Spacecraft Systems Engineer
Posted 8 Apr 2026
Advertised as “Senior Spacecraft Systems Engineer”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Expected experience
- 6–8 yrs
- Management level
- Individual contributor
- Employment
- Hybrid
- Contract
- Full-time
No salary listed for this role.
Field of studyAerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (or related)
Study levelBachelor's or higher
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.
We are currently seeking a Spacecraft Systems Engineer to support Planet’s development of Pelican Spacecraft. As a spacecraft technical lead, you will work with customers on mission assessment, perform space and ground segment verification and validation (V&V), support assembly, integration and testing (AI&T), and help optimize spacecraft performance on orbit. Part of your will be interfacing directly with customers and ensuring the constellations we provide meet all mission specifications. You will also work directly with engineering leads to disposition non conformance, provide high level assessments in engineering trades, and support new vendor product or planet hardware integration.
This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our San Francisco HQ office 3 days per week.
Impact You’ll Own:
- Interface mission specifications between our customer and Planet’s teams
- Assess system level budgets for engineering trades and feasibility studies
- Collaborate with our mission operations as well as data product teams to ensure that the satellite system meets the needs of our customer
- Participate in the assembly, integration and testing (AI&T) of satellite systems for test planning and anomaly resolution
- Provide verification and validation of the satellite system and ground systems, including environmental, functional, and end-to-end testing
- Lead the technical coordination of multiple teams, including Mechanical, Thermal, ADSCS/GNC, Propulsion, Electrical, and Manufacturing engineering teams