Senior Space Systems Engineer, Mission Optimization

About the Role:

The Mission Optimization team is responsible for continuously improving the operations and productivity of the world’s largest Earth observation satellite constellation. We identify, triage, and resolve the bottlenecks that limit what our fleets can deliver – from contact scheduling and downlink latency, to collection capacity, to concepts of operation for our future missions.

As a Senior Space Systems Engineer on this team you will own the definition of novel concepts of operations. You will take problems that begin as a customer commitment, a contractual obligation, or an unexploited spacecraft capability, and turn them into an operational concept that engineering teams can build and operators can run.

You will operate with substantial latitude, working closely with spacecraft and systems engineering groups to understand what current and future fleets are capable of, with the software and operations teams who build and run the systems you're changing, and with Product and customer-facing teams to stay anchored to commitments and SLA risk. Being effective across those boundaries is a core part of this job.

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:

Define and own concepts of operations for new missions, new spacecraft capabilities, and new customer products, from early design through nominal operations

Lead optimization initiatives that span multiple organizations – setting the technical direction, building agreement, and holding the outcome against fleet SLAs and KPIs

Serve as a primary technical interface for the team with stakeholders across engineering, operations, and product

Translate contractual and customer obligations into operational concepts and capacity commitments the fleet can actually meet

Model and analyze fleet performance with operational data to identify where capacity, latency, or agility are being left on the table

Design, develop, and maintain the software solutions that implement these concepts

Act as a recognized subject-matter expert across Planet and provide technical mentorship within the team

What You Bring:

10+ years of relevant experience in spacecraft operations, mission systems engineering, or a closely related field

Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field

Ownership of concepts of operations for complex operational systems, from definition to implementation

Working proficiency in Python or a comparable language, ability to model systems, analyze operational data, and contribute production code

Quantitative approach, including statistical analysis and reasoning over large operational datasets

A track record of leading technical initiatives across organizational boundaries

Ability to communicate and negotiate technical positions with senior stakeholders

Experience mentoring or technically leading other engineers

What Makes You Stand Out:

Experience operating or designing operations for a large-scale satellite constellation

Background in optimization, scheduling, or operations research

Experience taking a new mission from design through commissioning and nominal operations

Familiarity with commercial Earth Observation, tasking, or fulfillment systems

Experience in a customer- or partner-facing technical role

Familiarity with orbital mechanics, link budgets, and spacecraft resource modeling

Experience with DevOps tooling and practices (Git, GitLab, Docker, CI/CD, Linux, Sentry, Datadog)

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

€86.600—€108.300 EUR

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