Intern, Orbits R&D

Confirmed live in the last 24 hours

Planet Labs

San Francisco, CA

On-site

Posted March 20, 2026

Job Description

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.

Internships at Planet:

Planet’s Summer 2026 internships are full-time, paid 12-week positions located in our San Francisco HQ Office.

Program Dates:

June 1 - August 21
June 22 - September 11

About the Role:

As the Orbits R&D Intern, you will work with a small team of dedicated engineers responsible for the Flight Dynamics and Mission Planning on Planet’s fleet of satellites. The team’s responsibilities include constellation design, orbit determination, maneuver design, conjunction assessment & mitigation, and scheduling algorithms. You will work on a mentored, but self-contained project with team-wide impact. Topics may include one or more of: uncertainty estimation, shared-resource optimization for multi-mission heterogeneous constellations, developing visualization tools for mission scheduling.

This is a full-time, in-office position based in our San Francisco office 5 days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

Support on-orbit operations/testing
Investigate technical problems, test hypotheses, and implement solutions
Document technical approach and solutions

What You Bring:

Pursuing a BS or MS degree in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
Knowledge of orbital mechanics fundamentals
Proficient in Python or C++
Familiarity with software development toolkits and the software development life cycle.
Ability to take initiative and work independently

What Makes You Stand Out:

Experience working in an agile software development environment
Experience in solving large-scale optimization problems
Knowledge of State Estimation and Uncertainty Quantification

Application Deadline: April 13, 2026 at 11:59p PT

EAR/ITAR Requirements:

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.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

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