Staff Software Engineer

Summary

Join BlackSky, a real-time intelligence company, as a Staff Software Engineer in Mission Management. This role involves developing and maintaining automated autonomous operations for the BlackSky constellation, focusing on software system design, data structures, and efficient data storage and retrieval. You will develop and track requirements, schedules, and technical implementation for mission management products, working with various teams to execute autonomous constellation operations software. Opportunities exist for production code development in Python and Go, with potential for technical or functional leadership. The position requires U.S. citizenship and is ideally located in Herndon, VA or Seattle, WA, but remote options may be considered for certain states. BlackSky offers a comprehensive benefits package.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or higher in one of the following fields: computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, or another computational field
• A minimum of ten (10) years of relevant software development experience
• Fluency in Python, a strong understanding of Go, and are 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 requires U.S. citizenship

Responsibilities

• Independently design and implement new features and updates for the components making up BlackSky’s mission management services
• 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
• Occasional 24/7 support expected during Launch and Early Operations or Anomaly Response in support of debugging and fixing mission planning algorithms
• Other job-related duties as assigned

Preferred Qualifications

• 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

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, disability, group term life and AD&D, voluntary life and AD&D insurance BlackSky pays 100% of employee-only premiums for medical, dental and vision and contributes $100/month for out-of-pocket expenses!
• 15 days of PTO, 11 Company holidays, four Floating Holidays (pro-rated based on hire date), one day of paid volunteerism leave per year, parental leave and more
• 401(k) pre-tax and Roth deferral options with employer match
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Employee Stock Purchase Program
• Employee Assistance and Travel Assistance Programs
• Employer matching donations
• Professional development
• Mac or PC? Your choice!
• Awesome swag