PCB Design 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 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

You will work within a small team of dedicated engineers responsible for the design of Planet's satellites. This is not your typical aerospace or consumer electronics role. You will work designing printed circuit board assemblies optimized for medium-scale mass production. You will design and optimize electrical power, data handling, and sensor interfacing systems, both within the spacecraft and on ground support equipment.

You will be responsible for complex high-speed digital, analog, RF and Microwave PCB/PCBA designs and interfacing with electrical design engineers to make sure that board meets their design requirements. You will work with board manufacturers to ensure they are fabricating and assembling a quality product. Your work will then be put in a rocket and shot into space.

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

• Design layout of RF/Microwave, power, microprocessor, high-speed interface, and mixed-signal Printed Circuit Boards for satellite applications in concert with the electrical design engineers
• Collaborate with electrical design engineers and supply chain to manage PCB design in Altium environment and the integration with the configuration control, inventory, and manufacturing system
• Coordinate with vendors to ensure on-time delivery of high-quality, high-reliability PCB Assemblies that meet IPC standards
• Generate fabrication and assembly packages, including drawings, and management of design and drawing templates
• Create parts entries, including footprints and schematic symbols, for the Altium database parts library
• Manage the Altium parts library
• Partner with electrical design engineers to manage subcontractors performing PCB layouts of their designs and reviewing their outputs
• Select PCB material and fabrication processes

What You Bring

• 5+ years experience in PCB layout design
• Experience with Altium Designer
• Experience implementing and enforcing IPC standards for PCB design, fabrication, and assembly

What Makes You Stand Out

• Experience withDesign for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Test (DFT) checks, running design rule checks (DRCs).
• Experience with quality management, i.e. addressing quality issues with vendors resulting in corrective actions
• Experience with high density, flex and rigid-flex PCB design and boards using RF material.

Application Deadline

• 11:45pm PT on the date stated below.
• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
• This posting may be removed earlier than projected if a suitable pool of applications has been received.
• For this reason, we recommend applying as soon as you are able to.

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.

San Francisco Salary Range $144,500—$180,600 USD