Title: Principal, Corporate Business Development & Strategic Partnerships

Location: Greater Seattle Area | Arlington, VA

Position Type: Full time

Requisition ID: R62502

Description:

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 Blue Origin corporate functions, providing centralized support across Blue Origin business unit teams, functions, and locations.

The Corporate Development team is responsible for generating, managing and executing mergers and acquisitions, minority investments, and strategic partnerships, and supporting the execution of corporate growth initiatives. Within this team, Corporate Business Development & Strategic Partnerships manages Blue Origin’s most complex, cross-business, and high-impact partnerships, joint ventures, and partner-linked financial structures.

As a Principal, Corporate Business Development & Strategic Partnerships, you will be a senior leader responsible for defining the strategic partnership agenda, originating and leading Blue Origin’s most important and complex partnership transactions, and building mechanisms that scale our partnership capabilities across the company. You will own a portfolio of high-impact partner relationships and partnership theses that are critical to Blue Origin’s long-term strategy.

You will work closely with our business units and senior leadership team by driving industry and ecosystem thinking, shaping and testing partnership theses, leading strategic and financial analysis, orchestrating cross-functional diligence, designing and negotiating term sheets and definitive agreements (often with warrants or other strategic financial instuments), and cultivating deep external relationships with partners, investors, and other ecosystem stakeholders. In this role, you will be an entrepreneurial, highly visible leader who makes convincing, information-based arguments and demonstrates a strong bias for action.

We are looking for someone to apply their technical expertise, leadership skills, and commitment to quality to positively impact safe human spaceflight. Passion for our mission and vision is required!

Responsibilities:

• Partner with executive leadership (including business units and the senior leadership team) to define and prioritize Blue Origin’s strategic partnership and ecosystem agenda
• Originate, structure, and lead Blue Origin's most complex and high-impact strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and cross-business alliances, often including financial instruments, strategic rights, or other structured financial arrangements
• Act as a subject matter expert on partnership strategy, deal structuring, valuation, and partner-linked financial structures, in close collaboration with Corporate Development, Legal, Tax, Finance, and other stakeholders
• Lead end-to-end deal teams from thesis development and sourcing through term sheet, definitive agreements, and implementation planning
• Build and maintain deep relationships with senior leaders at key partners, including primes, OEMs, operators, technology and infrastructure providers, investors, and other ecosystem participants
• Develop and maintain multi-year partnership theses and roadmaps for priority partner categories, and translate those theses into concrete deal opportunities
• Lead cross-functional diligence and integration planning teams, including legal, finance & accounting, tax, human resources, operations, IT, sales, engineering, and strategy
• Evaluate opportunities and risks in potential transactions, including strategic, financial, operational, and regulatory dimensions, and articulate clear recommendations to senior leadership
• Present partnership and investment thesis memos and recommendations for all stages of the deal process (from initial concept through implementation planning), including to senior and executive audiences
• Design and institutionalize frameworks, playbooks, standard term sets, and mechanisms that enable BUs and functional teams to execute partnerships more efficiently and consistently
• Mentor and develop more junior Corporate Development and Corporate Business Development team members, contributing to a high-performing, inclusive, and mission-driven culture

In addition, the Principal, Corporate Business Development & Strategic Partnerships will be an independent thinker who can make convincing, information-based arguments. The selected candidate will be able to work across all business units, demonstrating a strong bias for action. Professional traits necessary for this position include:

• Exhibits excellent judgment
• Has relentlessly high standards
• Thinks strategically, but stays on top of tactical execution
• Expects and requires innovation of her/his team
• Thinks big and has convictions
• Results oriented
• Has the innate ability to inspire passion in others

Qualifications:

• 10+ years of demonstrated experience in business development, strategic partnerships, corporate development, investment banking, venture capital, principal investing, asset management, consulting, or related strategic/transactional roles
• Proven track record of originating, structuring, and closing complex, high-impact strategic partnerships or joint ventures, ideally in aerospace, defense, infrastructure, or adjacent technology sectors
• Deep fluency in financial and investment concepts, including experience with partner-linked financial structures (e.g., warrants, options), cap tables, valuation, and scenario analysis
• Experience leading cross-functional deal teams and driving alignment among technical, commercial, legal, finance, and executive stakeholders
• Highly organized and capable of independently planning and guiding complex, ambiguous, and cross-business initiatives
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated experience preparing and presenting materials for senior executives and, ideally, boards or investment committees
• Demonstrated ability to influence without authority and to build trusted relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders
• Proven ability to manage multiple complex transactions simultaneously in a fast-paced, dynamic environment

Desired:

• MBA from a top-tier business school or equivalent advanced degree in business, finance, engineering, or related field
• Experience working at or supporting a Fortune 500 company or high-growth, venture-backed startup
• Experience working with U.S. Government agencies or research organizations (e.g., NASA, AFRL, DARPA) and with major aerospace and defense primes or key industry partners
• Experience designing or executing joint ventures, complex strategic alliances, or structured strategic investment transactions that combine commercial and ownership/option components

Compensation Range for:

WA applicants is $169,624.00 - $237,473.25

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 (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 company's intent to reward individual contributions and enable them to share in the company's results, or other factors at the company's 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 Origin’s Affirmative Action Plans, or applicants requiring a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in the application and/or interview process, please contact us at EEOCompliance@blueorigin.com. Please note this is a publicly managed inbox. Please do not include any personal medical information in your request.

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