Satellite Data Processing Engineer

About the Role:

Image Quality Support (IQS) makes sure Planet's imagery meets that bar. We sit between imaging operations, satellite operations, software engineering, and the business — close enough to engineering to build our own tools, close enough to customers to know what "quality" means to them.

We're looking for a Satellite Data Processing Engineer to help assess and automate imagery quality across Planet's satellite fleet. You'll split your time between hands-on visual QA and writing the software that scales it — a hybrid of remote-sensing know-how and software engineering, building up both with guidance from senior teammates.

This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our Berlin office 3 days per week.

Impact You’ll Own:

Assess satellite imagery, manually and via automated tooling, against contractual and technical quality standards.

Help build and maintain the internal tools that power quality assessment — from QGIS-based QA tooling to backend scripts and data pipelines.

Support investigations into customer-reported quality disputes, gathering technical evidence for the team's decisions.

Contribute to the team's automated quality-assessment systems, helping shift routine checks from manual review into automation.

Write clear reports and tickets that other engineering teams can act on.

What You Bring:

2+ years of relevant experience.

Bachelor’s degree in geoinformatics, geomatics, remote sensing, or a closely related field.

A working understanding of optical remote sensing fundamentals.

Solid Python skills: comfortable with version control, code review, and writing more than one-off scripts.

Exposure to QGIS or Python geospatial libraries (e.g. GDAL, rasterio, shapely).

Basic SQL / database familiarity.

Clear written communication: you can explain a technical finding to a non-specialist.

What Makes You Stand Out:

Linux comfort.

Experience with CI/CD pipelines (e.g. GitLab CI).

Any exposure to desktop GUI development (e.g. PySide6/Qt) or building small internal tools end-to-end.

Application Deadline:

11:45p / 23:45 CET on the date stated below. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. This posting may be removed earlier than projected if a suitable pool of applications has been received. For this reason, we recommend applying as soon as you are able to.

Export Control Requirements:

Planet Labs Germany GmbH is authorized to receive U.S. export-controlled information at Planet under an export license issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security. This position requires access to U.S. and German/EU 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 German, EU, or U.S. authorities.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

These offerings are dependent on employment type and geographical location, based upon applicable law or company policy.

Paid time off including vacation, holidays and company-wide days off

Employee Wellness Program

Home Office Reimbursement

Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement

Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning

Equity

Volunteering Paid Time Off

Compensation:

The expected starting gross salary range for this role is listed below. Individual placement within this range is determined objectively based on gender-neutral criteria such as your skills, qualifications, and professional experience. This position may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or equity.

Germany Salary Range

€38.000—€47.500 EUR

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