Sr. Edge Compute/ML Engineer

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 headquartered in San Francisco, California, Earth.

About the Role:

Planet is working on the next generation small satellite bus that will host a high resolution optical imaging payload (Pelican) and a hyperspectral payload (Carbon Mapper). We are seeking an Edge Compute Engineer to lead the onboard compute and analytics effort on the next generation satellites. . You will work with various teams to finalize the system requirements, develop functional specifications, and down-select the processors. You will lead the development of onboard processing and machine learning algorithms for various Earth Observation applications, benchmark the algorithms on the ground and ultimately deploy them in space for processing satellite imagery.  You will collaborate with electrical engineers, camera engineers, firmware engineers, data pipeline, and analytics engineers to build and iterate on the solution.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Develop onboard computer vision and machine learning models that enable real time segmentation, feature detection, and object recognition.  
• Develop pre-processing of raw imagery onboard the satellite to make them useable by the machine learning algorithms
• Collaborate with the analytics machine learning team to implement deep-learning-based classification systems on pre-processed imagery for identifying, characterizing, and classifying objects
• Explore and develop new methods for improving detection performance and improving the runtime of inference
• Work with internal customers to develop onboard processing and machine learning pipelines for various use cases and classification tasks
• Help to architect and develop the data pipeline and platform supporting onboard processing 
• Hardware/software co-development of edge computing solutions for Planet’s next generation spacecraft
• Own and drive performance metrics (e.g. latency, memory, bandwidth, power)

What You Bring:

• 5+ years developing algorithms and solving problems pertaining to image processing, computer vision, object detection, machine learning
• Proven track record of algorithm development and solutions to solve real-world problems in computationally constrained environments
• Extensive experience programming in Python and/or C++ with computer vision libraries
• Embrace of version control (eg git) and CI tools
• Proficient in GPU-based computing frameworks (OpenCL/CUDA/TensorFlow)
• Understanding of embedded and high efficiency software architectures.
• Experience designing low latency, highly performant code
• Experience in hardware / software co-design

What Makes you Stand Out: 

• Experience with machine learning on earth observation data sets
• Low level programming experience in CUDA/OpenCL
• Excellent communication and analytical skills
• Self-motivated and a great teammate

Benefits While Working at Planet:

• Comprehensive Health Plan
• Wellness program and onsite massages in specific offices
• Flexible Time Off
• Recognition Programs
• Commuter Benefits
• Learning and Tuition Reimbursement
• Parental Leave
• Offsites and Happy Hours
• Volunteering Benefits

Some Press About Us: 

Our CEO, Will Marshall featured on TED and featured in a Planet Blog

“Planet: Bringing Space Back Down to Earth”

Tiny, privately owned satellites are changing how we view the Earth features in NBC News

“Planet And Rocket Lab Create Mission Patch To Honor Women In Aerospace” —Planet Blog

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 with diversity, equity and inclusion.  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. 

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 interview process, please call Planet's front office at 669-214-9404 or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

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