Senior Business Development Manager
About the job
- At least 10 years of relevant experience.
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field.
- Experience working directly within US Department of War Combatant Commands, Service Elements, and/or the Intelligence Community as a civilian or military officer.
- Knowledge of and experience working with Department of War Program Executive Offices and Portfolio Acquisition Executives, and associated requirements and budgetary entities.
- Ability and experience communicating effectively with senior-level civilian leadership and/or military flag officers.
- Experience forging mutually beneficial relationships with defense and intelligence organizations.
- Excellent speaking, writing, presentation, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
- Achievements and relevant experience in some combination of aerospace and remote sensing, data analytics, sales, business development, and military and intelligence roles.
- Excellent project, time, and budget management skills.
- Experience working collaboratively and independently in a dynamic environment and navigating challenges presented by changing conditions.
- Leverage existing and develop new trusted relationships with current and prospective Planet customers and industry partners within the Combatant Commands, the Joint Staff, and Military Services.
- Create a strategy and engagement plan to align Planet solutions with increased support for Department of War operations.
- Participate in relevant community forums, events, industry days, and other activities to increase understanding of customer missions, long-term visions and priorities, budgets, and acquisition cycles, and position Planet for new business and partnership opportunities.
- Build the long-term pipeline at defense and intelligence organizations by driving operational demand and identifying innovative ways to bring Planet solutions to the warfighter.
- Provide leadership and expertise in strategic planning, competitive intelligence, and market assessments.
- Partner collaboratively with the USG Sales Director and Account Executives.
- Maintain close alignment with Government Affairs on policy-shaping activities.
- Maintain close relationships with Business Development Managers across global regions to support consistent approaches and coordinate engagements with multi-country defense alliances and coalitions.
- Coordinate responses to RFIs and RFPs from bid decision through submission to ensure alignment with strategy.
- Collaborate with Proposal Managers and Product Leadership on product positioning and pricing.
- Experience working across multiple parts of the US National Security Community, including the Department of War and Intelligence Community.
- Experience serving in a role leading operational support and execution functions that leverage GEOINT, data, space, intelligence, or airborne capabilities.
- Experience working within a Combatant Command (J2, J3, J5, or J8) or an associated Service Element.
- Active security clearance.
About the company
Planet Labs sells satellite imagery, geospatial data and analysis software to businesses, researchers and public agencies. Its Earth observation services help customers monitor changes in land use, infrastructure and natural resources, while tasking lets users request imagery of specific places. Customers access data through subscriptions, web tools and APIs, and can combine imagery with analytic feeds in their own workflows. The company also offers dedicated satellite capacity and constellation services, extending its business beyond image licensing to tailored observation systems. Founded in 2010, Planet Labs is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
Company Size
1,001-5,000
Company Stage
IPO
Headquarters
San Francisco, California
Founded
2010
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Demand accelerated: September 2026 results reported quarterly revenue of $116.1 million, up 58% year over year.
- Renewable contracts underpin sales: Planet reports more than 90% recurring annual contract value.
- Learning has support: Planet's careers page lists tuition reimbursement and development resources.
What critics are saying
- Profitability remains incomplete: September 2026 results showed a $9.4 million quarterly GAAP net loss.
- Remote work has location limits: Planet's US Platform Operations posting requires nearby employees onsite three days weekly.
- Sensitivity limits coverage: Tanager's highest-sensitivity mode substantially shortens collection length compared with standard mode.
What makes Planet Labs unique
- Specialized emissions sensing: Tanager maps facility-scale methane leaks using a NASA JPL instrument.
- Spacecraft reuse supports multiple missions: Pelican and Tanager share Planet's modular satellite bus.
- Manufacturing control extends to qualification: Planet operates its own environmental testing labs and automated satellite production.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account
Unlimited Paid Time Off
Paid Vacation
Paid Sick Leave
Paid Holidays
Sabbatical Leave
Remote Work Options
Wellness Program
Mental Health Support
Home Office Stipend
Phone/Internet Stipend
Tuition Reimbursement
Equity
Commuter Benefits
Volunteering Paid Time Off
Parental Leave
Growth & Insights and Company News
6 month growth
0%1 year growth
1%2 year growth
0%The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected Planet's subsidiary Sinergise Solutions to build the Slovenia Space Resilience Node, a 12-month pilot project. It will automate the link between satellite change detection and high-resolution imaging for Slovenia's Administration for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief. Working with software firm Lucis, the system will analyse open Copernicus data and PlanetScope imagery. When it detects anomalies or pre-set thresholds, it will alert users and trigger a high-resolution tasking request, including through Planet's Pelican fleet. Imagery will appear in the responder's map view within hours. The prototype will first target wildfire management across Slovenia's 20,000 square kilometres. It could later track floods, landslides, and other hazards. Planet's Diego Vanelli said Slovenia is an ideal pilot and the design can serve as a blueprint for civil agencies across Europe.
Planet Labs is moving beyond selling satellite imagery. It now builds and operates custom satellites for government clients, and delivery of that hardware is lifting its sales. In fiscal Q2 2027, 12% of revenue was booked on delivery, against 1% a year earlier. The quarter included the first Pelican satellite built for the Swedish Armed Forces. Revenue rose about 58% to $116 million, while defence and intelligence sales grew more than 90%. Management cited more than $4 billion of possible satellite orders, though signed contracts are growing slowly. Backlog stood at about $815 million, up about 11%. The company still loses money: its net loss over the past twelve months equalled 95.1% of revenue. It guided fiscal Q3 revenue to $101 million-$105 million, and the stock has fallen 50% in six months.
