Intern, Flight Software Engineering

About the Role:

Join Planet's Flight Software Team as an intern and dive into the exciting world of satellite software engineering! Planet’s Flight Software Team is responsible for all of the embedded software applications that power our fleet of Superdove, Skysat, Pelican, and Tanager satellites. The software we build and maintain spans many functional verticals including navigation and avionics, payload control, radio software, and related tooling and infrastructure. We work collaboratively with many other teams at Planet, including teams responsible for payload, EE, RF, and ground control software.

As an intern you'll be an integral part of our Flight Software team, getting hands-on experience in building, maintaining, and operating the sophisticated tools that drive our satellites. Our mission is to create a seamless interface for spacecraft operators, analysts, and engineers at Planet, enabling reliable interactions with our space assets. While we aim to minimize operational challenges and enhance automation in satellite operations, your role will be to support these initiatives by assisting with a wide range of engineering tasks. 

Under the mentorship of experienced professionals you will contribute to specifying, implementing, and refining satellite API’s, improving our development and test tooling, and evaluating and selecting software technologies suited to our unique needs. You'll also have the chance to help design and deploy essential infrastructure, making a real impact on Planet's success. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn, grow, and engage with seasoned operators and engineers, gaining invaluable insights into the inner workings of embedded satellite systems.

This is a full-time, 12 week internship during the summer and is based in our San Francisco office 5 days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

• Assist in root cause investigations under the mentorship of senior engineers, learning to navigate and contribute to debugging and refining RTOS and Linux-based application code.
• Contribute to the enhancement of existing codebases, helping to analyze and improve the performance and reliability of satellite function under the guidance of our seasoned engineers.
• Engage in collaborative projects with senior engineers to help define specifications, refine component API’s, and craft documentation.
• Assist in setting up hardware test stations and enhancing on-target test coverage to help improve the reliability and robustness of our codebase.

What You Bring:

• Currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with expected graduation within the next year.
• Excellent communication skills and a willingness to engage in collaborative work environments, with the ability to learn and explain technical concepts in team settings.
• Some programming experience through academic projects, internships, or personal projects in languages such as C/C++, Python, Go, Rust, or C#, preferably but not necessarily within a Linux environment.

What Makes You Stand Out: 

• Coursework or projects in embedded programming, operating systems, feedback and control systems, algorithms, and/or computer architecture.
• Familiarity with systems programming concepts such as memory management and networking through academic or personal projects.
• Introductory experience or academic projects involving RTOS or bare-metal programming, especially on popular microcontroller platforms like the Arduino, STM32, nRF52, or similar.
• Involvement in interdisciplinary team projects, particularly those that bridge the gap between hardware and software.
• A fascination with space and an eagerness to tackle the unique engineering challenges presented by its demanding conditions.

Application Deadline: May 1, 2025

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.  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.