Senior Director, Product Management - Defense and Intelligence

Planet•Arlington, VA

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

Planet is seeking a Senior Director of Product Management to lead its Defense and Intelligence (D&I) product portfolio, the company’s fastest-growing business segment. The role defines product strategy, builds roadmaps, and drives execution for dual-use products, including Global Monitoring Service (GMS), Marine Domain Awareness (MDA) platforms, automated change detection feeds, and agentic workflows. The product leader manages a dedicated team of product managers and partners with the Vice President of D&I Engineering and executive leadership to turn satellite imagery and API services into scalable, mission-critical software solutions that meet national security requirements as well as commercial needs. The products support government, allied mission partners, and enterprise customers making critical, time-sensitive decisions. This is a full-time, hybrid position requiring work from Planet’s San Francisco, California, or Arlington, Virginia office three days per week. The position requires access to export-controlled information, so employment is contingent on the candidate’s ability to access applicable information without additional export licensing. The US national base salary range is $228,700–$285,900. The role may also be eligible for discretionary short- and long-term incentives, including bonus and equity. The final salary range depends on job-related experience, skills, and location.

Requirements

Typically 10 or more years of relevant work experience and 8 or more years of supervisory or leadership experience in defense, intelligence, geospatial, or aerospace sectors.
Demonstrated track record of scaling end-to-end dual-use or defense software applications from concept to launch.
Comprehensive knowledge of Defense and Intelligence mission frameworks, workflows, and user needs, particularly broad area monitoring and Marine Domain Awareness.
Experience collaborating directly with executive engineering leadership to translate market vision and defense mission requirements into scalable engineering roadmaps.
Familiarity with product development in environments governed by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR).
Effective written and verbal communication skills for conveying product strategy, requirements, and roadmaps to executive leadership, commercial partners, and external mission partners.
Active high-level government security clearance, or eligibility to obtain top-secret clearance upon hire.
Ability to access applicable export-controlled information without requiring additional export licensing.

Nice To Haves

Direct product experience defining requirements for integrating advanced machine learning models, analytics, or agentic workflows into a commercial or defense product stack.
Professional experience serving in the intelligence community, military, or a related government agency.
Experience defining product requirements for secure government environments, air-gapped systems, or sovereign cloud deployments such as AWS GovCloud/C2S.
Experience with multi-sensor data fusion workflows, including optical satellite imagery and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).

Responsibilities

Oversee the full product lifecycle for the Defense and Intelligence portfolio.
Synthesize market requirements from global defense customers and define pricing and packaging for intelligence solutions.
Translate market vision and defense mission requirements into product roadmaps for dual-use GMS and MDA products.
Recruit, mentor, and manage a team of product managers.
Partner with D&I Engineering leadership, UX researchers, account executives, product marketing managers, and external government stakeholders to align product strategy with engineering sprints and system designs.
Build dual-use tools for monitoring geopolitical events, ensuring marine security, and protecting critical infrastructure.

Benefits

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 for employees local to an office.
Paid time off for volunteering.
The role may be eligible for discretionary short- and long-term incentives, including bonus and equity.