Staff Engineer, BlackSky Global
Flight Software
$155-180k
Plus Employee Stock Purchase Program. Salary is for Seattle, WA and shown as a bench mark only
More information about location
Real-time geospatial intelligence
Be an early applicant
Real-time geospatial intelligence
201-500 employees
Be an early applicant
$155-180k
Plus Employee Stock Purchase Program. Salary is for Seattle, WA and shown as a bench mark only
More information about location
201-500 employees
Company mission
To dramatically accelerate Earth observation from space for real-time monitoring.
Role
Who you are
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or Electrical Engineering or equivalent experience
- At least 10 years of experience delivering and maintaining commercial/embedded1
- Software in a production environment
- Expertise in engineering clean and maintainable C/C++ and Python code
- Expertise in embedded systems, ideally in Embedded Linux including related build systems (Buildroot, Yocto, etc.)
- Proven experience leading cross-functional teams to deliver products on time and on budget
- Outstanding root cause analysis and problem-solving skills
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to work across teams, skill sets, communication in a diverse environment
- Must be able to work with minimal supervision
- This position may support programs which require US citizenship
Desirable
- Advanced degree (masters or PhD) in a relevant field of study
- Experience in board bring-up for embedded linux platforms
- Familiarity with hardware interfaces (GPIO, I2C, SPI, CAN, USART, PHY, SpaceWire, Cameralink, RS-422), or high-speed interfaces (10G Ethernet, DMA, PCIe)
- Experience with Real Time Operating Systems, including FreeRTOS
- Familiarity with u-boot, or other boot loaders
- Space Industry Experience, and familiarity with satellite components
- Experience working on embedded software relevant to ADCS/GNC
What the job involves
- Join the Satellite Embedded Software Group (ESG) as a Staff Flight Software Engineer. This is a hands-on individual contributor role that reports to the Senior Manager of Flight Software
- You’ll be responsible for software design, development and technical leadership primarily for the satellite imaging payload and ADCS subsystems
- This role will also contribute to software requirements and test plan support. As you grow with the team, you’ll have opportunities to work on other flight software subsystems as well as mentorship
- As a staff member of the ESG team, you’ll make a large business impact across multiple critical programs from design to execution. You’ll collaborate across our embedded systems group and work closely with other cross-functional and program team members, including Satellite Operations and Mission Management
- Provide subject matter expertise for ADCS and imaging payload subsystem software design and development
- Drive work to timely completion using task management tools like Jira in an Agile-like environment; participate and lead in status and standup meetings, sprint planning, tasking, etc
- Collaborate with other ESG software team members and other cross-functional engineers from multiple disciplines to deliver mission-critical software features and bugfixes that are on-time and defect free
- Ensure that adequate documentation, test, inspection, and analysis is delivered and performed to verify compliance with requirements and other goals
- Assist with Systems Engineering with requirements development and management
- Execute and provide feedback for flight software design, development, unit tests and releases processes
- 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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