Planet Labs announced its prototype satellite for Alphabet's Google has launched into orbit aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare mission. The satellite is part of Google's Project Suncatcher, which tests Tensor Processing Units in space. This marks Planet Labs' 40th successful launch, bringing its total delivered satellites to 718. The company's shares rose 8.43% on Friday following the announcement. Planet Labs operates an Earth-imaging satellite constellation and provides Space Infrastructure as a Service. In its second quarter, Planet Labs reported record revenue of $116.1 million, up 58.1% year-over-year, though it remains loss-making with $0.03 per share losses. The company raised its fiscal 2027 revenue guidance to between $430 million and $441 million. Analysts rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a mean target price indicating 102.4% potential upside.
Planet Labs stock has fallen 49% in three months, trading at 16.6 times sales compared to 3.0 for the S&P 500. The satellite imagery company's revenue grew 58% year-on-year in fiscal Q2 2027, driven primarily by defense and intelligence customers, which saw over 90% growth. A significant portion of Q2's revenue came from delivering the first Pelican satellite to Swedish Armed Forces. This represented 12% of quarterly revenue, up from 1% a year earlier. Such sales are booked immediately upon delivery rather than through subscriptions. However, Planet's contracted work grew only 9% year-on-year at Q2's end, far slower than revenue growth. Management attributes this to delivering on larger contracts whilst exploring new markets with shorter pilot deals. The company has identified over $4 billion in potential opportunities, with more than 25% considered near-term. Planet forecasts fiscal Q3 revenue of $101 million to $105 million.
Planet launches Suncatcher, Tanager-2, and 18 superdove satellites. SAN FRANCISCO / Oct 01, 2026 / Business Wire / Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, today announced the successful launch of 20 satellites: the first demo mission for Google's Project Suncatcher; Tanager-2, its latest hyperspectral satellite; and 18 SuperDoves. The spacecraft were launched to orbit aboard the Transporter-18 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Planet has successfully made initial contact with Tanager-2, the Project Suncatcher prototype, and two SuperDoves and begun the commissioning process. Planet expects to make contact with the remaining 16 SuperDoves that will deploy on the D-Orbit ION orbital transfer vehicle on schedule. This marks Planet's 40th successful launch and a total of 718 satellites built and delivered on orbit. Developed in partnership with Google, the Project Suncatcher satellite will run the first-ever test of Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in space. The moonshot project is exploring the feasibility of running machine learning (ML) compute systems in-orbit. Developed in partnership with Carbon Mapper, Tanager-2 features best-in-class hyperspectral VSWIR (Visible, Near-infrared and Short-wave infrared) imaging capabilities. With a cutting-edge, adjustable sensitivity imaging spectroscopy payload onboard, Tanager is designed to capture imagery in 426 contiguous bands with ~5 nm spectral resolution at 30 m spatial resolution. This configuration makes Tanager an ideal sensor for detecting methane emissions and a myriad of hyperspectral applications such as rare-earth element (REE) identification, water quality analysis, and agricultural intelligence. Planet continues to work with Carbon Mapper to scale the fleet, with plans to build and deploy at least three additional Tanager satellites following Tanager-2. The 18 SuperDoves of Flock 4J will supplement PlanetScope, Planet's flagship near-daily, global monitoring mission, which provides consistent global coverage across millions of square kilometers for customers in commercial enterprise, civil government, and defense and intelligence sectors. With more launches ahead, Planet continues to expand its constellations to meet global customer demand across satellite services, data and vertically-integrated geospatial intelligence solutions, and more. To learn more about Planet's industry-leading capabilities, visit https://www.planet.com/constellation-services/. About Planet Labs PBC Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet is driven by a mission to image the world every day, and make change visible, accessible and actionable. Founded in 2010 by three NASA scientists, Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest commercial Earth observation fleet of imaging satellites. Planet provides mission-critical data, advanced insights, and software solutions to customers comprising the world's leading agriculture, forestry, intelligence, education and finance companies and government agencies, enabling users to simply and effectively derive unique value from satellite imagery. Planet is a public benefit corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange as PL. To learn more visit www.planet.com and follow Green Stock News LLC on X, LinkedIn, or tune in to HBO's 'Wild Wild Space'. Forward-looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" about Planet within the meaning of the securities laws, including statements about the expansion of the high resolution capacity of Planet's fleet, the delivery of such capacity to Planet customers, and the Company's ability to realize any of the potential benefits from product and satellite launches, either as designed, within the expected time frame, in a cost-effective manner, or at all. Such statements, which are not of historical fact, involve estimates, assumptions, judgments and uncertainties. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those addressed in the forward-looking statements, including risks related to the macroeconomic environment. Such factors are detailed in Planet's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Planet does not undertake an obligation to update its forward-looking statements to reflect future events, except as required by applicable law. Plug into more green Stock news. Tap into the pulse of emerging green sectors every morning. Top daily headlines from clean energy, cleantech, cannabis, and sustainable transport stocks: