Vice President Defense and Intelligence Engineering

NextGenEnergyJobs; Arlington, Northern (VA, KY); On-site; USD 260,000 - 420,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vis

HSA with company contribution

16 weeks of paid parental leave

Home office reimbursements

Monthly phone and internet reimburse

Tuition reimbursement and LinkedIn学习

Equity

Commuter benefits

Job summary

Planet is seeking an executive leader to drive the D&I Solutions Engineering organization, owning architecture, delivery, and performance for flagship dual-use products in defense and intelligence.

The role is hybrid with offices in San Francisco or Washington DC three days per week; requires 15+ years in software engineering and 8+ years leading multi-disciplinary teams, ITAR/EAR experience, and security-clearance eligibility.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in software engineering and systems architecture focusing on high-scale data, computer vision, or geospatial apps.
• 8+ years leading and scaling multi-disciplinary engineering orgs (software, data/ML, platform, cloud).
• Experience with ITAR/EAR data handling and compliance.
• Architecting and operating dual-use or defense software at scale.
• Active high-level government security clearance or eligibility for top-secret.
• Expertise in distributed cloud architectures, high-throughput pipelines, API infra, and ML integration.
• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in a related discipline.
• Experience building foundation models for remote sensing or agentic platforms.
• Background in secure government environments (air-gapped, sovereign cloud).
• Experience in multi-sensor data fusion (optical, SAR).
• Access to export-controlled information compliance requirement.

Responsibilities

• Lead, scale, and direct the engineering organization for dual-use defense/software products.
• Own technical architecture, systems development, and delivery of flagship products.
• Oversee cross-functional teams across software, AI/ML, analytics, and engineering.
• Ensure ITAR/EAR compliance and secure deployment pipelines.
• Drive metrics, availability, and engineering best practices.

Skills

Leadership

System architecture

Distributed cloud

Geospatial / remote sensing

API infrastructure

ML model integration

Security clearance / eligibility

ITAR/EAR compliance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or related field

Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, or related discipline

Tools

AWS GovCloud/C2S

Job description

Vice President Defense and Intelligence Engineering

Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history.

Key Responsibilities

• As the Vice President of Defense and Intelligence (D&I) Solutions Engineering , you will lead, scale, and direct the software engineering organization responsible for building Planet’s end-to-end dual-use products and applications. You will own the technical architecture, systems development, and operational delivery of flagship dual-use products—such as Global Monitoring Service (GMS), Marine Domain Awareness (MDA), automated change detection feeds, and agentic workflows.
• In this executive engineering role, you will lead multi-disciplinary teams across software, architecture, AI/ML, analytics, and forward deployed engineering. You will partner directly with Product Management, Core Platform Engineering, and Executive Leadership to transform raw satellite imagery and API services into scalable, mission-critical dual-use software solutions. You will oversee system availability, performance SLAs, and ITAR-compliant deployment pipelines, serving as the senior engineering authority for Planet’s defense and intelligence software portfolio. Ideal candidates are visionary engineering leaders passionate about delivering impactful geospatial solutions.
• This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our San Francisco or Washington DC office 3 days per week.

Requirements

• 15+ years of experience in software engineering and systems architecture, with a focus on high-scale data, computer vision, or geospatial applications.
• 8+ years of direct experience leading and scaling multi-disciplinary engineering organizations (software, data/ML, platform, and cloud infrastructure).
• Direct experience managing engineering teams, software build pipelines, and data handling governed by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
• Demonstrated track record of architecting, building, and operating end-to-end dual-use or defense software applications (such as domain awareness, automated change detection, or spatial monitoring platforms) at scale.
• Active high-level government security clearance, or demonstrated eligibility to obtain top-secret clearance upon hire.
• Deep technical expertise in distributed cloud architectures, high-throughput data processing pipelines, API infrastructure, and machine learning model integration.
• Proven ability to drive software delivery metrics, maintain high operational availability/SLAs, and establish rigorous engineering practices.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).
• Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, or a relevant technical discipline.
• Direct engineering experience building foundation models for remote sensing use cases, agentic platforms, or automated tip-and-cue execution loops.
• Background in developing software for secure government environments, air-gapped systems, or sovereign cloud deployments (e.g., AWS GovCloud/C2S).
• Experience in multi-sensor data fusion workflows, including optical satellite imagery and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).
• 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.
• 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)