Software Engineering Manager, Area Monitoring

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:

The Area Monitoring (AM) Services and Apps team is looking for a Software Engineering Manager passionate about leading engineers building the next generation of agricultural and environmental monitoring systems. Our platform began as a solution for the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)—a collection of web applications, APIs, and data services for monitoring agriculture with satellite imagery.

While this remains a core commitment, our vision is expanding. We are evolving the platform into a more generic, scalable, and reusable system to create a robust foundation for future area monitoring solutions and products. Your job will be to lead this team, mentoring a mix of junior and senior engineers as they strengthen our core infrastructure and build horizontal capabilities for new markets. You will work closely with Product Managers and Technical Leads, and collaborate with multiple teams. Ideal candidates have a positive attitude and are excited about Planet’s mission.

This is a full-time, hybrid position based in our Ljubljana office (Slovenia). You will be expected to work from the offices a minimum of 3 days per week.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Lead a team of software engineers, including planning and code reviews.
• Take ownership for the overall planning, execution and success of sophisticated technical projects.
• Represent your team in cross-functional interactions, such as vetting out product requirements, aligning priorities across various branches of the organisation as well as managing dependencies with other engineering leads.
• Think critically about the long-term career development of team members, providing regular performance feedback and mentoring.
• Conduct regular check-ins and 1-1s with team members.
• Own the operation of Area monitoring services and apps by measuring performance, creating alerts, runbooks, and responding to incidents and performance anomalies.
• Contribute technically to projects by being a hands-on coder and technical resource as necessary and removing roadblocks. In this role you may code up to 50% of your time.

What You Bring:

• 4+ years of industry experience, and 2+ years of experience as a manager/supervisor responsible for software engineers.
• Experience leading teams to deliver highly available, consistently performant services.
• Experience with Java and related frameworks (e.g., Spring Boot, Hibernate).
• Experience with React or other similar font-end frameworks
• Experience with REST APIs, HTTP(S).
• Excellent grasp of relational databases.
• Excellent communication skills in English, written and oral.
• Experience working in cross-functional teams that put customer requirements first
• Ability to be adaptable and open to changes and challenges

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Experience with Python.
• Experience with geospatial technologies, remote sensing, or big data.
• Experience in authentication technologies such as OAuth and IAM.
• Experience with CI/CD tools and practices (e.g., GitLab CI/CD, Docker, Gradle).
• Experience building backend services and infrastructure that scales and is easy to evolve.

Application Deadline:

November 6, 2025 by 23:59 Pacific Time (11:59 PM PT)

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

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. 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. 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 accommodations@planet.com or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

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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.