Summer 2026

Mission Optimization Engineer Intern

Posted on 4/24/2026

Planet Labs

Planet Labs

1,001-5,000 employees

Provides high-frequency satellite imagery analytics

Compensation Overview

$35 - $60/hr

San Francisco, CA, USA

In Person

In-office; 5 days/week at San Francisco office.

Bachelor's

Category
Software Engineering (1)
Required Skills
Python
Data Analysis

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Requirements
  • Currently enrolled in a BSc in engineering or computer science
  • Proficiency in software development, particularly in Python or equivalent languages
  • Data-driven mindset with experience in statistical analysis
  • Proactive, self-starter approach to engineering and problem-solving
  • Effective interpersonal and collaboration skills within a technical team
Responsibilities
  • Develop and maintain real-time, mission-critical software solutions for satellite operations
  • Write scripts to aggregate satellite data and generate system monitoring metrics
  • Analyze data to identify issues and inefficiencies in the full stack of services and propose solutions to improve productivity
  • Identify and drive improvements to fleet capacity and productivity through process enhancements
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with agile software development
  • Experience with DevOps tools and practices (e.g., Git, GitLab, Docker, Jenkins, Bash, Linux, CI/CD, Sentry, Datadog)
  • Familiarity with satellite engineering and/or the space environment and its challenges
  • Hands-on experience operating spacecraft or remote systems
  • Familiarity with automation and optimization frameworks
  • Contributions to open-source software projects

Planet Labs provides near-daily, high-resolution Earth imagery and geospatial data to government, environmental, agricultural, and commercial clients through a subscription service. Its Dove satellites in low Earth orbit capture 8-band imagery, which is stored, processed, and made accessible via a cloud-based platform; customers can also request specific images or data through tasking orders and use Planet’s analytics tools. The company differentiates itself with a large constellation of small, affordable satellites delivering frequent imagery and an integrated suite of analytics and customization options beyond raw images. Its goal is to deliver timely Earth observation data and insights that support decision-making across organizations and society.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

IPO

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

2010

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Fiscal 2026 revenue reached $307.7 million, with FY2027 guidance of $415-$440 million.
  • Backlog hit $900 million and RPOs reached $852 million, boosting revenue visibility.
  • August 2026 Nova and Metaspectral partnerships expand defense and hyperspectral commercialization.

What critics are saying

  • Planet posted $246.9 million net loss in fiscal 2026 despite profitability progress.
  • Late-2026 Pelican launches on Isar Spectrum concentrate execution risk in one critical milestone.
  • A failed Pelican deployment or delayed Berlin ramp breaks sovereign contracts and fleet economics.

What makes Planet Labs unique

  • Planet runs the largest commercial Earth-observation constellation, pairing imagery with analytics and software.
  • Government contracts in Germany, Sweden, NATO, NGA, and NRO create recurring demand.
  • Pelican and Tanager give Planet end-to-end control from satellites to decision-ready data.

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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

Headcount

6 month growth

-1%

1 year growth

0%

2 year growth

0%
Australian Defence Magazine
Aug 12th, 2026
Nova and Planet partner on space intelligence capability.

Nova and Planet partner on space intelligence capability. 12 August 2026 2 / 3 free articles left. Nova Systems has formalised a strategic partnership with global Earth Observation (EO) company Planet. According to Planet, it operates the world's largest constellation of commercial Earth observation satellites, delivering high-frequency imagery and enabling near real-time monitoring of global activity. This supports persistent, wide-area coverage helping to reduce intelligence gaps and providing a more comprehensive view of areas of interest. Planet combines large-scale satellite coverage with artificial intelligence and machine learning to automatically analyse patterns, detect changes, and provide actionable insights at speed. This enables faster identification of emerging risks and supports a shift from reactive intelligence to proactive monitoring, Planet claims. According to the companies, through this partnership, Nova Systems and Planet will support the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and National Intelligence Community with enhanced situational awareness and improved monitoring of land and maritime environments, delivering a more integrated, data-driven operating picture across defence and national security missions. This includes the ability to track infrastructure changes, assess disaster impacts, detect threats early, and improve operational decision-making across defence and national resilience missions. Nova Systems CEO Dean Rosenfield said the partnership reflects growing demand for sovereign-aligned space capability and data-driven decision advantage. "This partnership brings together world-leading EO technology with Nova Systems' deep understanding of Defence and national security. Together with Planet, we are enhancing Australia's ability to monitor, understand and respond to an increasingly complex strategic environment," Rosenfield said. Planet is a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange.

Yahoo Finance
Jul 23rd, 2026
Planet Labs director sells 6,494 shares following 323% stock rally

John W. Raymond, a Planet Labs PBC board director, sold 6,494 shares of Class A Common Stock on 13 July 2026 for approximately $169,883, according to an SEC Form 4 filing. The sale was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 plan established in January 2026. Following the transaction, Raymond retains 6,479 shares directly and 37,114 shares indirectly through a family trust, totalling 43,593 shares worth $1.13 million. His post-transaction stake represents continued significant beneficial interest in the company. At the transaction date, Planet Labs' stock had generated a 323% total return over the preceding 12 months, with the company maintaining a market capitalisation of $8.6 billion. The company operates satellite constellations providing global geospatial data through a cloud-native platform.

