Planet
Engineering Program Manager — Special Projects
San Francisco, CA · Contract
Sponsorship not specified$163k-$203kDetected 25 days ago
LLMsCybersecurityProject ManagementLogisticsAvionicsAerospace EngineeringHardware DesignResearchCommunicationOrganizational Skills
About the role
- The Engineering Program Manager (EPM) for Special Projects will be a fearless organizer and an excellent cross-functional leader.
- In this tactical, "in-the-weeds" role, you will help establish programmatic strategy, coordinate schedules, and ruthlessly eliminate roadblocks to ensure our constellations remain secure, robust, and compliant.
- This role demands a solid baseline of technical strength.
Responsibilities
- Drive end-to-end project management workflows specifically for Satellite Security, translating security milestones into actionable engineering sprints.
- Partner shoulder-to-shoulder with the SatSec Manager to architect, baseline, and meticulously maintain the overall SatSec programmatic schedule and critical project milestones.
- Manage tactical logistics for the team as needed, including processing purchase orders (POs), tracking equipment ordering, and managing vendor deliverables.
- Actively manage program risks, identify structural dependencies, and support development on new satellite programs and products.
- Working directly with the security, engineering, and cross-functional space program teams, you will drive project management efforts specifically focused on space security initiatives.
Requirements
- 6+ years of relevant experience in engineering program management or technical project management within a dynamic hardware, software, or aerospace environment.
- Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering, Software Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
- A solid technical baseline with a "roll-up-your-sleeves" mentality, enabling you to engage deeply with complex systems and translate technical engineering constraints into high-level programmatic impacts.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to stay highly organized, manage schedule health, and drive consensus across diverse, high-stakes environments.
- What Makes You Stand Out:
- Experience managing spacecraft hardware and software build and release cycles.
- Deep technical fluency in at least one spacecraft specialization (e.g., operations, avionics, software) allowing you to engage credibly with engineers on complex trade-offs.
- Familiarity with space security, hardware security, or aerospace cryptography architectures.
- A track record of successfully delivering complex hardware products through the entire development lifecycle against all odds.
- Application Deadline:
Skills
- Welcome to Planet.
- Violation of this policy may result in disqualification of your application.
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.
- San Francisco Salary Range
- San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
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
- Commuter Benefits (if local to an office)
- Volunteering Paid Time Off
Equal opportunity
- 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.
- EEO statement:
Visa & Work Authorization
- 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.
This listing is sourced directly from Planet's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.