Principal Human Factors Engineer - Lunar

About the role

This role is part of the Lunar Permanence business unit, which develops Blue Origin's Blue Moon landers and related products. The Lunar program aims to build sustainable infrastructure for transporting crew and cargo from Earth to the lunar surface.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Human Factors Engineering lead for the Lunar program, owning the full scope of HF activities from requirements development through verification
• Evaluate and challenge human factors requirements; drive simplification and ensure requirements reflect true crew safety and operability needs
• Develop and own HF verification strategy, including mapping requirements to verification expectations and verification events, and authoring verification event content
• Conduct and mature task analyses (TA) and human error analyses (HEA) for crew interfaces and operations, in collaboration with NASA counterparts
• Lead human-in-the-loop (HITL) test campaigns across different environments (e.g., NBL, ARGOS, JSC facilities), from planning and execution through translation of results into actionable design direction
• Perform anthropometric analyses and ergonomic evaluations to support design decisions and requirements compliance
• Partner with systems engineering and design teams to influence system architecture decisions based on crew operability findings and HF analyses
• Interface with NASA's Astronaut Office, including leading or co-chairing joint test panels and other formal collaboration forums
• Mentor engineers across the team and model a standard of technical excellence, clear communication, and inclusive collaboration
• Contribute to enterprise-level HF frameworks, standards, and knowledge resources applicable across Blue Origin programs and business units

Requirements

• Passion for our mission: working towards millions of people living and working in space!
• Minimum of a B.S. in Engineering or a related technical discipline
• 10+ years of industry experience in human factors engineering or human-centered system design
• Expertise in task analysis and human error analysis methodologies and execution
• Expertise in anthropometric analysis
• Demonstrated experience leading human-in-the-loop test programs in safety-critical environments
• Strong systems engineering background, including hands-on experience with requirements development and verification planning
• Prominent ability to influence system architecture and design decisions through human factors analysis and technical advocacy
• Experience working directly with NASA or other human spaceflight customers or operational stakeholders
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex HF findings into concise, actionable engineering direction
• Able to earn trust, maintain positive and professional relationships, and contribute to a culture of inclusion

Qualifications

• 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
• 15+ years of industry experience in HF or human-centered system design
• Familiarity with NASA human systems integration standards (e.g., NASA-STD-3001) and certification processes
• Operational experience in a technology-intensive, safety-critical environment (e.g., aviation, spaceflight, defense)
• Experience developing program-adopted standards, methodologies, or knowledge resources
• Master's or Ph.D. in Human Factors, Aerospace Engineering, Cognitive Systems Engineering, or a related technical discipline

Skills

• Passion for our mission
• Expertise in task analysis and human error analysis
• Anthropometric analysis
• Systems engineering background
• Leadership in human-in-the-loop test programs
• Collaboration with NASA's Astronaut Office
• Clear communication skills
• Trustworthiness and professionalism
• Technical expertise in HF and related fields

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