Mechanical Design Engineer III, High-Speed Rotating Systems

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. This role is part of the Blue Origin Engines business unit, focused on the design, development, manufacturing, and testing of engines and propulsion systems for commercial, civil, national security, and human spaceflight.

About the role

We are seeking a Mechanical Design Engineer to join our team in a hands-on, detailed design role built for someone who thrives in rapid development cycles. The core challenge is achieving rotational performance at a scale and speed that has not been demonstrated before. You will design, build, test, learn, and redesign—repeating this cycle to drive hardware from concept to test stand. Success is measured by hardware on the test stand and data in hand, not by documents alone.

Responsibilities

• Own detailed mechanical design of a high-speed rotor assembly including structural members, retention features, balance provisions, and thermal management.
• Develop and iterate thermal management solutions.
• Understand thermal and structural loads on the rotor; translate those into design requirements and geometry constraints.
• Author drawings, GD&T, assembly procedures, and acceptance criteria with sufficient rigor to build and test hardware quickly.
• Define and execute component- and system-level test plans; be present for test operations, teardowns, and inspection.
• Drive rapid design-build-test cycles—identify failure modes early, propose trades, and execute changes fast.
• Coordinate with manufacturing and supply chain to produce hardware on aggressive schedules and rates without sacrificing structural or thermal integrity.
• Participate in failure investigations and contribute to root cause analysis and corrective action.

Requirements

• B.S. in Mechanical Engineering or closely related field.
• 3+ years of experience in mechanical design of rotating machinery.
• Demonstrated understanding of rotor structural mechanics, including centrifugal loading, retention design, and fit/preload strategies for components with thermal sensitivity.
• Proficiency with 3D CAD (CREO, NX, CATIA, SolidWorks, or equivalent) and drawing/GD&T per ASME Y14.5.
• Experience authoring and executing hardware test plans and participating hands-on in test operations.
• Experience with design for manufacturing and design to cost.
• Comfortable with fast iteration: designing to 80%, building hardware, learning from data, and rapidly incorporating findings.
• Must be a U.S. citizen or national, U.S. permanent resident, or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience designing integrated cooling features within rotating assemblies—internal flow passages, thermal interfaces, or conduction paths under rotation.
• Familiarity with high and low-cycle fatigue and fracture mechanics for rotating components operating at high peripheral velocities.
• Experience with composite or advanced alloy materials in high-stress rotating environments.
• Background in rapid hardware development programs with short design-build-test cycles and frequent design updates.
• Rotordynamics experience—critical speed analysis, unbalance response, bearing load estimation.

Pay

Base pay range for WA applicants is $121,023.00 - $169,432.20. Other site ranges may differ.

Benefits

• 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%.
• 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 additional benefits and bonuses based on individual contributions and company results.