Software Engineer, Manufacturing Systems

Planet•San Francisco, CA

5d•$114,200 - $142,000•Remote

About The Position

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 a global company with employees working remotely world wide and joining us from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands. About the Role: Planet’s Manufacturing team is scaling in many ways, including building a new factory in Berlin, building many different kinds of spacecraft, and adding more members to the team. Every spacecraft must be extensively tested to ensure proper space operations, and our hardware test framework is an integral part of our enabling infrastructure. Its primary features are to provide an interface for test engineers to quickly write tests, and allow our technicians to easily run them in the factory. However, as our team and operations scale, so must the test framework. This role is a software engineering role with a heavy focus on testing operations. You will report to the Software Infrastructure Team but work alongside Planet’s Test Engineers, developing tests and participating in test campaigns for our spacecraft. You will discover weaknesses and deficiencies in the test framework, create plans for developing new features and improvements, then implement those plans. Some key problem areas are usability and developer productivity, framework stability and robustness, multiple hardware support, data collection and analytics, and CI/CD processes. This is a dynamic role and will require you to wear many hats as you debug hardware problems and simultaneously dive into the software internals of the test framework’s infrastructure.

Requirements

Experience building interconnected software systems that interface with many different hardware components.
Software project planning skills - demonstrated ability to identify requirements and dependencies, organize the project into units of work, prioritize tasks, and communicate the implementation plan.
Proficiency with python, ruby, java, C++, or similar.
Proficiency using GNU/Linux.
Experience writing unit tests, continuous integration pipelines, and documentation.
3+ years of professional software development experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience building or porting systems onto docker.
Experience with database technologies such as SQL, InfluxDB, Elasticsearch/OpenSearch, or Redis.
A proven history of guiding the growth of complex software systems.
Experience using AI technologies to automate parts of the software development process.

Responsibilities

Identify needed improvements to the hardware test framework by participating in test campaigns, developing hardware tests, and working alongside test engineers and technicians.
Provide input to software requirements, specifications, and implementation plans, then communicate these plans to the engineering teams.
Implement software infrastructure improvements, bugfixes, and new features.
Participate in code reviews, brainstorming, root cause analysis, and other collaborative team discussions.