Senior Software Engineer, Mission Optimization
About this role
The Mission Optimization team at Planet addresses the operational bottlenecks that limit the capacity, contact scheduling, and downlink latency of the world's largest Earth observation satellite constellation. Solving these complex problems requires an experienced engineer to take charge of optimization initiatives from initial problem framing with data to production deployment.
In daily work, the engineer will design mission-critical software, define concepts of operations for current and future fleets, and analyze operational data to uncover hidden inefficiencies. Success in the role relies heavily on building agreement across boundaries with spacecraft, systems, software, operations, and product groups while mentoring earlier-career peers.
Candidates who thrive here are comfortable turning ambiguous operational challenges into measurable outcomes using a data-driven approach. Someone with a strong background in software engineering, complex system scheduling, and cross-functional communication will find a supportive environment focused on continuous operational improvement.
What you will do
- Own significant optimization initiatives end to end, including problem definition, data analysis, solution design, implementation, and outcome measurement against fleet SLAs and KPIs.
- Design, develop, and maintain mission-critical software that schedules and optimizes activities across satellite constellations.
- Define concepts of operations for current fleets and new missions by working directly with spacecraft, imaging, and systems engineering teams.
- Analyze operational data across the full stack to surface previously missed inefficiencies and make the case for addressing them.
- Act as a technical advisor within the team while mentoring earlier-career engineers.
- Represent the team's technical position with stakeholders across engineering, operations, and product groups.
What you need
- Bring 6+ years of professional software engineering experience or equivalent depth achieved through past work.
- Hold a Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
- Demonstrate deep proficiency in Python or a comparable language with a track record of shipping systems that others depend on.
- Possess the ability to take an ambiguous, loosely scoped problem and drive it to a measurable outcome with minimal direction.
- Apply a data-driven approach that includes statistical analysis and reasoning over large operational datasets.
- Communicate effectively in written and verbal forms with both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Have experience mentoring or technically leading other engineers.
Nice to have
- Familiarity with satellite engineering, orbital mechanics, or the space environment and its operational constraints
- Hands-on experience operating spacecraft or other remote and autonomous systems
- Experience defining concepts of operations for complex systems
- Background in optimization, scheduling, or operations research such as constraint solvers, heuristics, and combinatorial optimization
- Experience with DevOps tooling and practices including Git, GitLab, Docker, CI/CD, Linux, Sentry, and Datadog
Benefits
- 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
- Home Office Reimbursement
- Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
Skills and tech stack
Questions candidates ask
What is the remote work and office policy for this role?
This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our San Francisco office 3 days per week.
What is the salary range for this position?
The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is $162,600 to $203,200 USD. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives such as bonus and equity.
What kind of team will I be working with?
The Mission Optimization team is responsible for continuously improving the operations and productivity of the Earth observation satellite constellation. You will work closely with spacecraft, systems engineering, software, operations, and Product teams.