Blacksky Holdings LLC
Principal Machine Learning Operations Software Engineer
Blacksky Holdings LLC, Seattle, Washington, us, 98127
Overview
Principal Software Engineer, Machine Learning Operations BlackSky is a real-time intelligence company offering satellite imagery, automated analytics and high-frequency monitoring from around the globe. The role supports the development, operation, and capability evolution of Spectra AI, BlackSky’s AI/ML platform, focusing on automated monitoring and delivering reliable analytics to our growing user base. This position is a key member of the AI/ML Engineering team and collaborates with internal satellite development teams. The ideal candidate has geospatial software engineering, computer vision model deployment, operations, and testing experience; familiarity with satellite imagery or similar datasets; and success working in an agile environment. The role requires independent contribution across a broad scope and a willingness to learn new tools and approaches. Reports to the Manager, Machine Learning Operations. While locations listed are acceptable, we prefer candidates near Herndon, VA or Seattle, WA. Remote candidates in certain states may be considered.
Responsibilities
Design and implement image processing pipelines and software services to support researchers developing computer vision solutions for next-generation satellite imagery analytics.
Ensure high-quality and production-ready Python and GO code.
Participate in the full project lifecycle from requirements development to deployment.
Lead MLOps software development projects, data ETL projects, and software feature development.
Collaborate with management and the technical team on technical roadmaps and implementation strategy.
Own and architect the vision, strategy, and technical roadmap for BlackSky’s ML operations platform to scale with a growing AI product portfolio.
Design, build, and operate robust automated infrastructure for the ML lifecycle (labeling, ETL, training, deployment, monitoring).
Develop and manage processes and tools to accelerate researchers’ work on next-generation AI for processing satellite imagery and multimodal data.
Act as a key technical leader, partnering with stakeholders across teams to streamline production and accelerate AI product development timelines.
Communicate technical strategy, opportunities, risks, and progress to senior leadership and stakeholders.
Mentor and guide other engineers to foster technical excellence and innovation.
Other job-related duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
Minimum of ten years of hands-on software engineering experience with at least four years focused on geospatial imagery.
Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, or related computational field.
Experience designing and building scalable production software solutions and architectures, especially for ML or image processing.
Strong Python or Go proficiency with production software for data ETL, micro-services, geospatial or data analytics, and cloud deployment.
Experience with distributed compute environments such as Kubernetes and Dask.
Hands-on experience with large imagery datasets including image normalization, augmentation, raster/vector visualization, etc.
Ability to communicate concepts and results with customers, management, and technical teams, highlighting actionable insights.
Hands-on experience with cloud services such as AWS (EKS, S3, EC2, Aurora/RDS, SQS, SNS, Batch).
Experience with geospatial and image software stacks (GDAL, Rasterio, GeoPandas, Shapely, Xarray, Zarr, etc.).
Exposure to ML; helpful to have studied or worked with ML, statistics, or computer vision and enjoy collaborating with CV experts.
Program requires U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or eligible to obtain required authorizations (ITAR).
Preferred Qualifications
Over 12 years of hands-on software engineering experience.
Knowledge of MLOps and DataOps as practices.
Experience with databases and data modeling, especially Postgres/PostGIS and Elasticsearch.
Experience with remote sensing datasets and image preprocessing for sensors such as Sentinel, Landsat, BlackSky, Airbus, Planet, or WorldView.
Experience with infrastructure solutions for scaling and deploying models in the cloud (AWS, Kubernetes, ClearML, Nvidia Triton, Kubeflow, TorchServe, Argo, etc.).
Benefits and Compensation
Life in BlackSky for full-time US benefits eligible employees includes medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, and employer-paid premiums for employee-only medical, dental, and vision coverage with bonus contribution for out-of-pocket costs.
12–15 days of PTO, holidays, floating holidays, paid volunteerism leave, parental leave, and more.
401(k) with employer match, flexible spending accounts, Employee Stock Purchase Program, and professional development support.
Mac or PC, and options for remote or on-site work; company swag available.
Compensation The anticipated base salary range for candidates in Seattle, WA is $175,000–$200,000 per year. Final compensation depends on background and education. Pay ranges may vary by location.
Equal Opportunity and Compliance BlackSky is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.
