MK1 Lunar Software Development Engineer Sr (Hardware-in-the-loop Software)

Application Close Date: Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

About the role

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We develop reusable, safe, and low‑cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. This position is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Origin’s Blue Moon landers and related products, building sustainable infrastructure for crew and cargo transport to the lunar surface. The role will directly impact the history of space exploration by supporting the development and maintenance of the software infrastructure for our Lunar MK1 Vehicle Test Bed (VTB), a hardware‑in‑the‑loop test environment that ensures correctness and performance of flight software, avionics, and ground support equipment.

Responsibilities

• Support the design and development of the VTB software infrastructure.
• Work with stakeholders to understand requirements and iteratively design and develop applications and systems to meet their needs.
• Support VTB integration of the avionics, flight software, and ground software.
• Diagnose and fix software problems at multiple levels, including installation, deployment, configuration, server‑side, and client‑side issues.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of relevant experience.
• Demonstrated skill at deploying production distributed systems to a mix of cloud and physical compute using tools such as Ansible, Terraform, GitLab, Docker, and Kubernetes.
• Strong and active development skills in C/C++ and Python.
• Solid understanding of IP networking concepts.
• Experience with communications protocols and hardware drivers.
• Experience using and customizing Continuous Integration / Continuous Development pipelines (CI/CD – e.g., GitLab, Jenkins).
• Excellent attention to detail and strong task ownership; willingness to perform low‑level tasks when needed.
• Desire to work hands‑on, both independently and as part of a team, throughout the development, review, deployment, and support phases of the software product lifecycle.
• U.S. citizenship or national, U.S. permanent resident (current Green Card holder), or lawfully admitted into the U.S. as a refugee or granted asylum.
• Desired (but not required): Master’s degree in a related field.
• Desired: Experience developing software for hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing.
• Desired: Experience writing software that efficiently handles production, distribution, and storage of large data sets.
• Desired: Strong debugging skills at the software/hardware boundary and familiarity with software verification approaches.
• Desired: Experience leading development of software simulation testbeds for complex physical systems.
• Desired: Experience developing, verifying, certifying, and releasing mission‑critical and safety‑critical software systems.
• Desired: Experience with mission operations and ground data systems.
• Desired: Familiarity with target hardware platforms (e.g., ARM).
• Desired: Familiarity with Real‑Time Operating Systems (RTOS) and Board Support Packages (BSPs).
• Desired: Familiarity with electrical and electronic engineering concepts.
• Desired: Familiarity with aerospace systems and design.
• Desired: Experience with tools such as GitLab, Docker, Docker Compose, Kubernetes, and Ansible.

Pay

Base Pay Range for Washington applicants is $197,529.00 – $276,539.55. 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 company match up to 5%.
• Education Support Program.
• Stock options for all regular employees (working at least 20 hours/week).
• Paid Time Off: up to four weeks per year based on scheduled hours, plus up to 14 company‑paid holidays.
• Potential eligibility for additional benefits and bonuses based on role type, job level, and individual contributions (subject to change).

Culture Statement

Don’t meet all desired requirements? Studies have shown that some people are less likely to apply unless they meet every single desired qualification. At Blue Origin, we are dedicated to building an authentic workplace. If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every desired qualification, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the right candidate for this or other roles.