Fundamentally a good company, although with room for improvement. - Engineering Staff Blue Origin Employee Review

4.0
27 July 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very fun and rewarding work. We're making rockets, designing them from scratch and seeing our work become real. I genuinely look forward to going to work every day, knowing its going to be fun. Higher-than-average starting salaries for most positions, although software folks can probably still make more at Amazon and the like. Very few jerks. Blue does a really good job of weeding out the folks who are difficult to work with. Very good job security. You're insulated from industry cycles that cause layoffs at Boeing, and from the company going under thanks to Jeff's unwavering financial commitment. The firing rate seems very low, there is no "rank and yank" or the like. Outstanding performance on gender and racial equality. Over the last year, we actually promoted female and BIPOC persons at a significantly greater rate than the average. 1.25x greater, if I recall the data correctly. Good work-life balance for New Space standards. I work ~50 hours a week because I really enjoy what I do, which seems about average for Blue. There is essentially no incentive pay, which is both good and bad. The good side is that there is a relatively low degree of anyone making themselves look good at the expense of others. The bad side is that we retain driftwood too long, and the ultra-hard-workers find their efforts under-rewarded.

Cons

Low salary growth does not keep pace with area cost of living. Unfortunately, people managers have very little say over compensation adjustment, which frustrates our ability to retain top talent when they find their pay falling behind after a few years. Loyalty not rewarded in a financially meaningful way. Company equity only vests if a very unlikely set of events were to occur within a specific timeframe of one's employment, rendering it essentially valueless. Starting with the hiring of Bob Smith, senior leadership has generally been sourced from the traditional aerospace and government sector. The poor technical judgement and slow pace we associate with those sectors unfortunately, although unsurprisingly, has taken root. However, middle management does a good job of shielding technical staff from above.

Explore other reviews about Blue Origin

5.0
23 June 2026
Anonymous intern
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

nice people to work with

Cons

n/a just a summer intern

2.0
19 June 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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