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 headquartered in San Francisco, California, Earth.

About the Role:  

As a Technical Program Manager (TPM) at Planet, your role is highly visible and cross functional.  You will lead a complex, multi-disciplinary project using your engineering, product and program expertise. You will work closely with the team leads to develop and manage end to end program plans and support requirement reviews with internal customers and usher projects through the entire project life cycle. This includes establishing and managing internal processes, project schedules, metrics, KPIs, identifying risks, and clearly communicating them to project stakeholders. You're equally at home explaining your team's analyses and recommendations to executives as you are discussing the technical trade-offs in product development with engineers.

Promote collaboration across multi-disciplinary teams including Engineering teams (Space Systems, Software Engineering) and Product Management all in an effort to ensure the assigned program is executed smoothly and on time. You will be expected to support regular reviews of the project with the cross functional team.  This role will focus on pipeline concepts of operations, architecture, support requirement reviews and may need to lead cross system trade studies.   The candidate should have strong project management and some systems engineering experience with strong foundation in leading engineering projects in an agile defined processes while keeping the mission and team first during program execution. 

Impact You’ll Own:

• Lead and coordinate the pipeline release planning activities for our new hyperspectral mission and effectively track the activities for this multi-year program
• Partner with key program stakeholders (Product Manager, Engineering teams, and others) to scope and execute across various technical projects
• Communicate vertically & horizontally across Planet to keep stakeholders informed of technical progress, priorities, risks, and any changes to requirements or plans
• Conduct effective meetings and maintain minutes/notes & follow up on action items
• Drive on-going process improvements across engineering teams and cross-functional stakeholders to ensure productivity and progress on multiple projects

What You Bring:

• 5+ years of consumer facing Engineering Development/ Enterprise Architecture/Technical Program & Product Management experience.
• Bachelor's or master's Degree in computer science, engineering, or a related discipline.
• Experience in cloud computing, platform development and integrations; to include storage,  Administration, APIs, Analytics, UX, and derived data products.
• Experience with satellite image processing or other forms of airborn image processing.
• Experience with hyperspectral imagery
• Demonstrated ability to Influence without authority (principles of a servant leader) and working with multiple roles across Company/ organizations
• Proven experience in managing/leading cross-functional projects with stakeholders across a company, manage tight timelines and high customer impact using project management best practices and tools
• Proven experience with scrum framework across multiple teams & projects with a deep understanding of Agile and Lean principles

• Understanding of remote sensing and image processing 
• Proven ability to facilitate technical discussions with a team. Promoting healthy debate,  encouraging and supporting every member of the team to have a voice. If technical disagreements arise, facilitate the discussion towards a solution but always drive and own the final decision.
• Set project priorities and work through the team leaders to advance projects from development through implementation, including manpower/work plans, reporting, and quality standards.
• A solid grasp of the business side of technology with an understanding and enthusiasm for metrics and analysis to deliver on business objectives
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills at the technical level
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and creative thinking skills
• Must be energetic, creative, and self-motivated

Benefits While Working at Planet:

• Comprehensive Health Plan
• Wellness program and onsite massages in specific offices
• Flexible Time Off
• Recognition Programs
• Commuter Benefits
• Learning and Tuition Reimbursement
• Parental Leave
• Offsites and Happy Hours
• Volunteering Benefits

Some Press About Us: 

Our CEO, Will Marshall featured on TED and featured in a Planet Blog

“Planet: Bringing Space Back Down to Earth”

Tiny, privately owned satellites are changing how we view the Earth features in NBC News

“Planet And Rocket Lab Create Mission Patch To Honor Women In Aerospace” —Planet Blog

Why we care so much about Belonging. 

We’re dedicated to helping the whole Planet, and to do that we must strive to represent all of it within each of our offices and on all of our teams. That’s why Planet is guided by an ultimate  north star of Belonging, dreaming big as we approach our ongoing work with diversity, equity and inclusion.  If this job intrigues you, but you’re thinking you might not have all the qualifications, please... do apply!  At Planet, we are looking for well-rounded people from around the world who can contribute to more ways than just what is listed in this job description.  We don’t just fill positions, we aspire to fulfill people’s careers, most excited about folks who are motivated by our underlying humanitarian efforts.  We are a few orbits around the sun before we get to where we want to be, so we hope you’re excited to come along for the ride. 

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