Lots of opportunity and chaos - Propulsion Engineer Blue Origin Employee Review

4.0
1 Jan 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

By far the the best thing about Blue are the fellow engineers. There are so many brilliant people to learn from and befriend. The chaos at Blue is an opportunity. Options include: -Change career paths and learn a new skill all while being paid! Learning is the main reason this is a 4-star review. -Identify a missing element in the company and create your own department. -Start a technical focus group. -Get funding to attend a conference or obtain special training in a skills useful to the company. -Propose a new product/invention that is useful to the mission and obtain funding to develop it. -Work 40 hours a week (if you want). -A good amount of free beer and social events. In short, if you look at the company progress as a whole you may be disappointed at Blue. If you are entrepreneurial there are many opportunities to learn and experiment here on the individual level. That, and all the lifelong friends I have made, are why I recommend it.

Cons

-The company is bad at getting things done and frankly is not a world class rocket builder (right now). Lots of risk aversion and bureaucracy. -A good cohort of 'diversity warriors' distracting from the mission. -Management seems to be more interested in designing some convoluted process they can put on their resume than actually getting things done. Management does not hold people accountable or motivate (by carrot or stick) action. -There are weird power structures and arrogance. A lot of management does not listen to 'common engineers' but will heartily agree if an 'anointed one' says that same thing. -Management is mostly 'professional managers' with MBAs from the right schools or from traditional aerospace. -Lots of annoying 'cover-my-ass' big company safety training and rules. -Enterprise software is a mess. 100 different systems none of which work well or talk to each other. -Annuals raises average 3%. If you get a promotion it may only be 5%.

Explore other reviews about Blue Origin

5.0
3 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good team to work with. No complaints.

Cons

No cons at this point.

2.0
19 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

4 weeks of PTO, good benefits, free drinks and snacks available at all locations.

Cons

Leadership is inconsistent and often incompetent, company is very segmentalized and each group operates to different goals and schedules, poor communication with other parts of the company and with leadership. There is an overarching Yes-men mentality amongst leadership, and they often are just aiming to not be the group to be to blame for delays or failures. Personal growth is limited and widely ranges between different groups, there are areas where people see regular raises and promotions, while the majority seems to be told there are freezes or that they will be put in for next cycle. Pay has fallen behind, in the past they used to pay well and above the industry standard, but have not kept pace. Hours can be very long, again dependent on your group, some people may enjoy things like work from home or flexible schedules, but the majority are asked to work long hours and even support roles that could be remote are forced to be on site, despite a lack of space for the number of employees. I moved desks locations and buildings 6 times in 3 years. Re-orgs happen every 6 months, and create significant instability within the company, but rarely bring positive improvements. Good talent is not rewarded, and leaving quickly.

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