Staff Software Engineer, BlackSky Global
$150-180k
Listed salary range applies to Seattle, WA only, may vary in other locations. Plus Employee Stock Purchase Program
Real-time geospatial intelligence
Open for applications
Real-time geospatial intelligence
201-500 employees
Open for applications
$150-180k
Listed salary range applies to Seattle, WA only, may vary in other locations. Plus Employee Stock Purchase Program
201-500 employees
Company mission
To dramatically accelerate Earth observation from space for real-time monitoring.
Role
Who you are
- The candidate should have solid experience in developing and deploying production-level systems at scale
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or higher in one of the following fields: computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, or another computational field or equivalent experience
- A minimum of eight (8) years of relevant software development experience
- Fluency in Python, a strong understanding of Go, and comfortable using other languages when necessary
- Expert knowledge of software design, maintenance, and implementation including data structures, data retrieval and storage, algorithm efficiency, and maintainable scalable code
- Demonstrated initiative to identify and solve problems or inefficiencies in your current field of expertise
- Possess strong team and inter-team cooperation and organization skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills with a strong understanding of audience
- Ability to sustain a workload consisting of several concurrent, independent activities
- This position may support programs which require US citizenship
Desirable
- Familiarity with satellite first principals such as orbital mechanics, attitude dynamics, and satellite systems
- Expertise in software/hardware performance characteristic
- Experience with automation of complex systems (satellite, vehicle fleets, drones, etc.)
- Knowledge of geospatial systems or data
What the job involves
- BlackSky is looking for a strong, self-starting and eager engineer to join our Engineering team on the Command and Control team
- This integrated product team is working to develop and maintain optimal, automated autonomous operations for the BlackSky constellation
- Scope of expertise includes software system design and architecture, data structures, efficient data storage and retrieval, software performance and scaling, and efficient maintainable algorithm implementation
- In this role, you will develop and track requirements, schedules, and technical implementation for a wide variety of mission management products and see them through to operation on orbit
- Opportunities will exist for production code development in Python and Go
- As you learn the BlackSky automated software architecture, you will be expected to grow into technical or functional leadership after demonstrated capability for individual contribution and development of expert level of knowledge of the system
- While the locations listed in the job posting are ideal, we would love candidates near Seattle, WA offices
- We may also consider remote candidates in certain states
- Design, implement, and maintain software for the components making up BlackSky’s mission management services
- Participate in design reviews, code reviews, and team planning discussions
- Take an active role in testing, debugging, and documenting implemented software functionality
- Proactively identify problems with requirements (lack of clarity, inconsistencies, technical limitations) and communicates these issues early
- Interface with mission planning, ground software, and platform engineers to plan and execute autonomous constellation operations software products
- Assist with operational tasks to ensure stability in production environments and support ongoing constellation operations and customer fulfillment efforts
- Support on-call rotations and troubleshooting of live system operations as needed
- Support Launch and Early Operations of new satellites
- Other job-related duties as assigned
Our take
BlackSky Global’s geospatial intelligence and satellite imagery business has a wealth of clients across the commercial, financial, scientific, and international government sectors and has a constellation orbiting the Earth which numbers in the dozens. BlackSky both operates and owns its low-orbit satellites and processes the data produced using an AI software platform named Spectra.
Whilst its satellite constellation has become an integral global asset, the Spectra technology is also leveraged by third-party companies that use it for the processing of other sources. This web of aerospace hardware and flexible AI platform has helped BlackSky gain IPO status in 2021, with investment from Osprey Technology.
Spun out of 2009-founded Spaceflight Industries, BlackSky Global has won satellite imaging contracts with the US government and continues to develop its fleet of small satellites. And in Q1 2025, it reported revenue of $29.5M (up 22% from the prior quarter) and over $130M in new contract bookings, indicating the company's growing importance on the global stage.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (2 rounds)
Jul 2022
$4.4m
GRANT
Feb 2014
$1m
SEED
Total funding: $5.4m
Company benefits
- Competitive compensation: We offer competitive compensation as well as 401(k) with employer match.
- 100% health insurance: We cover 100% of our employee’s health premiums for medical, dental and vision insurance with various plan choices such as HRA, LSA and HSA
- Time off: Striking a balance between work and our personal lives is important. We offer 15 days of PTO, 11 company holidays, four floating holidays (pro-rated based on hire date) and one day of paid volunteerism leave per year.
- Flexible work schedule: Need to focus on family certain hours of the day? Are you a night owl? We can work with you to build a schedule that works best for you and your teammates.
- Maternity leave: New birth mothers receive up to eight weeks of paid leave for medical recovery due to childbirth, supplementing employer-provided disability insurance.
- Parental leave: For births or adoptions, new parents are offered paid leave to care for and bond with their new child.
- ESPP: Be part of the growth and success story at BlackSky by participating in our Employee Stock Purchase Program.
- PC or Mac: You select the type of computing environment that works best for you. And, yes, we are deeply into cloud computing.
- Casual offices: No stuffy environment at BlackSky. We want you for who you are, not what you wear.
- On-site perks: Like to work out at lunch? Visit our on-site gyms. And recharge afterwards with free snacks and beverages.
- Team get-togethers: We host events across teams. Learn who your coworkers are, not just where they sit and what they do.
- Unique swag: Lots of companies offer embroidered hats and gear (and we do, too). But, which of them offer mission patches too?
Company HQ
Hunter Mill District, VA
Leadership
Brian O'Toole
(CEO)Previously CTO at Blacksky Global, Founder & CEO at Openwhere, CTO at GeoEye, VP of Product Development at Overwatch Systems, Co-Founder at ITspatial.
Henry Dubois
(CFO)Henry joined BlackSky in 2021 as a Chief Development Officer, moving into the role of CFO in 2022. Prior to BlackSky, they were a Managing Director at HED Consulting, CEO, President & Board Member at Hooper Holmes, CFO Partner at Tatum, and an EVP & CFO at GeoEye.
Lyn Chassagne
(Chief Marketing & Product Officer)Lyn joined BlackSky in 2022 as a VP of Marketing & Communications. Since then, they have held a number of roles and became the Chief Marketing & Product Officer in 2025. Prior to BlackSky, they spent 5 years at Mazar Technologies in various Director roles.
Nicholas Merski
(COO)Nicholas joined BlackSky in 2011 as a Constellation Program Manager. Since then, they have held a number of roles and became COO in 2020. Prior to BlackSky they spent over 6 years in the United States Air Force, joining as a Satellite Program Manager before becoming an Advanced Systems Lead and then Engineering Division Chief.
Patrick O'Neil
(CTO)Patrick joined BlackSky in 2015 as a Chief Data Scientist, they then moved into the role of Chief Innovation Officer in 2022 and CTO in 2023.
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