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Staff Electro-Optical Payload Engineer
BlackSkyTukwila, WA or short-term remote · Remote · full time · Lead / Staff / Principal
$155,000 – $180,000
Listed on BlackSky’s own careers site. You apply with them directly — we never stand between you and the employer.
What this role is
This role designs, tests, and integrates electro-optical imaging payloads for satellites, with particular focus on building test facilities and validating payload performance from the lab through on-orbit operations. It suits experienced optical engineers who want to shape the next generation of space-based imaging systems and can transition to hybrid work near Seattle by end of 2026.
Our summary, not BlackSky’s wording. The full posting is on their site.
What they ask for
Required
- At least 10 years of technical engineering experience with imaging or optical systems specification, modeling, design, integration, or test
- Bachelor's degree in optical engineering, physics, or equivalent technical field plus four years experience
- Hands-on laboratory experience with optical test equipment (interferometers, theodolites, laser trackers, optical alignment)
- Proficiency in at least one programming language for numerical or technical computing
- Strong understanding of optical image formation physics and detector phenomenology in visible and infrared
- Proficiency in radiometry, optical imaging figures of merit, and optical system performance modeling
- Ability to develop specifications for optical systems within a requirements framework
- Familiarity with satellite/payload interfaces, CONOPs constraints, and systems engineering
- US citizenship
Nice to have
- Graduate degree in a relevant technical field
- Direct experience with spaceborne optical remote sensing systems
- Direct experience in focal plane array design and engineering
- Direct experience in satellite radiometric, spatial, and spectral calibration
- Proficiency with Python for numerical and technical computing
- Experience in a complementary technical discipline such as mechanical, thermal, or electrical engineering