Vice President Defense and Intelligence Engineering

Job description

Vice President Defense and Intelligence Engineering

Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history.

Key Responsibilities

As the Vice President of Defense and Intelligence (D&I) Solutions Engineering , you will lead, scale, and direct the software engineering organization responsible for building Planet’s end-to-end dual-use products and applications. You will own the technical architecture, systems development, and operational delivery of flagship dual-use products—such as Global Monitoring Service (GMS), Marine Domain Awareness (MDA), automated change detection feeds, and agentic workflows.

In this executive engineering role, you will lead multi-disciplinary teams across software, architecture, AI/ML, analytics, and forward deployed engineering. You will partner directly with Product Management, Core Platform Engineering, and Executive Leadership to transform raw satellite imagery and API services into scalable, mission-critical dual-use software solutions. You will oversee system availability, performance SLAs, and ITAR-compliant deployment pipelines, serving as the senior engineering authority for Planet’s defense and intelligence software portfolio. Ideal candidates are visionary engineering leaders passionate about delivering impactful geospatial solutions.

This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our San Francisco or Washington DC office 3 days per week.

Requirements

15+ years of experience in software engineering and systems architecture, with a focus on high-scale data, computer vision, or geospatial applications.

8+ years of direct experience leading and scaling multi-disciplinary engineering organizations (software, data/ML, platform, and cloud infrastructure).

Direct experience managing engineering teams, software build pipelines, and data handling governed by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

Demonstrated track record of architecting, building, and operating end-to-end dual-use or defense software applications (such as domain awareness, automated change detection, or spatial monitoring platforms) at scale.

Active high-level government security clearance, or demonstrated eligibility to obtain top-secret clearance upon hire.

Deep technical expertise in distributed cloud architectures, high-throughput data processing pipelines, API infrastructure, and machine learning model integration.

Proven ability to drive software delivery metrics, maintain high operational availability/SLAs, and establish rigorous engineering practices.

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Data Science, or a related technical field (or equivalent practical experience).

Master’s degree or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Machine Learning, or a relevant technical discipline.

Direct engineering experience building foundation models for remote sensing use cases, agentic platforms, or automated tip-and-cue execution loops.

Background in developing software for secure government environments, air-gapped systems, or sovereign cloud deployments (e.g., AWS GovCloud/C2S).

Experience in multi-sensor data fusion workflows, including optical satellite imagery and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).

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.

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

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)

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Who can apply

Review the original listing for work authorization, qualifications and employer requirements.