Mission Management, Software Engineering Manager

BlackSky is a real-time intelligence company operating a space-based intelligence platform that provides satellite imagery, automated analytics, and high-frequency monitoring. The Mission Management Software Engineering Manager will lead the engineering team responsible for autonomous satellite operations planning, providing technical direction, managing execution, supporting operational readiness, and developing team members.

Responsibilities:

• Build, develop, and lead the Mission Management engineering team responsible for autonomous satellite operations planning
• Work with leadership to drive prioritization and planning across Mission Management projects with regards to commercial and program objectives, ensuring engineering efforts stay aligned with business goals, customer commitments, and mission operations
• Partner with various teams such as flight operations, flight software, ground software, mission planning, systems engineering, product, and program leadership to clarify requirements, align priorities, and maintain a strong end-to-end understanding of system behavior
• Provide technical direction and architectural guidance for orchestrating constellation activities
• Establish and continuously improve engineering processes including design reviews, code reviews, testing practices, system and satellite safety considerations, and operational readiness
• Foster a healthy on-call culture and ensure effective support of live operational systems, including incident response, root-cause analysis, and long-term corrective actions
• Drive roadmap planning, resource allocation, and execution across multiple projects, balancing rapid iteration with long-term reliability and availability
• Hire, onboard, coach, and evaluate engineers, emphasizing skill development, collaboration, and accountability
• Perform other leadership tasks as required to ensure the success of the team and mission
• Support Launch and Early Operations of new satellites
• Other responsibilities as assigned

Requirements:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree or higher in one of the following fields: computer sceince, mathematics, physics, statistics, or another computational field
• A minimum of eight (8) years of professional experience in software engineering, including experience building or operating complex distributed, autonomous, or mission‑critical systems
• At least two (2) years of experience leading engineering teams as a people manager or technical lead with formal leadership responsibilities
• Strong technical background in one or more programming languages (e.g., Go, Python, C++), with the ability to provide architectural guidance and review complex designs
• Experience developing and deploying microservices in cloud environments (e.g., AWS, GCP, Azure) and on-premises Kubernetes‑based systems
• Solid understanding of CI/CD pipelines, automated testing strategies, version control, and operational best practices
• Demonstrated ability to manage priorities, coordinate across teams, and deliver results in fast-paced environments with operational dependencies
• Excellent communication, collaboration, and conflict‑resolution skills, especially in cross‑functional settings
• Some programs this role supports may require the candidate to be a U.S. citizen
• Master's degree (or higher) in a relevant technical field
• Experience managing teams working with infrastructure‑as‑code tools (e.g., Terraform, Ansible), container orchestration (e.g., Kubernetes, Nomad), or distributed systems
• Knowledge of system safety, fault tolerance, redundancy, and recovery strategies in autonomous or operationally sensitive environments
• Background in satellite operations, ground stations, or aerospace domains (e.g., orbital mechanics, attitude dynamics, and satellite systems)
• Experience with automation of complex systems (satellite, vehicle fleets, drones, etc.)
• Expertise in software/hardware performance characteristic
• Knowledge of geospatial systems or data
• Prior experience aligning engineering execution with both commercial production SLAs and program‑specific requirements, deliverables, or milestones
• To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State
• This role is strongly preferred to be in the Seattle, WA area
• An effective people manager who is excited to guide, coach, and scale a team
• A technical leader who can provide clear architectural direction while empowering engineers to make informed decisions and grow their expertise
• An organized planner who can translate evolving priorities into clear roadmaps, break work into actionable tasks, and drive predictable execution
• A collaborator who has experience partnering with cross functional teams across an organization
• A dependable executor who drives clear priorities, sets realistic expectations, and ensures the team delivers high‑quality results consistently
• A culture builder who values collaboration, inclusivity, psychological safety, and continuous improvement — and actively models those behaviors