Staff SW Engineer, Ground & Control Services

BlackSky•Herndon, VA

1d•$155,000 - $180,000•Remote

About The Position

BlackSky is seeking a software engineer for its Ground & Control team, which builds autonomous software to control and monitor the company’s satellite constellation. The team’s systems support high-speed tasking, ground and space telemetry, health monitoring, and low-latency communication with ground stations worldwide. The role bridges hardware-level interfaces and cloud-deployed microservices, contributing to mission-critical systems that keep satellites safe, responsive, and efficient with minimal human intervention. The position may be performed remotely, though candidates near BlackSky’s Seattle, Washington office are preferred. The role reports to the Manager, Ground and Control Services and requires approximately 10–15% travel to support launch operations. The program requires U.S. citizenship. Compensation for candidates in Seattle is anticipated to be $155,000–$180,000 per year; final compensation depends on background and education, and the range may differ in other locations.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.
At least 10 years of professional software development experience.
Proficiency in one or more programming languages, such as Go, Python, or C++.
Experience developing and deploying microservices in cloud environments such as AWS, GCS, or Azure, and in on-premise Kubernetes-based environments.
Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, automated testing, and modern version control systems such as Git.
Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to understand complex systems end to end.
Excellent communication and collaboration skills in a cross-functional team environment.
Prior experience with satellite operations, ground stations, or aerospace-related domains such as X-Band, UHF, or telemetry.
U.S. citizenship is required for the program this role supports.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree or higher in a related technical field.
Over 12 years of professional software development experience.
Exposure to infrastructure-as-code tools such as Terraform or Ansible and container orchestration tools such as Kubernetes or Nomad.
Understanding of system safety, fault tolerance, and recovery strategies.
Comfort working in high-availability, mission-critical software environments.

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and maintain software for autonomous satellite operations and real-time tasking.
Develop and integrate services interfacing with ground station infrastructure and satellite communication protocols.
Build software solutions for satellite tasking and monitoring.
Collaborate with operations, communication engineers, flight software engineers, mission planning engineers, and other software teams to understand and refine technical requirements.
Write clean, maintainable code emphasizing safety, test coverage, and reliability.
Participate in design reviews, code reviews, and team planning discussions.
Support on-call rotations and troubleshoot live system operations as needed.
Travel approximately 10–15% to support launch operations.
Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Benefits

Medical, dental, vision, disability, group term life and AD&D, and voluntary life and AD&D insurance.
BlackSky pays 100% of employee-only medical, dental, and vision premiums and contributes $100 per month toward 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.
Choice of Mac or PC.
Company swag.