Senior Embedded Flight Software Engineer, Communications

Welcome to Planet. We believe in using space to help life on Earth.

Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history. This constellation delivers an unprecedented dataset of empirical information via a revolutionary cloud-based platform to authoritative figures in commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors. We are both a space company and data company all rolled into one.

Customers and users across the globe use Planet's data to develop new technologies, drive revenue, power research, and solve our world’s toughest obstacles.

As we control every component of hardware design, manufacturing, data processing, and software engineering, our office is a truly inspiring mix of experts from a variety of domains.

We have a people-centric approach toward culture and community and we strive to iterate in a way that puts our team members first and prepares our company for growth. Join Planet and be a part of our mission to change the way people see the world.

Planet is a global company with employees working remotely world wide and joining us from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, and The Netherlands.

About the Role:  

The Flight Software Team is responsible for creating and maintaining the guidance and control software for our fleet of Dove, Superdove and Skysat satellites. We also build tools, payload software, radio software and work on next generation initiatives! As a member of the FSW team, you will be working to develop and improve the software that runs our fleet of observation satellites. You will also be designing and owning system components on our next generation satellite technical roadmap. This will involve working with a broad variety of disciplines, including our top-notch payload, electrical design and mission control teams!

Impact You’ll Own:

• Design, develop, test and debug software for our existing and future fleet of satellites, including software for embedded microcontrollers and embedded Linux. 
• Design, improve and promote procedures for safe, remote updates of satellite software.
• Collaborate in cross-functional teams to design new satellite systems, and improve existing satellite systems.
• Implement metrics to track and improve software quality and maturity.
• Build and maintain software tools to support satellite testing and production.

What You Bring:

• Proven history of thinking through complex, interdisciplinary design problems as well as debugging to identify and correct root causes.
• 5+ years of programming experience in C. Ideally, development for microcontrollers and/or low-level Linux applications.
• Extensive C++ knowledge
• Experience with Python programming and python package deployment.
• Strong technical and organizational communication skills, especially in advisory or mentorship roles
• Ability to tackle broad, loosely-defined assignments with minimal supervision in an iterative manner; including, but not limited to requirement development, research, prototyping, design, code and unit testing, integration testing, tool development.
• Comfortable with common open-source development tools (GCC, make) in a Linux environment.
• Proponent of continuous integration and automated testing.
• Familiar with build systems for Linux and embedded targets. Experience with DVCS such as git or mercurial.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Experience with software defined radios, signal processing, and digital communication techniques
• Experience with RF test equipment such as spectrum and network analyzers
• Experience with GNU radio and linux development tools
• Experience defining and measuring radio performance metrics such as SNR, BER, PER, and constellation visualization in real time
• Experience with previous aerospace projects or cubesats.
• Experience in the mobile, networking, medical, robotics, IoT, or similar embedded device industries.
• Experience with some of our key technical areas, such as cameras or other image sensors, high speed radio communication, FPGA development, or guidance, navigation and control.
• Knowledge of industry standards for software quality practices.
• Cool side projects, great life stories, robot ownership.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

• Comprehensive Health Plan
• Wellness program and onsite massages in specific offices
• Flexible Time Off
• Recognition Programs
• Commuter Benefits
• Learning and Tuition Reimbursement
• Parental Leave
• Offsites and Happy Hours
• Volunteering Benefits

Some Press About Us: 

Our CEO, Will Marshall featured on TED and featured in a Planet Blog

“Planet: Bringing Space Back Down to Earth”

Tiny, privately owned satellites are changing how we view the Earth features in NBC News

“Planet And Rocket Lab Create Mission Patch To Honor Women In Aerospace” —Planet Blog

Why we care so much about Belonging. 

We’re dedicated to helping the whole Planet, and to do that we must strive to represent all of it within each of our offices and on all of our teams. That’s why Planet is guided by an ultimate  north star of Belonging, dreaming big as we approach our ongoing work with diversity, equity and inclusion.  If this job intrigues you, but you’re thinking you might not have all the qualifications, please... do apply!  At Planet, we are looking for well-rounded people from around the world who can contribute to more ways than just what is listed in this job description.  We don’t just fill positions, we aspire to fulfill people’s careers, most excited about folks who are motivated by our underlying humanitarian efforts.  We are a few orbits around the sun before we get to where we want to be, so we hope you’re excited to come along for the ride. 

EEO statement:

Planet is committed to building a community where everyone belongs and we invite people from all backgrounds to apply. Planet is an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. 

Accommodations:

Planet is an inclusive community and we know that everyone has their own needs. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation during the interview process, please call Planet's front office at 669-214-9404 or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

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