Senior Embedded Flight Software Engineer, Tools and Integration

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 Superdove, Skysat, and future satellites. As a member of the FSW team, you will be working to develop and improve the software that runs our fleet of observation satellites. As Staff Engineer - Tools and Integration, you will be responsible for the tools and procedures that make our team effective, including Continuous Integration (CI), testing infrastructure and strategy, and Software Change Management policy. In addition, this role plays a key part in designing and developing our future containerized edge compute architecture, including support for onboard ML/AI. This will involve working with a broad variety of disciplines, including our top-notch payload, AI, electrical design and mission control teams!

Impact You’ll Own:

• Improve existing toolchains, CI pipelines, build containers, software test fixtures, and related tools. Take ownership of related policy and strategy. Specify, design, develop, and collaborate on wide-ranging improvements to the above.
• Design, improve and promote our containerized edge compute strategy and implementation.
• DevOps workflow management responsible for faster reliable software updates and patches, reliable troubleshooting techniques, consistent internal and external methods, improved automation, reduced glitches and software failures.
• Specify and Implement metrics to track and improve software quality and maturity.
• Flight Software server and tool administration, monitoring and improving the networks and servers that host Planet flight software and tools.

What You Bring:

• Proven history of thinking through complex, interdisciplinary design problems at all layers, including hardware debugging, software drivers and application design, protocol and interface design, systems architecture validation, engineering process improvements, business requirements validation and implementation.
• Strong collaboration, listening, and consensus-building skills, with proven ability to bring together opinionated domain experts to achieve a shared goal.
• Strong technical and organizational communication skills, especially in advisory or mentorship roles.
• 10+ years of programming experience in multiple languages and environments, particularly C. Ideally, experience developing for microcontrollers and/or low-level Linux applications.
• Strong understanding of the agile methodology and industry standards.
• Strong C++ knowledge.
• Experience with Python programming and python package deployment.
• 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 building, using, and maintaining toolchains, CI pipelines, and software test tooling.
• Certified Scrum Master
• Server administration experience.
• In depth knowledge of containerization and virtualization technologies such as Docker, qemu-KVM, lxc.
• Experience working with host/virtualization management technologies such as Ansible, Chef, salt, puppet.
• Experience making software build systems more reproducible.
• 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.

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.

Compensation (only applicable for Colorado applicants):

The base pay range targeted for this position in Colorado is: $138,600 - $211,500. This role is eligible for equity.

The actual offer, including the compensation package, is determined based on multiple factors, including experience, location, and other business considerations.

Planet is registered as an employer in many, but not all, states. If you are not able to work from a state where Planet is registered, you will not be eligible for employment.