Vice President Defense and Intelligence Engineering

Planet Labs PBC

San Francisco (CA)

Hybrid

USD 250,000 - 400,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision plans

HSA with company contribution

Paid time off + holidays

Parental leave (16 weeks)

Wellness program

Home office reimbursement

Phone & internet reimbursement

Tuition reimbursement

Equity

Commuter benefits

Volunteer time off

Job summary

Planet Labs PBC seeks a Vice President of Defense and Intelligence Engineering to lead the software org responsible for dual-use products like GMS and MDA. You will own architecture, systems development, and delivery across software, AI/ML, analytics, and forward-deployed engineering.

This executive role requires guiding teams in secure, scalable cloud deployments and ITAR/EAR compliance. Ideal candidates bring 15+ years in software engineering and 8+ years leading large engineering groups, with

Qualifications

Experience in software architecture for high-scale data and geospatial applications.
Proven ability to lead and scale multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
Direct experience with ITAR/EAR compliant pipelines and defense software.

Responsibilities

Lead multi-disciplinary software teams across software, data/ML, platform and cloud infra.
Define architecture, data models, and standards for scalable geospatial analytics.
Ensure ITAR/EAR compliance in deployment pipelines and releases.
Partner with Product Management to translate vision into roadmaps and sprints.
Direct integration of ML models and agentic workflows into product stack.
Drive operational excellence, reliability, and SLAs across environments.

Skills

Software engineering

Systems architecture

Geospatial apps

High-scale data

Cloud infrastructure

Leadership

ML model integration

ITAR/EAR awareness

Education

Bachelor's in CS/SE/EE/Data Science or related field

Master's or PhD in CS/SE/ML or related field

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 worldwide and joining us from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.

About the Role:

As the Vice President of Defense and Intelligence (D&I) 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.

Impact You'll Own:

Engineering Leadership & Delivery: Lead, mentor, and scale multi-disciplinary software engineering teams (software, data/ML, platform, and infrastructure) tasked with building and maintaining end-to-end dual-use products like Global Monitoring Service (GMS) and Marine Domain Awareness (MDA).
Architecture & Systems Design: Define the software architecture, data models, and technical standards required to deliver high-throughput geospatial analytics, real-time alerting, and automated detection platforms at scale.
Trade & Regulatory Compliance: Oversee engineering development standards and deployment pipelines to ensure full technical compliance with International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
Product Co-Development: Partner with Product Management to translate high-level market vision and defense mission requirements into scalable engineering roadmaps, system designs, and execution sprints.
AI & Agent Integration: Direct the technical integration of advanced machine learning models, analytics, and agentic workflows into Planet's dual use product stack.
Operational Excellence: Drive software engineering metrics, system reliability, low-latency processing, and secure cloud deployment architectures across commercial and sovereign environments.

What You Bring:

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).
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 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.
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).

What Makes You Stand Out:

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).

Application Deadline:

11:45pm PT 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.

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.