Senior Manufacturing Test 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 Planets data to develop new technologies drive revenue power research and solve our worlds 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 Manufacturing Test Engineering Team is responsible for creating and maintaining the tests and infrastructure for our satellite manufacturing operations. The hardware test engineers on our team tackle projects large and small to design and build software and hardware to automate functional & integration testing instrument calibration and qualification testing for both production and design validation. As a member of the Manufacturing Test Engineering team you will collaborate with design engineers to develop board-level tests and be responsible for designing and developing the test fixtures test hardware and test software. This will involve working with a broad variety of disciplines including our top-notch design qualification and manufacturing teams.

This is a full-time in-office position based in our Berlin Manufacturing Center 5 days a week.

Impact Youll Own:

• Support manufacturing operations with response to test station issues
• Maintain and improve existing manufacturing test stations
• Drive the strategy and approach to PCBA test for manufacturing.
• Oversee test software deployment and provisioning
• Update and manage existing test pass/fail requirements
• Continuous improvement of test software and hardware to ensure high reliability and scalability of test systems.
• Troubleshoot station failures and debug PCBA non-conformances through all stages of test drive root cause analysis and recommend corrective actions.

What You Bring:

• Bachelors degree in Electrical Computer Aerospace or similar engineering discipline
• 6 years of experience in PCBA testing or manufacturing electrical test development and sustainment
• Ability to read and interpret PCBA schematics and use them to understand functionality and troubleshoot hardware.
• Experience with JTAG/boundary scan bed-of-nail testers and functional tests
• Experience developing and documenting operating procedures and guides
• Experience troubleshooting hardware/software issues and identifying root causes.
• Experience with measurement hardware and test equipment such as DMMs oscilloscopes logic analyzers analog and digital I/O data acquisition systems switch matrices relay banks and signal conditioning.
• Experience programming in Python especially functional tests of hardware.
• Experience managing multiple Linux systems in a test environment
• Experience with DVCS such as git or mercurial.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Advanced Python programming skills with a track record of developing and contributing to a large and complex code base.
• Experience in design manufacturing or test of satellite or aerospace hardware.
• Experience writing drivers for test hardware and peripherals
• Extensive experience on the floor supporting and maintaining an active production line
• Experience setting up trends and analysis on test data and actioning on those insights to improve test coverage and yield
• Familiarity with ansible and docker

Application Deadline:

September 1 2026 by 11:59pm / 23:59 CET (Central European Time)

Export Control Requirements:

Planet Labs Germany GmbH is authorized to receive U.S. export-controlled information at Planet under an export license issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security. This position requires access to U.S. and German/EU export-controlled information and as such employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidates ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by German EU or U.S. authorities.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

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

• Paid time off including vacation holidays and company-wide days off
• Employee Wellness Program
• Home Office Reimbursement
• Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
• Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
• Equity
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Why we care so much about Belonging.
Were 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. Thats why Planet is guided by an ultimate north star of Belongingdreaming big as we approach our ongoing work. If this job intrigues you but youre 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 dont just fill positions we aspire to fulfill peoples 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 youre 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. Know Your Rights.

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 hiring process please reach out to or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

Privacy Policy: By clicking Apply Now at the top of this job posting I acknowledge that I have read the Planet Data Privacy Notice for California Staff Members and Applicants and hereby consent to the collection processing use and storage of my personal information as described therein.

Privacy Policy (European Applicants): By clicking Apply Now at the top of this job posting I acknowledge that I have read the Candidate Privacy Notice GDPR Planet Labs Europe and hereby consent to the collection processing use and storage of my personal information as described therein.

AI in Our Interviewing Process: Planet is committed to providing an exceptional interview experience for all candidates. We currently use Metaview to better focus on candidates and less on trying to capture notes. As such with the candidates consent select interviews may be recorded and include a Planet AI Notetaker for transcription and summarization purposes. 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. Opting out will not affect ones candidacy.

Candidate AI Policy: Planet embraces Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and we encourage its responsible use. We understand that candidates may use various resources including AI tools to prepare for interviews and assessments. However during any live interview stage or when actively completing assessments for this position the use of AI toolse.g. Large Language Models (LLMs) deep fake technology strictly prohibited unless explicitly prompted by an interviewer or assessment instructions. If you are unsure about acceptable use please contact your recruiter for clarification. If an AI tool or similar technology is desired as an accommodation please contact with your request for assistance. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you. Violation of this policy may result in disqualification of your application.