Space Systems Engineer

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:  

Planet efficiently and safely operates several medium and high resolution spacecraft constellations. Managing these valuable assets is a highly technical feat and the teams that do so consist of skilled engineers from a variety of backgrounds, having collectively worked on more than 30 space missions. Together, these teams support spacecraft commissioning and anomaly resolution, maintaining uptime and fleet performance, lead and execute on-orbit experiments and special activities, analyze spacecraft data, and develop tools and processes to support efficient multi-mission operations. 

Our goal is to minimize manual operator oversight, so a large part of this role will be automating ongoing mission operations and optimizing workflows. You can anticipate working in a close collaborative environment, frequently communicating with hardware and software experts to understand anomalies, develop procedures and shape the way we do operations. Our team is the first to detect and triage anomalous behavior, therefore an understanding of how each spacecraft subsystem relates to one another is important. Expect to be in the middle of it all, as the work of the Mission Ops team is essential to Planet’s success.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Develop a thorough understanding of a spacecraft bus, and how it is operated
• Develop and enhance existing tools to automate operations
• Develop and maintain scripts to aggregate satellite data and generate metrics
• Use existing and new metrics for data analysis to make assessments about the performance and health of the satellites
• Perform daily checks on the fleet
• Identify, triage, root cause and resolve satellite anomalies

What You Bring:

• Bachelor's Degree in an Engineering, Software, or Science related field from an accredited college or technical school
• Software development experience in Python or equivalent
• Data-driven mindset and comfort with statistical analysis
• Self-starter for solving problems
• Team player with excellent communication and collaboration skills
• High motivation to work in a dynamic environment

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Familiar with automation and software development tools (i.e. Jenkins, Bash, Git)
• Experience working with large amounts of data and APIs
• Experience developing, testing, and deploying software

Benefits While Working at Planet:

• Additional company winter holidays and regular global days off
• Remote friendly work environment and flexible working hours
• Contribution to our growth by offering equity options for employees
• Giving back to the community - one day per quarter for charitable work
• Learning and Tuition Reimbursement
• Regular hack-weeks and meetup events to exchange knowledge
• Home office budget
• Employee Resource Groups providing empowering spaces for connection and mentorship

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.

Privacy Policy: By clicking "Apply Now" at the top of this job posting, I acknowledge that I have read the Planet Data Privacy Notice for California Staff Members and Applicants, and hereby consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of my personal information as described therein.

Privacy Policy (European Applicants): By clicking "Apply Now" at the top of this job posting, I acknowledge that I have read the Candidate Privacy Notice GDPR Planet Labs Europe, and hereby consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of my personal information as described therein.