Senior Structural Analysis Engineer - Loads and Dynamics

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 is part of Advanced Concepts and Enterprise Engineering (ACE), supporting Blue Origin’s mission of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. The team fosters innovation and drives engineering workflows of the future, shared solutions and standards, simplicity and lower costs, and manufacturable design.

As part of a small, passionate and accomplished team of experts, you will help aerospace structures teams solve their most challenging problems via performing analysis on a diverse array of problems, as well as the creation of analysis tools and methods for use in the development of various spaceflight systems. This position will directly impact the history of space exploration and will require your dedicated commitment and detailed attention towards safe and repeatable spaceflight.

You will evaluate and analyze structural systems to establish environments and ensure that hardware is appropriately specified for those environments. You will develops predictions of structural dynamic responses through a variety of analytical techniques, including hand calculations, FEA, and statistical analysis, leveraging off the shelf and home-grown software tools to implement algorithms developed specifically for the application at hand.

You will have the opportunity to support every Business Unit across Blue and develop trends in technical performance as anticipated impact on efficiency and cost to the organization in tool selection, analysis method, and high power compute (HPC) workflows. You can expect to review current systems and create new projects.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Finite Element Model development and correlation to test data
• Modeling, simulation, and verification of applicable spacecraft and engine ground and flight regimes
• Ground and flight test dynamic data measurement and interpretation
• Resource-intensive computing, management of large datasets, reduction, and post-processing of data for engineering applications
• Finite Element Model reduction using Component Modal Synthesis methods (e.g., Craig-Bampton).
• General loads development for launch vehicles and related ground systems.
• Development of mathematical models and simulations for loads analysis.
• Acceleration, shock, and vibration measurement and data interpretation of ground and flight tests

Minimum Qualifications

• B.S. Degree in mechanical, aerospace, civil engineering or physics.
• 8+ years of relevant engineering experience
• High-judgement; ability to generate innovative solutions and understand the balance between engineering judgment versus analysis rigor and when each is appropriate.
• Explicit and implicit nonlinear transient dynamic analysis using LS-DYNA (e.g., landing impact, stage separation events, pyrotechnic shock)
• Contact and interface modeling — complex multi-body contact definitions, tied interfaces, and constraint-based connections for separation and deployment events
• Mesh convergence studies, element formulation selection, and hourglass control strategies for reliable explicit solutions
• 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

• Experience/expertise with modeling fluid and/or fluid structure interaction including ALE and SPH methods
• Nonlinear material modeling including metals (plasticity, failure, strain-rate effects like Johnson-Cook), composites, elastomers, and honeycomb/crushable energy absorbers
• Restart, adaptive, and multi-stage analysis techniques for complex event sequences
• Multi-physics co-simulation to capture complex dynamic systems and control logic
• Mechanism and kinematic modeling in LS-DYNA (joints, springs, dampers, sensors, and control logic for deployment sequences and landing gear systems)
• 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