Full-Time

Senior Spacecraft Systems Engineer

Planet

Planet

1,001-5,000 employees

Near-daily high-resolution satellite imagery platform

Compensation Overview

$144.5k - $180.6k/yr

+ Bonus + Equity

San Francisco, CA, USA

Hybrid

Three days on-site per week required in SF HQ.

Category
Aerospace Engineering (1)
Required Skills
Propulsion
Assembly
Requirements
  • Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or similar
  • 6+ years of experience in the design and development of satellite systems
  • Understanding of one or multiple satellite subsystems, including Mechanical, Thermal, ADSCS/GNC, Propulsion, or Electrical
  • Familiarity with requirements formulation, validation, and verification best practices
  • Experience with vehicle testing, including both functional and environmental testing
  • Experience collaborating with technical teams
  • Excellent communication skills for exchanges with vendors, contractors, and customer
  • Excited by working in an agile, dynamic environment, even in times of uncertainty and ambiguity
Responsibilities
  • Drive the development and growth of Planet’s next-generation R&D satellites and subsystems
  • Lead definition of subsystem interfaces, system level budgets, and multidisciplinary and multi-organizational design trades
  • Lead the technical coordination of multiple teams, including Mechanical, Thermal, ADSCS/GNC, Propulsion, Electrical, and Manufacturing engineering teams
  • Develop and execute plans for validation and verification of the satellite system, including both environmental and functional testing
  • Participate in the assembly, integration and testing of satellite systems, including troubleshooting and implementation of lessons learned
  • Collaborate with our mission operations as well as data product teams to ensure that the satellite system meets the needs of our customers
Desired Qualifications
  • Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or similar
  • 7+ years of experience working in the satellite industry, including design/analysis, AI&T and/or V&V
  • Familiar with industry standards for small satellites (50-200 kg)
  • Remote Sensing experience related to electro-optical payloads
  • Knowledge of design for space environment best practice
  • Solid understanding of the product development lifecycle process, including analysis and design, development tools and technologies, release and version control, contemporary testing methodologies and deployment management

Planet Labs, commonly known as Planet, provides near-daily, high-resolution Earth imagery through its fleet of small satellites called Doves. The service targets the geospatial intelligence market with subscriptions to a vast library of 8-band imagery and integrated data analytics tools, plus options for customized tasking orders. Customers including government agencies, environmental groups, farmers, and businesses use Planet’s imagery to monitor environmental changes, manage natural resources, plan urban areas, and respond to disasters. Planet School offers educational resources to help users get the most from the platform. The company differentiates itself with a high-frequency, broad-area imaging capability and a recurring subscription model, complemented by tailored data services and analytics. Its goal is to provide accessible, up-to-date Earth observation data and insights to a wide range of users to inform decision-making and operations.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2010

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • FY2026 revenue hit $307.7M up 26%, first positive $52.9M free cash flow.
  • Backlog surged 79% to $900.4M, defense revenue grew 50%.
  • Tanager spacecraft launches 2028 for methane detection, targeting $743.9M revenue by 2029.

What critics are saying

  • Maxar WorldView Legion captures Planet's government contracts with higher resolution.
  • Stock overvalued at $35.24 corrects 30-50% to $16-29 fair value in 3-6 months.
  • BlackSky steals time-sensitive defense share from Planet's Dove imagery in 6-12 months.

What makes Planet unique

  • Planet operates world's largest Earth-imaging satellite fleet with daily global coverage.
  • Owl satellites deliver near-daily 1-meter class imagery unmatched commercially.
  • Pelican-4 achieves 80% accurate on-orbit AI object detection using NVIDIA Jetson Orin.

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People at Planet who can refer or advise you

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

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

0%
Reveal Global Consulting
Apr 21st, 2026
Reveal partners with Planet to deliver geospatial intelligence.

Reveal partners with Planet to deliver geospatial intelligence. Reveal Global Consulting, LLC is excited to announce its strategic partnership with Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a leading provider of daily Earth data and insights. The collaboration brings together Planet's continually updated satellite imagery with Reveal's expertise in advanced analytics, artificial intelligence, and data engineering to help organizations analyze complex environmental, economic, and operational systems. By combining its expertise with Planet imagery, Reveal will aim to deliver solutions for both public sector and commercial organizations. By integrating Reveal's AI and geospatial analysis capabilities with Planet's industry-leading dataset, clients will be able to track environmental change, strengthen infrastructure resilience, and generate deeper insight from complex geospatial data. "Our work at Reveal has always focused on applying advanced technology to the problems that matter most," said Arun Narayanan, Senior Vice President of Reveal Global Consulting. "Planet offers an extraordinary view of our changing world. We look forward to combining satellite imagery with Reveal's expertise in AI and advanced analytics." The partnership further strengthens Reveal's ability to support government agencies that rely on geospatial intelligence and data-driven insights to address complex national and global challenges. At the same time, it opens new opportunities for commercial organizations to leverage computer vision, sky-to-ground analysis, and artificial intelligence to improve operational awareness, manage risk, and identify emerging opportunities. "Planet's mission is to make global change visible, accessible, and actionable," said Hector Ferronato, Reveal's Vice President of Engineering and Geospatial. "By partnering with Planet, we can help organizations transform location data and context into actionable insights across both public and private sector missions." "Reveal is pioneering the use of AI and advanced analytics to enable customers to quickly move from seeing global change to acting on it with confidence," said Mike Merit, Chief Customer Officer at Planet. "By bringing together Reveal's expertise in geospatial analysis and Planet's Earth observation capabilities, the partnership helps organizations better understand the world around them and respond more effectively to the challenges and opportunities ahead." Interested in learning more about its geospatial solutions? Contact Reveal Global Consulting, LLC: [email protected]

