Job Description
Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history.
Key Responsibilities
- As the Vice President of Defense and Intelligence (D&I) Solutions Engineering , you will lead, scale, and direct the software engineering organization responsible for building Planet’s end-to-end dual-use products and applications. You will own the technical architecture, systems development, and operational delivery of flagship dual-use products—such as Global Monitoring Service (GMS), Marine Domain Awareness (MDA), automated change detection feeds, and agentic workflows.
- In this executive engineering role, you will lead multi-disciplinary teams across software, architecture, AI/ML, analytics, and forward deployed engineering. You will partner directly with Product Management, Core Platform Engineering, and Executive Leadership to transform raw satellite imagery and API services into scalable, mission-critical dual-use software solutions. You will oversee system availability, performance SLAs, and ITAR-compliant deployment pipelines, serving as the senior engineering authority for Planet’s defense and intelligence software portfolio. Ideal candidates are visionary engineering leaders passionate about delivering impactful geospatial solutions.
- This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our San Francisco or Washington DC office 3 days per week.
Requirements
- 15+ years of experience in software engineering and systems architecture, with a focus on high-scale data, computer vision, or geospatial applications.
- 8+ years of direct experience leading and scaling multi-disciplinary engineering organizations (software, data/ML, platform, and cloud infrastructure).
- Direct experience managing engineering teams, software build pipelines, and data handling governed by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
- Demonstrated track record of architecting, building, and operating end-to-end dual-use or defense software applications (such as domain awareness, automated change detection, or spatial monitoring platforms) at scale.
- Active high-level government security clearance, or demonstrated eligibility to obtain top-secret clearance upon hire.
- Deep technical expertise in distributed cloud architectures, high-throughput data processing pipelines, API infrastructure, and machine learning model integration.
- Proven ability to drive software delivery metrics, maintain high operational availability/SLAs, and establish rigorous engineering practices.
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).
- Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, or a relevant technical discipline.
- Direct engineering experience building foundation models for remote sensing use cases, agentic platforms, or automated tip-and-cue execution loops.
- Background in developing software for secure government environments, air-gapped systems, or sovereign cloud deployments (e.g., AWS GovCloud/C2S).
- Experience in multi-sensor data fusion workflows, including optical satellite imagery and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).
- 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 & Perks
- 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 LinkedIn Learning
- Equity
- Commuter Benefits (if local to an office)
- Volunteering Paid Time Off
Ready to Apply?
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