Software Engineer, Planetary Variables

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 Planetary Variables Team is looking for a software engineer to help us in our mission to make global change visible, accessible and actionable. The team is responsible for development and production of products built on top of Planet satellite data as well as public datasets. The products we produce are for our clients as well as public datasets for the scientific community.

In this role you will be working in a cross functional team to develop Planetary Variables like land surface temperature, soil moisture or biomass proxy. Together with the team you will make sure that the products we deliver to our customers are scalable, well monitored and appropriate for the use cases we target. You will also be working within a larger software development team that cuts across all Planetary Variables.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Apply knowledge in remote sensing and geospatial technologies to help algorithm and software developments
• Answer challenging questions with data and metrics from our products
• Build and maintain data models, algorithms, dashboards and maps
• Work with the science lead, tech lead and software engineers to improve current products
• Contribute to the product development and suggest ideas for new applications and processes that can improve operations

What You Bring:

• Demonstrated experience working with data and analytic tools
• Good python programming skills in a Linux environment
• Expertise with QGIS, Esri software, GDAL or other common geospatial software.
• Clear communication skills that resonate with engineers, cross functional stakeholders
• A positive, can-do attitude to work

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Ability to debug & triage complex problems
• Experience using cloud-based infrastructure and tooling such as AWS or GCP
• Comfortable with shared codebase workflows and tooling (e.g. GitLab)
• Experience with the Scientific Python Stack, numpy, scipy, pandas  

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

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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