Senior Satellite Constellation Manager

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:

The Senior Satellite Constellation (CxS) Manager is responsible for steering initiatives that will deliver on Planet’s growing CxS business line throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market. This role will be responsible for programs valued over $100M to build, launch and operate a constellation of Pelican satellites for Planet and its strategic MENA customers. This is a key strategic role for the Space Business Group and Planet as a whole.

The Senior Manager will achieve success by coordinating cross-functional teams and resources across the company to ensure that the capabilities delivered by the program meet customer requirements and provide excellent imagery products. The Senior Manager must ensure that the Pelicans delivered on orbit are healthy, productive satellites and will shepherd their operations through the life of the contract. This manager will hire or enlist teammates that will establish plans, programs, and teams that maximize the chance for mission success. They will coordinate with Mission Directors and peers in Space Systems, Software Engineering, and other corporate functions to deconflict resources and balance timelines so Planet can maximize the overall success of its mission portfolio.

The Senior Manager is expected to leverage a core program team to drive the top-level mission elements while enabling and empowering the executing teams. Thus, they must demonstrate deep commitment to Planet’s cultural values, agile principles, and servant leadership to succeed in this role. They enhance their effectiveness through generating personal credibility and building relationships across the company.

This is a full-time, remote role which will require you to be within proximity of Planet team members within the United Arab Emirates and available to potential customers in the MENA region. Due to the dynamic of these programs, this member will be expected to frequently collaborate with CxS stakeholders in Planet’s major offices in California and Germany. This will regularly occur through virtual meeting applications (Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, etc) and occasionally by physically traveling to these offices.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Act as the Directly Responsible Individual (DRI) on overall program success, ensuring that the capabilities delivered by the program meet the needs of the customer and serve the customer and Planet’s business model.
• Serve as the primary "bridge" for contract execution in the region, ensuring that regional cultural nuances and customer needs are seamlessly integrated into Planet’s CxS execution strategy.
• Accountable for delivering on program-level requirements while building credibility, relationships, and satisfaction with the customer.
• Accountable for ensuring that assigned CxS programs maintain close alignment to Pelican’s commercial, technical, and product roadmap and that it complements Planet’s other High Resolution and CxS product offerings
• Represent assigned CxS programs internally to senior leadership and the broader company so that the program is best positioned and supported to achieve its objectives.
• Execute assigned CxS contracts by leveraging the core program team. This core team has scope that reaches across engineering, operations, product, finance, and commercial boundaries and has the mandate to lead the program through integrated execution.
• Assess and balance execution risk across the various program elements, including engineering, launch, and operations.
• Act as Planet’s ambassador for the CxS business line to potential partners, customers, and the press as needed.

What You Bring:

• 10+ years experience in space systems development, management and/or operations. Aerospace and tech experience on programs of …