Principal Software & AI Architect, Blue Engines
Southgate, MI - USA
Job Summary
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. Were 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 the Blue Origin Engines business unit where our focus is the design development manufacturing and testing of engines and propulsion systems. Built for multiple uses our family of engines is powering the next generation of rockets for commercial civil national security and human spaceflight.Join our passionate and accomplished team of experts. You will support the Blue Engines business unit by delivering top-notch rocket engines. Youll develop software and AI driven solutions that support our program delivery and enables our business operating system. Your expertise in designing developing architecting enterprise software will be critical to our success.
You will split focus between handson product/SaaS solution architecture (70%) and business unit level (BU)/enterprise guardrails (30%).
Key Responsibilities
Product & SaaS Solution Architecture (nearterm delivery)
- Own endtoend architecture for the AI application: domain model APIs UX/backend integration data flows and cloud/Kubernetes topology.
- Define and implement multi-tenancy and isolation strategy (pooled vs. siloed vs. VPC) regionalization and tenantaware observability/support.
- Establish SLAs/SLOs rate limits/quotas HA/DR and resilience testing (chaos/failover); drive SLO/errorbudget practices.
- Build commercialization enablers: SSO (SAML/OIDC) SCIM provisioning finegrained RBAC/ABAC/DBAC a zero-trust architected entitlement service metering/billing events feature tiering API versioning webhooks/extension points.
- Stand up ML Ops: data pipelines feature store model registry CI/CD for ML offline/online eval harness model rollback/kill switches humanintheloop workflows.
- Security & privacy by design: threat modeling (including AIspecific risks) secrets/KMS encryption at rest/in transit audit logging data retention/deletion PII handling secure SDLC controls (SAST/DAST/SBOM).
- Enterprise Architecture & Guardrails (BUlevel)
- Define BU architecture principles capability map and target state; publish reference architectures and an approved tech catalog.
- Set identity and integration standards (API/eventing) data governance (lineage quality residency) and IaC patterns; create paved roads (golden templates for services pipelines observability security checks w/ auditability).
- Spinout readiness: design boundary APIs with the parent company plan data partitioning and key management enforce cost isolation/chargeback and ensure infrastructure portability with IaC.
- Establish lightweight governance (Architecture Decision Records (ADRs) design reviews fast exceptions) that enables speed while managing risk.
Leadership & Collaboration
- Operate handson with engineers and product leaders.
- Mentor & support engineers on the team.
- Communicate architecture decisions tradeoffs and risk clearly to executives crossfunctional stakeholders and customers; lead technical sessions with design partners.
Minimum Qualifications
- Minimum Bachelors ideally Masters degree in Computer Science with 10 years in software architecture/engineering including 5 years leading architecture for customerfacing SaaS products.
- Strong familiarity with AI and ML concepts
- Demonstrated experience shipping multitenant (or VPCisolated) SaaS with defined SLAs and business customers.
- Deep cloud/platform skills: containers/Kubernetes IaC (e.g. Terraform) networking CI/CD observability performance/cost optimization.
- Security/compliance expertise: threat modeling secure SDLC controls (SAST/DAST/SBOM) identity (OIDC/SAML) and provisioning (SCIM) audit logging; SOC 2 readiness or operation.
- Data and AI/ML systems: data pipelines/governance model lifecycle and MLOps evaluation/guardrails responsible AI practices.
- Product mindset: understands packaging/entitlements usage metering versioning/compatibility and impact on margins and customer experience.
- Excellent communication and influence across executives customers and engineers; ability to create clarity and drive decisions in ambiguity.
Preferred Qualifications
- Built and scaled paved roads/internal developer platforms adopted by multiple teams.
- Experience with carveouts/spinouts or architecting systems for separation and portability from day one.
- LLM systems exposure (retrieval vector stores prompt orchestration evaluation frameworks humanintheloop).
- Experience with regulated/public sector customers and paths to FedRAMP or similar.
- Practice establishing Architecture Review Boards and mentoring software engineers.
Compensation Range for:
WA applicants is $230773.00 - $323081.85Other site ranges may differ
Culture Statement
Dont 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 youre excited about this role but your past experience doesnt 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 a refugee or granted asylum.
Background Check
Required for all positions: Blues 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 10001 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 (CDL drivers only) 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
Benefits
Benefits include: 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% and an Education Support Program.
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 benefits and bonuses based on the companys intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the companys results or other factors at the companys sole discretion. Bonus amounts and eligibility are not guaranteed and subject to change and cancellation. Please check with your recruiter for more details.
Equal Employment Opportunity
Blue Origin is proud to be an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to attracting retaining and developing a highly qualified and dedicated work force. Blue Origin hires and promotes people on the basis of their qualifications performance and abilities. We support the establishment and maintenance of a workplace that fosters trust equality and teamwork. We provide all qualified applicants for employment and employees with equal opportunities for hire promotion and other terms and conditions of employment regardless of their race color religion sex sexual orientation gender identity national origin/ethnicity age physical or mental disability genetic factors military/veteran status or any other status or characteristic protected by federal state and/or local law. Blue Origin will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with applicable federal state and local laws including the Washington Fair Chance Act the California Fair Chance Act the Los Angeles Fair Chance in Hiring Ordinance and other applicable laws. For more information on Know Your Rights please see here.
Affirmative Action and Disability Accommodation
Applicants wishing to receive information on Blue Origins Affirmative Action Plans or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process please contact us at. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.
California Applicant Privacy Notice
If you are a California resident please reference the CA Applicant Privacy Notice here.
Required Experience:
Staff IC
About Company
Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos with the vision of enabling a future where millions of people are living and working in space for the benefit of Earth.