Intern, Mission Optimization Engineer

Planet•San Francisco, CA

10h•Onsite

About The Position

Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history, delivering an unprecedented dataset of empirical information via a revolutionary cloud-based platform. This role is part of the Mission Optimization team, which supports all Planet's missions by maximizing the productivity of the Earth Observation satellite constellation. The team spans North America and Europe, and automation is central to its operations. The intern will develop and maintain critical software for managing and operating the fleet, transforming large datasets into actionable metrics. The main scope of the project will be fleet-wide productivity optimization, identifying inefficiencies in automated services and designing/implementing solutions to improve overall fleet productivity. The ideal candidate is a data-driven, self-starter engineer with effective communication skills, who collaborates well within a technical team and adapts quickly. They will also work closely with hardware and software experts to provide operational insights for next-generation satellites. This is a full-time, in-office position based in San Francisco, 5 days per week.

Requirements

Currently enrolled in a BSc in engineering or computer science
Proficiency in software development, particularly in Python or equivalent languages
Data-driven mindset with experience in statistical analysis
Proactive, self-starter approach to engineering and problem-solving
Effective interpersonal and collaboration skills within a technical team

Nice To Haves

Experience with agile software development
Experience with DevOps tools and practices (e.g., Git, GitLab, Docker, Jenkins, Bash, Linux, CI/CD, Sentry, Datadog)
Familiarity with satellite engineering and/or the space environment and its challenges
Hands-on experience operating spacecraft or remote systems
Familiarity with automation and optimization frameworks
Contributions to open-source software projects

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain real-time, mission-critical software solutions for satellite operations
Write scripts to aggregate satellite data and generate system monitoring metrics
Analyze data to identify issues and inefficiencies in the full stack of services and propose solutions to improve productivity
Identify and drive improvements to fleet capacity and productivity through process enhancements