To conform to ITAR, eligibility includes U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency, protected status, or eligibility to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
EEO/AAP/Pay Transparency Statements:
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/OFCCP_EEO_Supplement_Final_JRF_QA_508c.pdf
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Principal Software Engineer, Machine Learning Operations BlackSky is a real-time intelligence company offering satellite imagery, automated analytics and high-frequency monitoring from around the globe. The role supports the development, operation, and capability evolution of Spectra AI, BlackSky’s AI/ML platform, focusing on automated monitoring and delivering reliable analytics to our growing user base. This position is a key member of the AI/ML Engineering team and collaborates with internal satellite development teams. The ideal candidate has geospatial software engineering, computer vision model deployment, operations, and testing experience; familiarity with satellite imagery or similar datasets; and success working in an agile environment. The role requires independent contribution across a broad scope and a willingness to learn new tools and approaches. Reports to the Manager, Machine Learning Operations. While locations listed are acceptable, we prefer candidates near Herndon, VA or Seattle, WA. Remote candidates in certain states may be considered.
Responsibilities
Design and implement image processing pipelines and software services to support researchers developing computer vision solutions for next-generation satellite imagery analytics.
Ensure high-quality and production-ready Python and GO code.
Participate in the full project lifecycle from requirements development to deployment.
Lead MLOps software development projects, data ETL projects, and software feature development.
Collaborate with management and the technical team on technical roadmaps and implementation strategy.
Own and architect the vision, strategy, and technical roadmap for BlackSky’s ML operations platform to scale with a growing AI product portfolio.
Design, build, and operate robust automated infrastructure for the ML lifecycle (labeling, ETL, training, deployment, monitoring).
Develop and manage processes and tools to accelerate researchers’ work on next-generation AI for processing satellite imagery and multimodal data.
Act as a key technical leader, partnering with stakeholders across teams to streamline production and accelerate AI product development timelines.
Communicate technical strategy, opportunities, risks, and progress to senior leadership and stakeholders.
Mentor and guide other engineers to foster technical excellence and innovation.
Other job-related duties as assigned.
Required Qualifications
Minimum of ten years of hands-on software engineering experience with at least four years focused on geospatial imagery.
Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in computer science, mathematics, physics, statistics, or related computational field.
Experience designing and building scalable production software solutions and architectures, especially for ML or image processing.
Strong Python or Go proficiency with production software for data ETL, micro-services, geospatial or data analytics, and cloud deployment.
Experience with distributed compute environments such as Kubernetes and Dask.
Hands-on experience with large imagery datasets including image normalization, augmentation, raster/vector visualization, etc.
Ability to communicate concepts and results with customers, management, and technical teams, highlighting actionable insights.
Hands-on experience with cloud services such as AWS (EKS, S3, EC2, Aurora/RDS, SQS, SNS, Batch).
Experience with geospatial and image software stacks (GDAL, Rasterio, GeoPandas, Shapely, Xarray, Zarr, etc.).
Exposure to ML; helpful to have studied or worked with ML, statistics, or computer vision and enjoy collaborating with CV experts.
Program requires U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, protected individual, or eligible to obtain required authorizations (ITAR).
Preferred Qualifications
Over 12 years of hands-on software engineering experience.
Knowledge of MLOps and DataOps as practices.
Experience with databases and data modeling, especially Postgres/PostGIS and Elasticsearch.
Experience with remote sensing datasets and image preprocessing for sensors such as Sentinel, Landsat, BlackSky, Airbus, Planet, or WorldView.
Experience with infrastructure solutions for scaling and deploying models in the cloud (AWS, Kubernetes, ClearML, Nvidia Triton, Kubeflow, TorchServe, Argo, etc.).
Benefits and Compensation
Life in BlackSky for full-time US benefits eligible employees includes medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, and employer-paid premiums for employee-only medical, dental, and vision coverage with bonus contribution for out-of-pocket costs.
12–15 days of PTO, holidays, floating holidays, paid volunteerism leave, parental leave, and more.
401(k) with employer match, flexible spending accounts, Employee Stock Purchase Program, and professional development support.
Mac or PC, and options for remote or on-site work; company swag available.
Compensation The anticipated base salary range for candidates in Seattle, WA is $175,000–$200,000 per year. Final compensation depends on background and education. Pay ranges may vary by location.
Equal Opportunity and Compliance BlackSky is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or protected veteran status.
To conform to ITAR, eligibility includes U.S. citizenship, lawful permanent residency, protected status, or eligibility to obtain required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
EEO/AAP/Pay Transparency Statements:
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf
https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/OFCCP_EEO_Supplement_Final_JRF_QA_508c.pdf
#J-18808-Ljbffr