Director, New Glenn Program Planning & Controls (PP&C)

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 supports the development and operations of New Glenn, a single-configuration, heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle capable of routinely carrying people and payloads to low-Earth orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, cislunar, and beyond. Its first stage is fully reusable, and the vehicle was designed from the beginning to be human-capable.

About Blue Origin

Blue Origin is committed to building the infrastructure for humanity's future in space. Our mission is to make space accessible for the benefit of Earth, and New Glenn represents a transformational capability for commercial and government customers. As a leader in commercial spaceflight and aerospace innovation, we are advancing the technologies and processes that will enable humanity to thrive beyond Earth.

About the Role

Blue Origin is seeking an exceptional leader to own the Program Planning & Controls (PP&C) function for the New Glenn program — spanning both 7x2 and 9x4 rockets. As the senior PP&C authority for the program, you will set the multi-year strategy for schedule and risk integration; build and lead a multi-team organization through subordinate managers; integrate AI and automation into all of our scheduling and schedule reporting tools; and serve as the definitive voice on program health in company and customer-facing reviews with NASA,

the US Space Force, Amazon, and other stakeholders. You will operate as a peer to Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, and Finance leadership, and will hold decision rights on program-level schedule tradeoffs, baseline change authority, and gate criteria.

What You'll Do

• Schedule & Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) Leadership
• Build and lead a multi-team PP&C organization through subordinate managers, spanning scheduling, planning, and schedule risk analysis across the 7x2 and 9x4 New Glenn programs
• Build and manage relationships with internal and external customers and stakeholders reliant on the New Glenn schedules
• Own organizational design, headcount planning, and talent strategy for the PP&C function, including hiring plans to support increasing flight and production cadence
• Develop managers and senior individual contributors; build succession depth in schedule, cost, and risk disciplines
• Establish the functional standards, guidelines, metrics, and change-management rules that govern PP&C practice across the program
• Develop and integrate AI and automation into the scheduling and schedule reporting
• Foster a culture of accountability, precision, and collaborative problem-solving aligned with Blue Origin's mission-driven values
• Strategy & Decision Authority
• Set the multi-year PP&C roadmap for New Glenn, including the maturity path from current state to a fully integrated schedule/risk environment supporting high-rate operations
• Hold baseline change authority for the program IMS; approve or escalate baseline changes per program governance
• Own "what must be true" decision frameworks and greenlight gate criteria; serve as the accountable authority for the schedule and risk inputs underpinning go/no-go recommendations
• Represent the PP&C function in program-level priority and resource tradeoff decisions as a peer to Engineering, Supply Chain, Operations, and Finance leadership
• Serve as the program's senior functional interface to Blue Origin corporate PP&C, capital governance, and Finance leadership
• Schedule & IMS Leadership
• Own the program Integrated Master Schedule across the 7x2 and 9x4 New Glen programs and upgrades, including multi-level schedule products (e.g., executive/customer-facing and deeply detailed execution)
• Direct critical path and negative float identification, mitigation planning, and executive schedule reviews through subordinate managers
• Establish and govern schedule baselines, change control procedures, and variance/trend analysis
• Set the methodology standard for schedule risk analysis, including probabilistic and Monte Carlo modeling informing rate runway, capacity planning, and contingency strategy
• Own schedule interfaces across vehicle development, production, supply chain, facilities, and launch operations
• Sponsor automation and material requirements planning (MRP) integration efforts to simplify status, reporting, and production-system alignment
• Ensure risk and opportunity action plans are integrated into schedule products
• Program Planning & Controls
• Define and own end-to-end PP&C processes spanning schedule, cost, risk, and performance management (Earned Value Management [EVM] or equivalent) across both vehicle generations
• Establish the single source of truth integrating supply chain, facilities, and production readiness milestones
• Own rolling forecasts and earned value reporting supporting program health visibility to executive leadership
• Ensure alignment with operations teams and production systems without duplication
• Executive & Customer Engagement
• Serve as the accountable schedule and program-controls authority in executive and customer briefings
• Own schedule health packages, negative float summaries, cadence updates, and risk assessments presented to senior leadership and external stakeholders
• Provide the defensible, data-driven basis for decision memos and go/no-go recommendations
• Represent Blue Origin PP&C posture directly to government and commercial customer leadership
• Partner with enterprise and business unit technology leadership to mature schedule tooling and capability

What You Bring

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, or related technical field (or equivalent professional experience)
• 14+ years of program planning, scheduling, or PP&C experience in aerospace, defense, or other complex hardware/manufacturing programs
• 8+ years of leadership experience, including 3+ years managing managers or leading multi-team functions
• Demonstrated experience standing up or substantially maturing a PP&C function at program or enterprise scale
• Deep expertise in IMS development, critical path method, and schedule risk analysis (Monte Carlo or similar)
• Proven experience as the accountable functional authority in executive and external customer forums
• Experience owning functional budget and headcount planning (new)
• Strong proficiency with scheduling tools (Primavera P6, MS Project, or OPP) and PP&C/EVM systems
• Demonstrated ability to operate in high-ambition, fast-paced environments balancing cost, schedule, and technical tradeoffs
• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and cross-functional collaboration skills

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting both a legacy/production vehicle program and a next-generation development program simultaneously
• Familiarity with launch vehicle or spacecraft production environments, high-rate manufacturing ramp-up, or similar complex first-of-a-kind industrial scale-up
• Experience with capital planning, value engineering, and facility/production capacity planning
• Knowledge of NASA or government contracting processes, regulations and customer requirements
• Active or eligible for a security clearance
• PMP, IPMP, or similar program management certification

What Success Looks Like in This Role

A single, trusted, fully integrated and defensible IMS across cadence and development programs that leadership and customers rely on for decision-making and confidence

Reduced schedule surprises through proactive critical path and negative float management, enabling predictable program execution; using AI and automation tools to efficiently capture and communicate schedule

A mature, scalable PP&C organization led by a developed management bench scalable PP&C organization capable of supporting increasing flight/production cadence without loss of rigor or visibility

Strong cross-functional trust and alignment between Program, Engineering, Supply Chain, Quality, Facilities, and Operations

Demonstrated ability to influence executive decision-making through clear, data-driven schedule and risk communication

A team of engaged, skilled planners and controls professionals who take ownership of program health and continuous improvement and work to a standard set of guidelines, metrics and change management rules

Base Pay Range for:

• WA applicants is $203,165.00 - $284,430.30
• 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