Data Centre Dynamics Ltd
Apr 14th, 2026
Planet debuts hybrid space-to-ground and space-to-space radio comms systems.

Planet debuts hybrid space-to-ground and space-to-space radio comms systems. Satellite firm's patented system could make communications more efficient April 14, 2026 Satellite imaging company Planet has announced the development of radio communications systems to support hybrid space-to-ground and space-to-space connectivity. Planet said that the communications systems, which are already patented, use crosslinks to "task satellites within minutes," with use cases in disaster relief, security, and civil government. Several RTComms antennas enable broad FOV coverage on the Pelican-5 spacecraft. - Planet The company said it has rapidly developed this technology and already demonstrated its use with on-orbit testing using its Peliocan satellites. So far, testing has centered around reducing the time between a customer's request to task a satellite, image acquisition, and insight delivery. One central aspect of this is a real-time communications (RTComms) system in the form of a C-band radio, supplementing Planet's ground station telemetry, tracking, and command infrastructure for high priority image tasking updates. This system is still in the research and development phase. "Utilizing an array of small antennas working in tandem, RTComms achieves a larger field of view to a satellite relay in geostationary orbit, facilitating continuous, uninterrupted communications link availability through Planet's satellite maneuvers in low Earth orbit," the company said in a blog post. Planet said it has also developed a solution to provide data downlink opportunities globally, using its existing infrastructure. High Speed Downlink 3 (HSD3) is a small satellite high-bandwidth data downlink pipeline, which, according to Planet, can reach speeds of up to 10Gbps to its ground stations and allows satellite-to-satellite communication links. The satellite company also plans to implement a higher power, mechanically steerable Ka antenna to track Ka-band Inter-Satellite Link relay satellites at increased data rates. More in connectivity.

Yahoo Finance
Apr 8th, 2026
Planet Labs tests onboard satellite AI as stock surges 39% despite overvaluation warning

Planet Labs has successfully tested AI-driven object detection onboard its Pelican-4 satellite, marking one of the first real-time AI analyses conducted in space. The technology processes data directly in orbit, transmitting only key findings rather than full images, reducing bandwidth requirements and delivery times. The development adds a new dimension to Planet Labs' Earth observation business, which serves government and commercial clients. On-satellite AI processing could influence how customers use the company's geospatial data and strengthen its market position. Planet Labs' shares currently trade at $35.17, near the analyst target of $35.00. The stock has shown strong momentum with a 39.1% gain over 30 days. However, Simply Wall St flags the company as overvalued and notes three risks, including ongoing losses and share price volatility.

The Associated Press
Apr 7th, 2026
Planet achieves on-orbit AI object detection with NVIDIA, cutting satellite insight delivery from hours to minutes

Planet Labs has successfully deployed AI-driven object detection directly onboard its Pelican-4 satellite, marking a significant advancement in on-orbit computing. On 25 March, the satellite captured imagery over Alice Springs, Australia, and used an onboard NVIDIA Jetson Orin module to detect aeroplanes in moments. The achievement represents one of the first times an Earth imaging satellite has moved beyond data capture to onboard AI inference. By processing data in space rather than on the ground, Planet aims to reduce the time between detecting changes on Earth and customers acting on them from hours to minutes. The technology will support Planet's Global Monitoring Service, with applications in disaster response and security. Planet plans to expand the capability across its Pelican and forthcoming Owl satellite constellations.

Business Wire
Apr 6th, 2026
Planet ships three Pelican satellites to California ahead of SpaceX launch

Planet Labs has shipped three Pelican satellites to Vandenberg Space Force Base in California for launch aboard SpaceX's upcoming CAS500/2 rideshare mission. The satellites will expand Planet's high-resolution imaging constellation, which provides AI-enabled solutions to customers globally. The first-generation Pelicans capture 50-centimetre class resolution imagery across six multispectral bands and feature NVIDIA's Jetson AI platform for onboard edge computing, reducing latency to deliver near-real-time situational awareness. After commissioning, they will join existing Pelicans supporting Planet's 50-centimetre class products. Planet plans additional first- and second-generation Pelican launches over the next year. Second-generation satellites, scheduled to launch later in 2026, will achieve up to 30-centimetre class resolution, further advancing intra-day revisit rates and low-latency tasking capabilities.