Senior Software Engineer, Calibration and Validation

Welcome to Planet. We believe in using space to help life on Earth.

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 is advancing the fight against climate change by operating a constellation of hyperspectral remote sensing satellites, named Tanager, designed to map greenhouse gas emissions across the world. Through an ambitious public-private partnership which includes Carbon Mapper and NASA JPL, Tanager aims to detect up to 90% of global methane point-source emissions. Beyond methane detection, the data supports a wide range of Earth observation applications in agriculture, biodiversity, water quality, and land management.

The Cross Sensors team supports all of Planet’s satellite constellations. The team ensures Planet’s data products are accurate and interoperable through rigorous Calibration and Validation (CalVal) processes. The work of the Cross Sensors team is performed at scale and affects millions of images and terabytes of data. The team is looking for a skilled software engineer with expertise in hyperspectral remote sensing.

The engineer will develop CalVal software to support radiometric and spectral calibration and atmospheric correction activities. Initially, the position will focus on building infrastructure to integrate Tanager hyperspectral data into Planet’s processing systems. Over time, the work may expand to support the calibration of Planet’s medium- and high-resolution multi-spectral satellites. As the role is highly cross-functional, the engineer will need excellent interpersonal skills and a proven ability to collaborate effectively.

This is a full-time, remote position based in the United States.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Driving continuous improvements in the quality of Planet’s hyperspectral data products and supporting their public release.
• Assessing the radiometric accuracy of Planet’s data products using ground truth data (e.g., RadCalNet) and radiative transfer tools (e.g., MODTRAN).
• Contributing to the development of Planet’s hyperspectral atmospheric correction pipeline, based on the ISOFIT open source package.
• Optimizing the implementation of data calibration algorithms in Planet’s Python/Linux-based production environment and monitoring scientific fidelity by implementing data quality metrics.
• Creating clear documentation and publications explaining data quality updates for customers.
• Troubleshooting data quality issues and implementing software fixes to resolve them.

What You Bring:

• 6-8 years of total experience related to a combination of software engineering and calibration-validation methods for space-based missions
• Advanced knowledge of data processing pipelines and CalVal methods for space-based missions, preferably hyperspectral systems.
• An understanding of atmospheric correction methods for remote sensing data.
• Expertise in scrutinizing scientific data to identify calibration anomalies, instrument artifacts, and processing errors.
• Experience conducting research projects or presenting findings to technical audiences.
• Extensive experience with scientific computing using Python in a Linux environment.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Experience calibrating and validating data from space-based missions.
• Expertise in correcting hyperspectral remote sensing data for atmospheric effects and applying it to Earth observation applications.
• Deep understanding of how raw satellite data is processed into well-calibrated physical quantities (e.g., radiances and surface reflectances), including the modeling and propagation of measurement uncertainties.
• Experience in contributing to scientific publications and delivering presentations at conferences.
• Experience in building, releasing, and supporting highly available, consistently performant software systems, and scaling those systems using cloud computing platforms.
• Knowledge of international initiatives aimed at enhancing data quality in the commercial space sector, such as CEOS Working Groups, RadCalNet, and data interoperability efforts.
• Understanding of satellite imaging geometry and geometric calibration.

#LI-REMOTE
EAR/ITAR Requirements:

This position requires access to export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

These offerings are dependent on employment type and geographical location, based upon applicable law or company policy.

• 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
• Remote-friendly work environment
• 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

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is listed below. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives (bonus and equity). The final salary range is determined by job related experience, skills and location. The range displays our typical hiring range for new hire salaries in US locations only. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

New York City + California Salary Range
$153,000—$191,300 USD

San Francisco Salary Range
$162,600—$203,200 USD

US National Salary Range
$142,800—$178,500 USD