Senior Operations Research Engineer, Orbits R&D

Planet

2h•Remote

About The Position

As an Operations Research Engineer on the Orbits R&D team, you will work on a small team of dedicated engineers responsible for the Mission Planning for Planet’s fleet of satellites. Mission Planning is concerned with optimal scheduling of imaging and contacts for Planet’s Dove, SkySat, Pelican, and Tanager constellations. This operations research problem has a direct impact on fulfilling the business needs for the world’s largest heterogeneous constellation of Earth Observation satellites. You will be responsible for architecting software, writing production-level code, and leading the development of constellation-level automation tools. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to mentor and establish the team’s software strategy. This team's Flight Dynamics expertise encompasses mission design, orbit determination, maneuver design and execution (including propulsion and differential-drag), and conjunction assessment & mitigation. We value cross-functional learning and a background in solving flight dynamics or related problems is highly valued for this role. 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.

Requirements

Bachelors’ degree in Computer Science, aerospace engineering, physics or related technical field
6+ years of total relevant experience
Software development experience in C++ and Python
Experience maintaining peer-reviewed code, attention to quality including automated testing, and continuous integration and deployment
Familiarity with orbital mechanics and space mission operations
Ability to carry out first-principles analysis and operationalize MVP solutions
Excellent written and verbal technical communication skills

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with Docker, Jenkins, JIRA, and linux-based systems
Experience implementing one or more of the following:
Orbit determination and high-fidelity propagation
Covariance realism
Low-thrust mission design
Maneuver automation
Constellation management

Responsibilities

Research, design and architect new software solutions for optimal tasking of Planet's increasingly diverse fleets of satellites
Work on complex applied mathematics problems with aerospace engineers, and provide them with software mentorship
Directly contribute to Planet's success by improving the operations of its existing fleets of satellites, alongside enabling future missions