Blacksky

Senior Software Engineer, Design in Test (SDET)

Seattle, WA and Tukwila, WA · Senior

Sponsorship not specifiedDetected 15 days ago

PythonGoBackend DevelopmentCI/CDJiraPlaywrightPostmanManual TestingAPI TestingCollaboration

About the role

BlackSky's data enables governments and businesses to see, understand and anticipate change as it happens, giving them the ultimate strategic advantage so they can act quickly.
The Software Development Engineer in Test (SDET) is responsible for designing and implementing automated test frameworks, tools, and simulated environments that ensure the reliability and quality of our enterprise software systems.
Because this role frequently works with physical lab environments, shared test equipment, and cross‑team collaboration, the engineer will be expected to work onsite in both our Seattle and Tukwila offices in a hybrid capacity.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, and maintain automated test frameworks and tools using Python, enabling scalable and reliable testing across services, APIs, and UI workflows.
Build Python or Go based simulators, mocks, and emulators to replicate third‑party environments, network behavior, and integration scenarios for in‑house testing.
Develop, maintain, and execute automated API test suites using Python Requests, custom harnesses, and Postman/Newman when appropriate.
Build and maintain automated UI test suites using Python Playwright, with a focus on reusable components, selectors, and page‑object patterns.
Perform targeted manual testing for new feature development, complex regression scenarios, and defect reproduction where automation is not yet feasible.
Validate functional behavior, edge cases, and system workflows across distributed application components.
Document test frameworks, automation patterns, test cases, expected outcomes, and reproduction steps for defects.
Support and improve internal Python‑based test applications, tools, and services used in daily verification workflows.
Assist in ensuring readiness of builds for deployment and release.

Requirements

Minimum of years of six (6) years of experience as a Software Test Engineer, Automation Engineer, or SDET, with significant hands‑on software development responsibilities.
Bachelor's degree in relevant field of study (or equivalent additional experience of four years).
Strong proficiency in Python, including writing reusable modules, building automation frameworks, and creating test harnesses or tools.

Nice to have

experience with Postman/Newman preferred.
Experience designing and maintaining automated UI tests (Python Playwright preferred), with emphasis on code structure and maintainability.

Benefits

Ensure adequate test coverage for new features, releases, and high‑risk areas.

Company info

BlackSky is a real-time intelligence company.
We own and operate the world's most advanced space-based intelligence platform and provide customers satellite imagery, automated analytics and high-frequency monitoring of strategic locations, economic assets and events from around the globe.
BlackSky is trusted by the most demanding allied military and intelligence organizations and commercial companies to deliver foresight into critical matters that affect national security and the economy.
Our global team works with cutting-edge technology to make a difference around the world and prides itself on being people-first, customer-focused and fun.
This role is development‑focused and centers on building test harnesses, emulating third‑party systems and network conditions, and creating robust automation infrastructure that enables comprehensive in‑house validation.
The SDET develops reusable test code, service/API simulators, and scalable Python‑based frameworks that integrate into CI/CD pipelines to deliver consistent and repeatable coverage across complex application workflows.
In addition to building automation systems, they analyze system behavior, investigate failures, collaborate closely with developers, and validate fixes to drive overall product stability and release confidence.
Typical expectations are approximately two days per week in the office, with flexibility to adjust based on project needs, lab access requirements, or collaborative testing efforts.
This position reports to the Senior Manager, Test and is responsible for all software test activities within the company, providing high visibility and significant influence on test strategy, automation direction, and product quality.

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This listing is sourced directly from Blacksky's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.