Senior Software Engineer, Mission Optimization

Planetlabs; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 163,000 - 203,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Home Office Reimbursement

Monthly Phone & Internet Reimbursement

Tuition Reimbursement

Job summary

Planet is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to own optimization initiatives end to end for the world’s largest Earth observation satellite constellation. You will frame ambiguous problems with data, design solutions, and drive them into production in collaboration with spacecraft, imaging, systems engineering, and product teams.

You will mentor engineers, ensure alignment with customer commitments and SLAs, and deliver scalable software that schedules and optimizes activities across fleets.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• Deep proficiency in Python or a comparable language; design and ship systems.

Responsibilities

• Own optimization initiatives end to end – data framing, design, implementation, measurement against KPIs.
• Design, develop, and maintain mission-critical software that schedules and optimizes satellite activities.
• Define concepts of operations for current and future fleets with cross-functional teams.
• Analyze operational data to surface inefficiencies and justify improvements.
• Mentor or lead other engineers and represent the team to stakeholders.

Skills

6+ years experience

Python proficiency

Problem solving

Data-driven approach

Communication

Mentoring

Bachelor's degree

Ambiguity handling

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering/CS

Tools

Git

GitLab

Docker

CI/CD

Linux

Sentry

Datadog

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:

The Mission Optimization team is responsible for continuously improving the operations and productivity of the world’s largest Earth observation satellite constellation. We identify, triage, and resolve the bottlenecks that limit what our fleets can deliver – from contact scheduling and downlink latency, to collection capacity, to concepts of operation for our future missions.

As a Senior Software Engineer on this team you will own optimization initiatives end to end: framing an ambiguous operational problem with data, designing the solution, and driving it into production. You'll work closely with spacecraft and systems engineering groups to understand what our current and future fleets are actually capable of, with the software and operations teams who build and run the systems you're changing, and with Product to stay anchored to customer commitments and SLA risk. Being as effective at building agreement across those boundaries as you are at writing the code is a core part of this job.

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

Impact You'll Own:

• Own significant optimization initiatives end to end – problem definition, data analysis, solution design, implementation, and measurement of the outcome against fleet SLAs and KPIs
• Design, develop, and maintain mission-critical software that schedules and optimizes activities across our satellite constellations
• Define concepts of operations for current fleets and for new missions and customer use cases, working directly with spacecraft, imaging, and systems engineering teams
• Analyze operational data across the full stack to surface inefficiencies previously missed, and make the case for addressing them
• Act as a technical advisor within the team and mentor earlier-career engineers
• Represent the team's technical position with stakeholders across engineering, operations, and product

What You Bring:

• 6+ years of professional software engineering experience, or equivalent depth achieved through your work
• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field
• Deep proficiency in Python or a comparable language, with a track record of designing and shipping systems that other people depend on
• Ability to take an ambiguous, loosely scoped problem and drive it to a measurable outcome with minimal direction
• Data-driven approach, including statistical analysis and reasoning over large operational datasets
• Effective written and verbal communication with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Experience mentoring or technically leading other engineers

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Familiarity with satellite engineering, orbital mechanics, or the space environment and its operational constraints
• Hands-on experience operating spacecraft or other remote/autonomous systems
• Experience defining concepts of operations for complex systems
• Background in optimization, scheduling, or operations research — constraint solvers, heuristics, combinatorial optimization
• Experience with DevOps tooling and practices (Git, GitLab, Docker, CI/CD, Linux, Sentry, Datadog)
• Contributions to open-source software

EAR/ITAR Requirements:

This position requires access to export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

These offerings are dependent on employment type and geographical location, based upon applicable law or company policy.

• Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with a company contribution
• Generous Paid Time Off in addition to holidays and company-wide days off
• 16 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Wellness Program and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Home Office Reimbursement
• Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
• Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
• Equity
• Commuter Benefits (if local to an office)
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is listed below. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives (bonus and equity). The final salary range is determined by job related experience, skills and location. The range displays our typical hiring range for new hire salaries in US locations only. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

San Francisco Salary Range

$162,600 — $203,200 USD

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

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.

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. Know Your Rights.

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 hiring process, please reach out to [e-mail] or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

AI in Our Interviewing Process

Planet is committed to providing an exceptional interview experience for all candidates. We currently use Metaview to better focus on candidates and less on trying to capture notes. As such, with the candidate's consent, select interviews may be recorded and include a "Planet AI Notetaker" for transcription and summarization purposes. Should an interview involve use of AI interview technologies, the candidate will receive notification and have the ability to opt out both in advance and/or real-time. Opting out will not affect one's candidacy.

Candidate AI Policy

Planet embraces Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, and we encourage its responsible use. We understand that candidates may use various resources, including AI tools, to prepare for interviews and assessments. However, during any live interview stage or when actively completing assessments for this position, the use of AI tools—e.g. Large Language Models (LLMs), deep fake technology, etc.—is strictly prohibited unless explicitly prompted by an interviewer or assessment instructions. If you are unsure about acceptable use, please contact your recruiter for clarification. If an AI tool or similar technology is desired as an accommodation, please contact [e-mail] with your request for assistance. Your message will be confidential, and we will be happy to assist you. Violation of this policy may result in disqualification of your application.