Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer, Orbits R&D

planetlabs; Berlin; Hybrid; EUR 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Planet seeks a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer to join a small team responsible for Flight Dynamics and Mission Planning of our satellite fleets. You will design, simulate, and optimize orbital maneuvers and scheduling to maximize imaging opportunities.

Based in Berlin with a hybrid schedule requiring 3 days in the office, you will collaborate with cross-disciplinary teams to advance mission design, automation, and operations for Planet's growing constellation.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of relevant work experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, physics or related technical field.
• Expertise in orbital mechanics and space mission operations.
• Deep knowledge in software development, in C++ and Python.
• Experience carrying out first‑principles analysis and operationalizing MVP solutions.
• Excellent written and verbal technical communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Research, design, and architect new software solutions for mission design needs for Planet's ever-diverse fleets of satellites.
• Work on complex optimization problems with your knowledge of flight dynamics and software engineering.
• Develop and automate tools to assess mission design trade-offs that will define the future of Planet's constellations.
• Collaborate with mission planning, flight dynamics, and ground software teams to improve operations of existing fleets and enable future missions.
• Perform first‑principles analysis to optimize scheduling of imaging and contacts for Planet's diverse satellite constellations.

Skills

Orbital mechanics

Mission operations

Software development

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering or Physics

Tools

C++

Python

Job description

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, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.

About the Role:

As a Senior Flight Dynamics Engineer, you will work in a small team of dedicated engineers responsible for the Flight Dynamics and Mission Planning for Planet's fleet of satellites. The Flight Dynamics disciplines of this team include mission design, orbit determination, maneuver design and execution (with propulsion and differential-drag), and conjunction assessment & mitigation. Mission Planning is concerned with optimal scheduling of imaging and contacts for Planet's Dove, SkySat, Pelican, and Tanager constellations. This operations research problem has a direct impact on fulfilling the business needs for the world's largest heterogeneous constellation of Earth Observation satellites. Your role will involve developing and automating tools to assess mission design trade-offs that will define the future of Planet's constellations.

This is a full‑time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our Berlin office 3 days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

Research, design, and architect new software solutions for managing Mission Design needs for Planet's increasingly diverse fleets of satellites.

Work on complex optimization problems with your knowledge of flight dynamics and software engineering.

Develop and automate tools to assess mission design trade-offs that will define the future of Planet's constellations.

Collaborate with mission planning, flight dynamics, and ground software teams to improve the operations of existing fleets and enable future missions.

Perform first‑principles analysis to optimize scheduling of imaging and contacts for Planet's diverse satellite constellations.

What You Bring:

• 10+ years of relevant work experience
• Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, physics or related technical field
• Expertise in orbital mechanics and space mission operations
• Deep knowledge in software development, in C++ and Python
• Experience carrying out first‑principles analysis and operationalizing MVP solutions
• Excellent written and verbal technical communication skills

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Experience with constellation and mission design trade studies
• Experience implementing one or more of the following:
• Orbit determination and high‑fidelity propagation
• Covariance realism
• Low‑thrust mission design
• Maneuver automation
• Constellation management
• Experience maintaining peer‑reviewed code, attention to quality including automated testing, and continuous integration and deployment

Application Deadline:

11:45p / 23:45 CET on the date stated below. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. This posting may be removed earlier than projected if a suitable pool of applications has been received. For this reason, we recommend applying as soon as you are able to.