landing gear components and mechanisms — requirements and interface definition, conceptual and detailed design, analysis, development testing, qualification, manufacturing support, and post-flight serviceability
• Design deployable structures and mechanisms including actuators, dampers, latches, locks, and energy-absorbing elements, with explicit attention to deployment reliability and touchdown load paths
• Generate component drawings, assembly drawings, and interface control documents, applying GD&T per ASME Y14.5 and performing tolerance stack-ups on mechanism kinematics
• Perform sizing, material selection, and structural, kinematic, and dynamic analysis to demonstrate positive margin under landing loads, vibration, thermal, and cryogenic proximity environments
• Design for reusability — specify inspection points, wear interfaces, tribological surfaces, and refurbishment procedures that hold up across a rapid-reuse flight cadence
• Drive designs to recurring cost and touch-labor targets, partnering with manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing to make parts producible at rate
• Develop component specifications, support source selection, and manage suppliers through development, qualification, and delivery of flight hardware
• Plan and execute development and qualification test campaigns, including test article definition, instrumentation, data reduction, and anomaly resolution
• Contribute to subsystem safety products — fault trees, component-level failure mode assessments, and reliability assessments
• Support first-time system builds and integration on the floor, resolving technical and schedule issues in real time
• Coach and technically mentor junior engineers on the team

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering field
• 8+ years of experience designing mechanical or electro-mechanical systems for aerospace or comparable high-reliability applications
• Recent hands-on experience taking mechanical hardware from concept through qualification on aircraft, spacecraft, or launch vehicles
• Strong mechanical design and mechanism analysis skills using 3D CAD (Creo preferred) and FEA tools (ANSYS preferred)
• Demonstrated proficiency creating engineering drawings with GD&T per ASME Y14.5, including tolerance stack analysis
• Working knowledge of manufacturing, assembly, integration, and qualification testing, and experience with configuration control of engineering documentation (Windchill preferred)
• Experience specifying and justifying margins and test sequences for aerospace systems
• Proficient in technical writing, communicating complex ideas clearly and concisely
• Demonstrated ability to earn trust and collaborate across engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain
• Comfortable in a fast-paced, clean-sheet environment with frequently shifting priorities
• 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. in mechanical, aerospace, or a related engineering field
• Direct experience with landing systems, landing gear, deployable mechanisms, dampers/actuators, or touchdown/loads-driven design
• Experience developing reusable flight hardware with emphasis on refurbishment, rate production, and per-flight cost reduction
• Deep knowledge of aerospace mechanisms design practice and standards.
• Background in structural dynamics, transient/impact analysis, or shock and energy-absorption design
• Experience with tribology, bearings, bushings, lubrication, and wear in reusable mechanisms
• Demonstrated ability to manage supplier relationships and drive component development through qualification

 

Base Pay Range for:

WA applicants is $145,188.00 - $203,263.20

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, vehicle inspection requirements, CDL requirements (if applicable) and hazardous materials transportation/shipping training.
• Required for certain Job Profiles: Ability to obtain and maintain Merchant Mariner Credential, which includes pre-employment and random drug testing as well as DOT physical

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.
• Stock Options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week)
• Paid Time Off:  Up to four (4) weeks per year based on weekly scheduled hours, and up to 14 company-paid holidays.
• Dependent on role type and job level, employees may be eligible for benefits and bonuses based on the company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.

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, the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance, and other applicable laws. For more information on “Know Your Rights,” please see here.

Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation

Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origin’s Affirmative Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at [email protected]. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.