Tech Lead, System Validation

About the role

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 the System Validation Tech Lead, you are a critical member of the Space Operations team, responsible for the utility and scaling of our multi-mission system validation (“Sysval”) testbeds. In this role, you will sit at the intersection of satellite operations and software engineering, driving the infrastructure that keeps our fleet performing reliably. You will own the end-to-end testbed buildup, maintenance, and tooling necessary to ensure it meets the rigorous needs of engineering. By identifying the largest impactors to testbed uptime, you will define the priorities and roadmap for testbed improvements and automation. You will establish resourcing needs and deliver through a network of mission- and discipline-specific POCs rather than through direct reports. Ultimately, your work directly ensures that new software and firmware updates are validated safely before reaching our active satellites in orbit.

This is a full-time, in-office position based in our San Francisco office 5 days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

- Defines and executes the roadmap for the buildout and maintenance of all systems validation testbeds

- Drives stakeholder engagement, prioritization of stakeholder feature requests, and resourcing needed to execute

- Designs and develops tooling to ensure testbed users can effectively test their software and firmware updates

- Manages testbed hardware and software configuration

- Maximizes uptime of the multi-mission testbed by triaging and resolving testbed anomalies with support of subject matter experts

What You Bring:

- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field relevant discipline