Abstract: The electron-ion collider (EIC) provides a tremendous opportunity to probe the gluon structure of the nucleon, a crucial missing component in our understanding of the structure of the visible matter in the universe. I will discuss the EIC scientific program through the lens of gluon imaging, focusing on our path towards the realization of an optimized general-purpose EIC detector capable of delivering the scientific goals. I will connect the EIC gluon imaging program to the state-of-the-art current and future quarkonium production program taking place at Jefferson Lab.