planetlabs
Flight Software Engineer
At a Glance
- Location
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Experience
- 4+ years
- Posted
- 2026-03-26T15:53:18-04:00
Key Requirements
Required Skills
Domain Knowledge
- Defense
- Embedded Systems
- Engineering
Requirements
4+ years of professional software development experience, with solid proficiency in C or C++ for embedded systems (RTOS or bare-metal).
Experience with Python for scripting, testing, and data analysis.
Familiarity with common hardware communication protocols such as UART, SPI, or I2C.
Experience in multiple programming languages and operating systems.
Linux/Unix systems programming experience such as memory-mapped files, network protocol development, process memory management, etc.
Direct experience with RTOS and bare metal development on ARM microcontrollers (e.g., STM32).
Compensation & Benefits
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)
Responsibilities
Planet’s Flight Software Team is responsible for all of the embedded software that powers our diverse fleet of Superdove, Skysat, Pelican, and Tanager satellites.
The software we build and maintain deploys to orbiting spacecraft hundreds of kilometers away and spans many functional verticals, including navigation and avionics, payload control, radio software, onboard autonomy, and supporting tooling and infrastructure.
We collaborate closely with many other teams at Planet, including the Payload, EE, RF, Ground Software, and Missions teams, to deliver reliable and innovative solutions that ensure the success of Planet’s missions.
As a Flight Software Engineer at Planet, you will play a key role in the definition, development, maintenance, and optimization of this critical software.
Our mission is to create seamless, intuitive systems that enable spacecraft operators, analysts, and engineers at Planet to interact reliably with our assets in space.
We strive to minimize operational burden and automate all aspects of satellite operations.