Principal Architect Jobs in Santa Rosa, CA (NOW HIRING)

As a member of the TeraWave Chief Systems Architecture office, you will hold a senior technical leadership role in defining how TeraWave approaches the safe and sustainable use of space - not merely as a compliance obligation, but as a genuine expression of Blue Origin's foundational commitment to preserving the space environment for future generations. TeraWave is a satellite communications network designed to deliver symmetrical data speeds of up to 6 Tbps anywhere on Earth. This network will service tens of thousands of enterprise, data center, and government users who require reliable connectivity for critical operations. As a large-scale low Earth orbit constellation, TeraWave carries both the responsibility and the opportunity to set a new industry standard for how commercial operators engage with space safety, debris mitigation, collision avoidance, and the rapidly evolving field of space traffic coordination.

As the Principal Architect for Space Safety & Sustainability, you will own the TeraWave Space Sustainability Strategy - the foundational program document that establishes TeraWave's commitments, methodology, and philosophy on debris mitigation, post-mission disposal, collision avoidance, and space traffic coordination, and which serves as the technical framework for TeraWave's orbital debris planning . You will steward and evolve these existing regulatory documents, ensuring TeraWave's commitments remain current, credible, and consistent with the program's design as it matures. You will lead the technical contributions to regulatory engagement with bodies such as the FCC specifically on matters of orbital debris and space traffic coordination - distinct from and complementary to the program's separate RF licensing and spectrum activities - providing rigorous compliance assessments against existing standards including NASA-STD-8719.14C and the ODMSP, and shaping TeraWave's technical positions as those regulations continue to evolve. You will represent TeraWave in technical interchanges with other satellite operators and relevant advocacy organizations, and will define the architecture of the systems by which the program acquires, distributes, and processes ephemeris data for both its own constellation and external operators. This is fundamentally an architecture role: you will define the overall system and the standards by which TeraWave achieves its space safety and sustainability goals, and ensure compliance with those standards across the program. Implementation and detailed design of fleet management and operational systems will be carried out by the relevant teams within the broader TeraWave organization, working iteratively against the architecture you establish. You will architect the end-to-end collision risk mitigation approach - from automated conjunction data ingestion through to novel spacecraft hardware and operational designs - always maintaining stringent minimum collision probability thresholds as a non-negotiable foundation. Successful candidates will bring deep expertise in orbital mechanics, space traffic management, and debris analysis alongside the cross-functional judgment to embed space safety requirements into the earliest stages of integrated design - avoiding late-cycle surprises and ensuring our commitments are not only met but exceeded.

If you share our passion for leaving space better than we found it, thrive in a dynamic startup environment, excel on integrated cross-functional teams, are experienced and skilled in several relevant areas listed below, continuously seek out opportunities to learn and improve, and do not allow title or job description to limit the depth or breadth of your contributions, then we would love to hear from you.

Special Considerations:

• Relocation provided

• Travel expected up to 10% of the time

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Own the TeraWave Space Sustainability Strategy, ODAR, and ODM - stewarding and evolving these documents to remain accurate, credible, and aligned with the design reference mission as the program matures, in compliance with NASA-STD-8719.14C and the ODMSP.

• Lead TeraWave's technical engagement with the FCC and other regulatory bodies on matters of orbital debris and space traffic coordination, providing compliance assessments and shaping TeraWave's technical positions as regulations evolve.

• Lead technical interchanges with other satellite operators and advocacy organizations, establishing cooperative frameworks for space traffic coordination and representing TeraWave's positions in industry and regulatory forums.

• Architect TeraWave's space traffic coordination strategy and systems - including orbit selection philosophy, inter-operator coordination methodology, and the systems for acquiring, distributing, and processing ephemeris data - ensuring a reliable conjunction assessment capability across all operational phases and at full fleet scale.

• Define the end-to-end collision risk mitigation architecture, from automated conjunction data ingestion through novel spacecraft hardware and operational designs, always maintaining stringent minimum collision probability thresholds. Conjunction screening and collision avoidance maneuver execution will be implemented by fleet management and mission operations teams against this architecture.

• Establish engineering standards, analysis methods, and tools for debris minimization across the satellite lifecycle, including demisability compliance, mitigation of MMOD-driven energetic failures in critical systems, and passivization strategies at end of life.

• Define TeraWave's post-mission disposal approach, including the relationship between orbit selection, disposal reliability, natural decay timelines, and TeraWave's disposal timeline requirements, and evaluate preparedness for more stringent emerging requirements as the regulatory landscape evolves.

• Assess and recommend TeraWave's approach to mitigating the constellation's impact on astronomical observations, including satellite optical brightness reduction, and identify associated design investments, operational strategies, or industry partnerships.

• Collaborate with spacecraft, GNC, propulsion, power, and operations teams to embed space safety and sustainability requirements early in system design, with the architecture defined by this role serving as the governing framework against which those teams design and build.

• Contribute to the TeraWave design reference mission, identify technology gaps and required partnerships, and drive the critical analyses needed to advance TeraWave's space safety posture and maintain compliance with evolving standards.

• Serve as TeraWave's senior technical authority on space safety and sustainability, providing guidance across engineering teams and representing TeraWave's technical positions to external stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and industry and advocacy forums.

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in aerospace engineering, astrodynamics, systems engineering, or equivalent technical field.

• 10+ years of experience in spacecraft systems, orbital mechanics, or space operations, with significant direct experience across at least two of the following: space traffic management and coordination, collision avoidance system design, orbital debris analysis, or satellite regulatory compliance.

• Deep working knowledge of orbital mechanics including orbit propagation, conjunction assessment, maneuver planning, and debris environment modeling, with proficiency in relevant tools such as STK, Python, or MATLAB.

• Working familiarity with NASA-STD-8719.14C and the ODMSP, with direct experience engaging with regulatory processes and making substantive technical contributions to ODARs or equivalent compliance documentation.

• Demonstrated ability to translate space safety and sustainability requirements into engineering design standards and system architecture specifications across multidisciplinary teams.

• Excellent verbal, written, and graphical communication skills, including demonstrated experience representing technical positions to external stakeholders or regulatory bodies, and the ability to communicate clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic work environment.

Desired:

• Successful candidates in this role typically have 12+ years spanning orbital mechanics, space traffic management, and large-scale constellation development or operations, with direct experience on LEO constellation programs including ODAR development, FCC licensing, or regulatory advocacy.

• Working knowledge of conjunction data message (CDM) formats, space surveillance network products, and commercial SSA data sources and services, with experience contributing to the architecture of automated conjunction screening and collision avoidance maneuver decision systems.

• Familiarity with emerging space traffic coordination frameworks, inter-operator coordination agreements, and bilateral and multilateral regulatory engagements, including experience engaging with advocacy organizations or industry forums on space sustainability or astronomical impact topics.

• Understanding of spacecraft design considerations relevant to debris mitigation, including demisability analysis, MMOD shielding, passivization design, and re-entry survivability and ground casualty risk analysis.

• Background in fleet management or mission operations architecture for large-scale constellations.

• Leadership or management experience with a demonstrated track record of driving technical consensus across cross-functional organizations.

• Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, astrodynamics, or a closely related field with a thesis topic relevant to orbital mechanics, space debris, or space traffic management.