V1 Media
Jul 15th, 2026
Metaspectral partners with Planet to deliver trusted spectral intelligence from Tanager hyperspectral data.

Metaspectral partners with Planet to deliver trusted spectral intelligence from Tanager hyperspectral data. * Rating12345 Vancouver, B.C. - July 15, 2026 - Metaspectral announced its partnership with Planet Labs PBC, a leading provider of daily data and insights about change on Earth, to deliver trusted, evidence-based spectral intelligence from Planet Tanager(TM) hyperspectral data through Metaspectral Clarity. Planetary Intelligence derived from Planet data is emerging as a new model for understanding the physical world: continuous sensing, real-world data, AI-assisted analysis, and decision support that help organizations respond to what is happening on Earth. The Planet Tanager mission provides rich hyperspectral observations from orbit. Metaspectral Clarity provides the intelligence and infrastructure to convert imagery into science-based spectral evidence for monitoring, change detection, and high-consequence decisions across agriculture, forestry, and environmental monitoring. Clarity is a hyperspectral analysis platform built to turn Tanager data into science-grade intelligence with an agentic AI orchestrator that guides analysis from data to decision-ready output. Metaspectral's patented subpixel deep learning for spectral unmixing strengthens the platform's ability to extract precise signals from complex hyperspectral scenes. "Tanager gives organizations access to a new level of spectral information from orbit," said Francis Doumet, CEO of Metaspectral. "Clarity turns that information into intelligence they can trust. Our partnership with Planet is focused on deriving intelligence from hyperspectral analysis-ready data and transforming it into science-based evidence for high-confidence, high-consequence decisions." Planetary Intelligence is more than seeing the Earth more frequently. It also depends on the ability to interpret sensor data, compare it with the scientific context, and provide decision-makers with outputs that are reviewable, explainable, and grounded in observable evidence. In that workflow, Tanager provides the hyperspectral observation layer, while Clarity provides the decision-intelligence layer that helps users understand what the data may mean. Tanager hyperspectral data reveal material and biochemical differences that multispectral imagery cannot resolve with the same precision. Tanager's broad wavelength coverage provides additional intelligence beyond legacy multispectral imagery, particularly in monitoring contexts where subtle changes in material-level evidence matter. By combining spectral analysis, explainable AI, and decision-ready outputs, Clarity reports what the data indicate, surfaces strong evidence, identifies where uncertainty remains, and flags indicators for validation. Clarity preserves the chain from spectral observation to analytical workflow results. Evidence trails are essential for organizations using hyperspectral intelligence to support operational decisions, field inspections, sampling programs, and recurring monitoring workflows. "Tanager expands the scope of what organizations can monitor from orbit by capturing rich hyperspectral observations across broad wavelength ranges," said Linds Panther, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Planet. "Metaspectral's Clarity platform translates those observations into spectral intelligence, supporting applications where monitoring, change detection, and decision confidence are critical." This is especially important for organizations evaluating hyperspectral data against familiar multispectral approaches. While multispectral imagery is suitable for routine monitoring tasks, hyperspectral data becomes most valuable when decisions require detailed material-level information. In agriculture, they surface crop and soil indicators before visible symptoms appear. For example, Clarity improves confidence in surface-area signals before field resources are committed. In environmental monitoring, Clarity identifies material signals to prioritize inspection and monitoring workflows. Metaspectral provides a sandbox environment to demonstrate how Clarity analyzes Tanager Core Imagery available through the Planet Open Data portal and reports decision-ready intelligence based on spectral evidence. To learn more about hyperspectral data and auditable intelligence from Metaspectral Clarity, visit www.metaspectral.com.

Yahoo Finance
Jul 14th, 2026
Planet Labs co-founder sells 89,593 shares for $2.3M after 295% one-year stock gain

Planet Labs co-founder Robert H. Schingler sold 89,593 shares for $2.3 million on 10 July 2026, according to an SEC filing. The chief strategy officer executed the sale under a Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted in July 2025, following a one-year cooling-off period. Schingler retains approximately 1.1 million shares worth $27.37 million, representing a 0.3200% ownership stake. He also holds restricted stock units vesting quarterly. Planet Labs operates satellite constellations providing global geospatial imagery through a cloud platform. The company reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $335.6 million and a net loss of $373.1 million. Shares have risen 295% over the past year. The company's market capitalisation stands at $8.7 billion.

Yahoo Finance
Jul 14th, 2026
Planet Labs CEO sells $5.2M in shares under pre-set trading plan

Planet Labs CEO William Marshall sold 200,000 shares worth approximately $5.2 million on 10 July 2026, according to an SEC Form 4 filing. The transaction was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan established in July 2025. The sale reduced Marshall's direct equity holdings by 7%. He retains approximately 2.7 million shares valued at roughly $70.42 million. Marshall also holds restricted stock units scheduled to vest quarterly through December. Planet Labs operates satellite constellations that provide geospatial imagery and data to government agencies, defence contractors, and commercial customers. The company reported trailing twelve-month revenue of $335.6 million but posted a net loss of $373.1 million. Its market capitalisation stands at $8.7 billion, with shares gaining 294.7% over the past year.

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