Thermal Engineer

About the Role:

The Thermal team at Planet is seeking a Thermal Engineer to help drive the thermal design analysis and testing of our spacecraft and their subsystems. As a thermal engineer you will foster the improvement of spacecraft thermal designs, from inception and design efforts and subsystems to the entire spacecraft. The ideal candidate is passionate about Planet's mission and thrives in a people-oriented environment. This role will appeal to candidates who are looking for opportunities to help Planet take their satellite designs and production to a new level by bringing new technology to our company. As a member of the Thermal Engineering team within Planet's Space Systems division, you will be a contributor and stakeholder in Planet's agile aerospace approach to spacecraft design; you will work closely with the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Qualification, Mission Operations and Manufacturing teams, as well as the rest of Planet's leading-edge spacecraft design teams.

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

Impact You'll Own:

• Own the thermal design on key spacecraft subsystems across Planet's satellite fleet.
• Collaborate with electrical and mechanical engineers to derive requirements that drive the thermal design.
• Ensure that all components of our spacecraft are within their operational and survival temperature ranges throughout all phases of the mission.
• Collaborate with optical and mechanical engineers to ensure optical requirements are met.
• Drive part/assembly thermal analysis on key spacecraft subsystems to meet temperature requirements.
• Oversee quality of our space hardware as it's being built.
• Develop sub-contracts and Interface Control Documents (ICDs) for thermal hardware fabrication as needed.
• Support test planning and qualification campaigns by developing tests that validate the thermal performance of your designs.
• Support ICD development by ensuring the thermal interfaces are sufficiently well defined for mission success.
• Own thermal hardware configuration management and release to production.
• Collaborate with mission operation engineers to ensure proper mission design and flight operational and survival temperatures.
• Collaborate with the guidance, navigation and control engineers to ensure proper mission design and thermal modeling inputs.

What You Bring:

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering or other related engineering or science degree.
• 2+ years of experience thermal designing spacecraft.
• Good understanding of heat transfer.
• Knowledge of thermal control technology of spacecraft.
• Ability to design tests proving thermal design.
• Experience in Thermal Desktop/SINDA for spacecraft-level analysis or similar tools for chip-level analysis.
• Ability to progress initiatives while working independently and as part of a team.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Experience with satellites
• Experience with CAD - drawing your own thermal parts
• Machine shop and rapid prototyping experience (e.g., 3d printing, metal fabrication)

Application Deadline: February 3rd, 2026, 11:59pm PST

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.

• 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)
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is listed below. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives (bonus and equity). The final salary range is determined by job related experience, skills and location. The range displays our typical hiring range for new hire salaries in US locations only. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.