Staff Software Engineer, Image Operations

Summary

Join BlackSky, a real-time intelligence company, as a Staff Software Engineer in Image Operations and contribute to the development and maintenance of our core image processing system. You will design and implement new features, lead testing and development of automated processes, and provide insightful feedback during design sessions. This role requires expertise in Python, asyncio, cloud computing, and agile methodologies. You will also mentor junior engineers and collaborate with stakeholders across the company. The position requires a minimum of 10 years of professional software development experience and a Bachelor's degree in a related field. US citizenship is required due to government regulations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience
• A minimum of 10 years of professional software development experience
• Prior experience in processing geospatial or astronomical imagery using libraries such as NumPy, Pandas, OpenCV, GDAL, etc
• Experience participating in an enterprise software development environment
• Extensive expertise in Python and asyncio methodologies
• Experience with cloud and cloud-like computing environments (AWS Batch / AWS Lambda, Kubernetes / ARGO)
• Expertise in agile development methodologies, git, CI/CD
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and an ability to articulate technical concepts clearly and succinctly
• The program this role supports requires being a US-born citizen

Responsibilities

• Independently design and implement new features and updates for the components making up BlackSky’s core image processing system
• Take an active role in testing, debugging, and documented implemented software functionality
• Lead the testing and development of automated processes for monitoring service quality and regression testing of the image processing system
• Participate in and provide insightful feedback during design sessions and regular team status. meetings to help identify issues before they make it through development to production
• Analyze and provide input on designs with an eye towards creating scalable, maintainable, and performant software solutions
• Assist with operational tasks to ensure stability in production environments
• Proactively identify problems with requirements (lack of clarity, inconsistencies, technical limitations) and communicates these issues early
• Mentor engineers and scientists on best software development practices and performance
• Engage with stakeholders from across BlackSky’s architecture to solve cross-functional challenges and maximize the value of BlackSky’s image processing system
• Other job-related duties as assigned

Preferred Qualifications

• Advanced degree in a relevant field
• Experience with OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) and/or STAC (SpatioTemporal Asset Catalogs) specifications
• Big Data experience (Hadoop, spark, kafka, etc)
• Proficiency with C++, C, and Cython (in addition to Python)
• Experience with developing Go applications
• Experience with GPUs

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