Principal Systems Architect

BlackSky

4h•$190,000 - $215,000•Remote

About The Position

BlackSky is seeking a talented Principal Systems Architect to join the Chief Technology Office. This role will be instrumental in shaping and driving the realization of future BlackSky space vehicle ground segment capabilities, supporting BlackSky’s position as a leader in real-time geospatial intelligence and satellite missions. The ideal candidate will have a strong software architecture background and the ability to work across diverse stakeholder sets to plan and execute system and software architectural solutions. This is a hands-on role focused on evolving current systems and technologies to align with future BlackSky requirements, capabilities, and strategic direction. The position reports to the VP, Product Architecture. While candidates near the Herndon, VA office are preferred, remote candidates in certain states may be considered.

Requirements

A minimum of 12 years of related work experience with at least five (5) years in systems architecture or systems engineering.
Bachelor’s degree in an engineering field.
Experience architecting complex software systems.
Able to decompose complex problems into pieces and components.
Familiarity with software engineering best practices and process including agile development, enterprise design patterns, and coding standards.
Experience with Kubernetes and on-premises deployments of software systems.
Experience designing Software APIs, system integrations, and Data Models.
Experience with the software engineering life cycle from product concept through operations and maintenance and toolchains used to manage this process (JIRA, Git, etc.).
Versed in Systems Engineering best practices and tools including communicating, managing, and documenting system architectures, documenting interfaces, documenting and validation of functional and non-functional requirements.
Effective communication skills to represent architectural and engineering concepts and decisions across varied stakeholders including Engineering, Sales, Customers, Product Management.
Experience developing Concepts of Operations and derived engineering requirements based on complex Customer and Mission requirements.
Basic Algorithm or Modelling experience to develop rulesets for system behavior and the productization of high-level features.
Proficient in Golang, C++, or Python.
Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a US Security Clearance (this requires US Citizenship).

Nice To Haves

A minimum of 15 years of related work experience with at least five (5) years in systems architecture or systems engineering.
Experience developing software systems for on-premises air-gapped environments.
Experience with component(s) of the ground segment for satellite systems including command and control, mission planning, ground stations, flight software, order management, image production, or AI/ML or analogous systems.
Former software engineering and software architecture experience for production systems, especially for space, command and control, mission planning, or data processing.
Hands on experience with DevOps and Kubernetes infrastructure and deployments.
Master’s degree in engineering.

Responsibilities

Develop and own the productized software architecture for the ground segment for customer satellite missions and programs.
Architect, design, and manage software requirements and design for As-Is and Target architectures for systems and sub-systems within BlackSky’s Ground Segment.
Distill unified requirements and system design across disparate major customers and programs, product roadmap, and BlackSky Strategic vision.
Communicate with internal and external stakeholders and translate requirements into engineering specifications within the BlackSky architecture.
Understand the interactions between systems, applications, and services within the architecture and evaluate the impact of changes or additions including risks, resource, and schedule implications.
Ensure the accuracy and completeness of BlackSky architecture documentation.
Coordinate development and execution across software development teams, systems engineering, and program and product teams to develop execution plans for system capabilities, align development teams, and ensure effective capability integration across space and ground systems and subsystems.
Work with engineering teams on elements of system design including resource requirements, interfaces and data models, enterprise integration patterns, system and sub-system capabilities, standards and best practices, etc.
Support the capture and execution of customer programs by driving alignment with a common missions ground architecture.
Act as liaison between technical and non-technical departments, facilitating cross-team collaboration and understanding on system capabilities and execution.
Organize and track projects, proactively manage risks, manage project escalations, prioritize tasks, and meet specific business objectives.
Collaborate with business managers and technical groups to address important customer issues and find innovative solutions to difficult problems.
Develop models and analyze data to evaluate tradeoffs and support the decision-making process.
Other job-related duties as assigned.

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