Senior Director of Engineering - Civil Government and Commercial

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:

We are seeking an experienced engineering leader to become our Senior Director of Engineering for Civil Government and Commercial. In this role, you will lead the engineering strategy, execution, and team development for a rapidly growing organization of 70+ engineers spanning multiple global Planet offices. You will oversee the development, scaling, and delivery of our critical existing solutions, including Area Monitoring Service (AMS) for EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) compliance, Disaster and Wildfire solutions, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (CDSE), and a portfolio of Derived Data Products. You will also drive our "zero to one" product discovery, partnering closely with Product Management, Design, and Science teams to incubate, architect, and launch new, emerging solutions built on top of Planet’s high-frequency imagery and derived data products. AI is central to how Planet builds solutions, and you will make it a primary way your teams discover, build, and deliver for customers. This position is vital to delivering innovative applications to civil governments and commercial customers worldwide.

This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our Berlin, Haarlem, or Ljubljana office 3 days per week.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Lead, mentor, and scale a global engineering organization of 70+ engineers, managers, and directors across multiple geographies and time zones.
• Set a high bar for performance and accountability. Define measurable outcomes for every product and team, surface risks early and directly, and make the hard calls on people and priorities when results fall short.
• Drive the day-to-day engineering execution and delivery for existing flagship products, ensuring reliability and performance for AMS, Disaster and Wildfire solutions, and the derived data portfolio.
• Champion and lead "zero to one" engineering discovery, building the technical foundation and prototypes for new emerging commercial and civil government products.
• Partner on a daily basis with Product Management, Design, and GTM teams to define product direction, prioritize feature development, and align technical strategy with business goals.
• Ensure systems are scalable, reliable, and secure for government and enterprise use, guiding architectural decisions and engineering best practices.
• Align your team's daily output with Planet’s mission of using space to help life on earth, directly enabling governments and businesses to make critical, timely decisions.

What You Bring:

• 10+ years of relevant software engineering work experience, including 8+ years of supervisory or leadership experience managing multiple layers of engineering management.
• Experience leading and scaling distributed engineering teams of 50+ employees across multiple geographic locations and time zones.
• Hands-on engagement with AI tools in your own work, and experience leading engineering teams through AI adoption.
• Track record of "zero to one" product development, including the technical discovery, architecture, and successful launch of new software solutions.
• Background in building and delivering geospatial platforms, data analytics solutions, or enterprise SaaS products.
• Experience delivering tailored solutions to individual customers, meeting or exceeding their expectations and integrating new building blocks back into the solution commons.
• A growth mindset. You experiment, learn quickly, and change course when the evidence says to.
• Ability to collaborate with cross-functional partners to translate complex business and user requirements into actionable technical roadmaps.
• Experience overseeing operational reliability, cloud infrastructure, and software deployment lifecycles for enterprise-grade applications.
• Ability to drive software delivery metrics, maintain high operational availability/SLAs, and foster rigorous engineering practices.
• Ability to recruit, mentor, and retain engineering talent at all levels while fostering an inclusive team culture.
• Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills for engaging with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Success building large scale civil government solutions leveraging forward deployed engineering.
• Familiarity with the unique regulatory, compliance, and security requirements of government technology solutions globally.
• Experience building sovereign systems for governments.

Application Deadline:

11:45p / 23:45 CET on the date stated below. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. This posting may be removed earlier than projected if a suitable pool of applications has been received. For this reason, we recommend applying as soon as you are able to.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

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

• Paid time off including vacation, holidays and company-wide days off
• Employee Wellness Program
• Home Office Reimbursement
• Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
• Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
• Equity
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

Compensation:

The expected starting gross salary range for this role is listed below. Individual placement within this range is determined objectively based on gender-neutral criteria such as your skills, qualifications, and professional experience. This position may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses and/or equity.

Germany Salary Range

€123.300 — €154.100 EUR

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Why we care so much about Belonging.

We’re dedicated to helping the whole Planet, and to do that we must strive to represent all of it within each of our offices and on all of our teams. That’s why Planet is guided by an ultimate north star of Belonging—dreaming big as we approach our ongoing work. If this job intrigues you, but you’re thinking you might not have all the qualifications, please... do apply! At Planet, we are looking for well-rounded people from around the world who can contribute to more ways than just what is listed in this job description. We don’t just fill positions, we aspire to fulfill people’s careers, most excited about folks who are motivated by our underlying humanitarian efforts. We are a few orbits around the sun before we get to where we want to be, so we hope you’re excited to come along for the ride.

EEO statement:

Planet is committed to building a community where everyone belongs and we invite people from all backgrounds to apply. Planet is an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Know Your Rights.

Accommodations:

Planet is an inclusive community and we know that everyone has their own needs. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation during the hiring process, please reach out to or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

Privacy Policy : By clicking "Apply Now" at the top of this job posting, I acknowledge that I have read the Planet Data Privacy Notice for California Staff Members and Applicants , and hereby consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of my personal information as described therein.

Privacy Policy (European Applicants): By clicking "Apply Now" at the top of this job posting, I acknowledge that I have read the Candidate Privacy Notice GDPR Planet Labs Europe , and hereby consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of my personal information as described therein.

AI in Our Interviewing Process : Planet is committed to providing an exceptional interview experience for all candidates. We currently use Metaview to better focus on candidates and less on trying to capture notes. As such, with the candidate's consent, select interviews may be recorded and include a "Planet AI Notetaker" for transcription and summarization purposes. Should an interview involve use of AI interview technologies, the candidate will receive notification and have the ability to opt out both in advance and/or real-time. Opting out will not affect one's candidacy.

Candidate AI Policy : Planet embraces Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, and we encourage its responsible use. We understand that candidates may use various resources, including AI tools, to prepare for interviews and assessments. However, during any live interview stage or when actively completing assessments for this position, the use of AI tools—e.g. Large Language Models (LLMs), deep fake technology, etc.—is strictly prohibited unless explicitly prompted by an interviewer or assessment instructions . If you are unsure about acceptable use, please contact your recruiter for clarification. If an AI tool or similar technology is desired as an accommodation, please contact with your request for assistance. Your message will be confidential, and we will be happy to assist you. Violation of this policy may result in disqualification of your application.

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Source: Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), table; dl-de/by-2-0; StarIn's calculation