Spacecraft Avionics System Engineer

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

About the Role:

As a member of the Spacecraft Engineering team, you will work in a group of dedicated engineers responsible for the design of Planet's satellites. You will own spacecraft subsystems end-to-end definition, specification and validation. Spacecraft subsystems can include any of power, payload data processing, command and control radios, high speed downlink radios and general avionics. This role will appeal to candidates who enjoy designing, developing, and the operations of systems in a dynamic environment.

This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to be in our San Francisco HQ 3 days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

• Architecture definition of spacecraft subsystems, including hardware and software partitioning and specification.
• Oversight of hardware and software development.
• End-to-end validation testing of spacecraft subsystems, including but not limited to hardware in the loop tests. Anomaly response, troubleshooting and root cause analysis for on-orbit spacecraft.
• Spacecraft subsystem performance analysis from in-orbit data.

What You Bring:

• 10+ years of experience in spacecraft avionics systems design and/or operation.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field of study.
• Experience designing on-board software and hardware for spacecraft.
• Ability to dig deep and drive anomaly investigation in a structured way to reach root cause identification.
• Experience in defining end-to-end validation test plans, and executing them.
• Experience reviewing embedded application software code, and electrical schematics.
• Fluency in Python or other scripting languages to control/automate test facility
• Data analysis skills to process large amounts of telemetry data and extract insights on spacecraft subsystem performance.
• Experience leveraging generative AI tools to accelerate development of test software, data analysis tools.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Master's degree in a relevant field of study.
• Experience with design and operation of earth observation satellites.
• Deep understanding of the full spacecraft lifecycle, from design and development through on-orbit operations and anomaly resolution.
• Willingness and ability to take on some development tasks as needed.
• A proactive and analytical approach to problem-solving, with a successful track record of leading anomaly investigations to successful root cause identification and resolution.

Final date to receive applications:

June 2, 2026 by 11:59p / 23:59 CET (Central European Time)

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.

• 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
• Wellness Program and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Home Office Reimbursement
• Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
• Tuition Reimbursement and access to Linked In Learning
• Equity
• Commuter Benefits (if local to an office)
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is listed below. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives (bonus and equity). The final salary range is determined by job related experience, skills and location. The range displays our typical hiring range for new hire…