Senior Ground Station Engineer , Compute and Network

About the Role:

As a Senior Ground Station Engineer at Planet you will be a member of an Operations and Development team focused on >99% uptime of a geographically diverse Ground Station network. The network is composed of a mix of cloud infrastructure, physical servers, networking equipment, and industrial controllers working in unison to autonomously track and communicate with Planet’s 150+ satellite constellation.

Planet’s satellites generate a substantial dataset and moving that data across the Ground Station network daily poses ever changing design goals for our Operations Team. The Ground Station team works closely with Spacecraft Operators and Mission Control engineers to autonomously control the spacecraft and bring the data back to Earth.

An essential element of this position requires the ability to climb, and lift/push/pull equipment up to 50 pounds.

This is a full time, remote position based in the United States. If located near an office, you are expected to work from that office 3 days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

• Ground Station Network spanning 6 continents.
• Act as a subject matter expert for Ground Station Compute and Network Engineering owning hardware selection and system design responsibilities
• Perform capacity planning and analysis optimizing the network to meet mission requirements
• Oversee the global ground station IP network, compute and storage facilities and 24/7 monitoring infrastructure
• Partner and collaborate with various teams with Planet, ranging from Mission Operations to Spacecraft design, to ensure the Ground Station Network meets all of the needs to achieve Planet’s missions.

What You Bring:

• Minimum 4 year degree or equivalent technical certification in Computer Science, Information Technology or other Natural Sciences; or minimum 6 years experience in an equivalent role
• 4+ years working in an IT environment managing a large or complex environment
• 2+ years programming experience with Bash, Python, Perl, Rust, Go, C/C++ or equivalents
• 4+ years of Linux or UNIX administration experience  in a production environment
• 4+ years working with BGP, IPSec, TCP, UDP and IP protocols in a production environment
• Willingness to travel up to 25% of the time
• Ability to foster a collaborative environment and mentor team members
• Ability to work with little or no supervision
• Ability to lift 50 pounds (22 kgs) without assistance
• Hold a valid Passport and can travel internationally to Planet's Ground Station Locations
• Hold a valid Drivers License

What Makes You Stand Out: 

• Understanding of RF communication and satellite communication protocols
• Prior experience leading a team in a technical leadership capacity
• 2+ years experience in an Operations environment with an on-call schedule
• 2+ years experience with antenna system calibration, diagnostics and monitoring experience
• 2+ years experience with telemetry, tracking and control systems
• 2-4 years project management and logistics experience
• Radar and/or comms experience

Application Deadline:

October 15, 2025 by 11:59 PM PDT

EAR/ITAR Requirements:

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 While Working at Planet:

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

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is listed below.  Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives (bonus and equity). The final salary range is determined by job related experience, skills and location.  The range displays our typical hiring range for new hire salaries in US locations only.  Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.