Technical Program Manager, Trade Compliance

Planet; Denver, Washington (CO, District of Columbia); Hybrid; USD 127,000 - 158,700; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Generous Paid Time Off

Paid Parental Leave

Wellness Program

Tuition Reimbursement

Job summary

Planet is seeking a Technical Program Manager for Trade Compliance to join our team in Denver, CO. This full-time role involves driving compliance within product and software development to meet regulatory requirements, such as ITAR and EAR.

The ideal candidate should have 4-6 years of experience in international trade compliance and the ability to understand technical product vocabulary. The role offers hybrid work and comprehensive benefits including health plans, paid parental leave, and tuition reimbursement.

Qualifications

• 4 to 6 years of experience in export controls or international trade compliance.
• Practical knowledge of ITAR and EAR requirements.
• Ability to converse in technical vocabulary related to product development.

Responsibilities

• Drive and enable trade compliance as a structured framework.
• Collaborate with product managers and engineers on product roadmaps.
• Conduct systematic Export Classification Orders of Review.

Skills

Export controls

International trade compliance

Regulatory compliance program management

Problem-solving skills

Agile methodologies

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

CI/CD pipelines

Cloud infrastructure

Job description

Technical Program Manager, Trade Compliance

Washington, DC; Denver, CO

Planet designs, builds, and operates a large constellation of imaging satellites, delivering data via a cloud-based platform to commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors.

About the Role: We are looking for a Technical Program Manager (TPM) for Trade Compliance to embed directly within our product, software development, and data analytics teams. Your mission is to drive compliance so that product and software delivery can continue in a rapid development environment. You will translate complex regulatory requirements into practical, scalable product features and workflows.

Because our products serve a diverse client base ranging from commercial and civil government customers to the military and intelligence community, you will navigate the intersection of ITAR/EAR and OFAC/sanctions requirements (and equivalents worldwide). You will ensure trade compliance requirements are built into our product and software development architecture and deployment workflows to support product team innovation.

This is a full‑time, hybrid role that requires working from our Washington, DC or Denver, CO office three days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

• Drive and enable trade compliance as a scalable, structured framework rather than ad‑hoc requirements, enabling compliance to be built seamlessly into a rapid development environment.
• Collaborate with product managers and engineers to understand product roadmaps and lifecycle, and drive trade compliance requirements.
• Apply a pragmatic, risk‑based approach to compliance. Evaluate technical trade‑offs and guide product teams on how to meet ITAR/EAR without sacrificing speed‑to‑market.
• Manage the contract and relationship with compliance vendors.
• Conduct and document systematic Export Classification Orders of Review (e.g., ITAR and EAR) for complex data analytics and software solutions.
• Establish and maintain rigorous contemporaneous documentation tracking design intent/decisions and their impact on the export controls associated with the product/solution.
• Design, implement, and audit strict technical access controls to govern product development work amongst US and non‑US based software development teams based upon product/software classification.
• Work with product teams to develop Know Your Customer (KYC) and restricted party screening processes and workflows to tie into Planet’s restricted party screening solution and ensure compliance with OFAC/sanctions requirements (and applicable global equivalents).

What You Bring:

• 4 to 6 years of relevant experience in export controls, international trade compliance, or regulatory compliance program management within a high‑tech or aerospace environment.
• Practical knowledge of ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations) and EAR (Export Administration Regulations), specifically as they apply to software, dual‑use items, encryption, and satellite/geospatial data analytics.
• Technical vocabulary: Ability to understand and converse fluently in “product language” (e.g., APIs, cloud infrastructure, containerization, data pipeline architecture) to translate across product/engineering roadmaps and compliance.
• Experience with the product life cycle: concept through development, launch preparation, go‑to‑market, deprecations, and end‑of‑life.
• Analytical, problem‑solving, and creative thinking skills paired with the ability to communicate findings and recommendations.
• Ability to balance tactical day‑to‑day work with forward‑looking improvements to scale operational efficiencies.
• Experience working inside dynamic software engineering environments: CI/CD pipelines, cloud infrastructure, and Agile methodologies.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Ability to obtain clearance.
• Experience with remote sensing, earth observation data, or geospatial systems.
• Experience working with remote, worldwide teams.
• Demonstrated success in optimizing processes and tools to scale development cycles.
• Proactive approach to learning and applying emerging regulatory standards to product development.

Application Deadline: September 17, 2026 at 11:59 pm PT

Benefits While Working at Planet:

• 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)

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.

• New York City + California: $136,000 - $170,000 USD
• San Francisco: $144,500 - $180,600 USD
• US National: $127,000 - $158,700 USD

EEO statement: Planet is an equal opportunity employer and is 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.