Tech Lead, System Validation

Planet • San Francisco, CA

3d • Onsite

About The Position

As the System Validation Tech Lead, you are a critical member of the Space Operations team, responsible for the utility and scaling of our multi-mission system validation (“Sysval”) testbeds. In this role, you will sit at the intersection of satellite operations and software engineering, driving the infrastructure that keeps our fleet performing reliably. You will own the end-to-end testbed buildup, maintenance, and tooling necessary to ensure it meets the rigorous needs of engineering. By identifying the largest impactors to testbed uptime, you will define the priorities and roadmap for testbed improvements and automation. You will establish resourcing needs and deliver through a network of mission- and discipline-specific POCs rather than through direct reports. Ultimately, your work directly ensures that new software and firmware updates are validated safely before reaching our active satellites in orbit. This is a full-time, in-office position based in our San Francisco office 5 days per week.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical field relevant discipline
• 4–6 years of relevant testbed or network engineering experience
• Experience with Bash, Python or other scripting or object-oriented languages
• Experience with Linux or UNIX servers, IP Networks , Docker
• Excellent written and verbal communication and facilitation skills
• Excellent problem-solving, organizational, and analytical skills, with the ability to make data-driven decisions
• Demonstrating a customer-centric mindset
• Working independently with minimal supervision

Nice To Haves

• Experience with scaling systems on satellite manufacturing and/or testing
• Experience in project management with a cross-functional team
• Experience in preparing training material or directly training team on new responsibilities

Responsibilities

• Defines and executes the roadmap for the buildout and maintenance of all systems validation testbeds
• Drives stakeholder engagement, prioritization of stakeholder feature requests, and resourcing needed to execute
• Designs and develops tooling to ensure testbed users can effectively test their software and firmware updates
• Manages testbed hardware and software configuration
• Maximizes uptime of the multi-mission testbed by triaging and resolving testbed anomalies with support of subject matter experts

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 (if local to an office)
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level