How to apply for D&I Program Manager, Professional Services

About Planet

Planet operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history and delivers that data through a cloud platform. It is both a space company and a data company, serving commercial, environmental, and humanitarian customers. Employees work remotely worldwide or from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.

About the role

This role is a program manager on the global professional services team. You will drive complex projects that help government customers adopt the Planet platform and its data products. The work involves coordinating cross-functional teams, both technical and non-technical, to scale adoption.

A typical day

You might coordinate with technical and non-technical teams to move a government customer's adoption project forward, track progress, and resolve blockers. You could also meet with stakeholders across time zones to align on platform rollout or data product usage. The exact daily routine is not described in the job details, so ask about team structure and typical project cycles in the interview.

Who Planet is looking for

• Experience managing complex, cross-functional programs, especially for government or public sector customers.
• Familiarity with remote collaboration and global teams, since Planet employees work worldwide.
• Ability to coordinate technical and non-technical stakeholders to drive platform adoption.
• Interest in Earth-imaging data, satellite platforms, or geospatial products, and how they are used by authoritative figures.

Tips for this application

• Read the full job description on Planet's careers page, since the provided text cuts off after 'both technical and no' and may list specific program management or government experience requirements.
• In your resume, highlight programs you managed for government clients or in professional services, with concrete outcomes like adoption rates or deployment timelines.
• Mention any experience with satellite data, geospatial platforms, or cloud-based data products, because Planet's platform is central to this role.
• Show you can work remotely and across time zones, as Planet is a global remote company with offices in several countries.
• Use the cover letter to explain why government adoption of Planet's data matters to you, based on Planet's stated customers in commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your track record managing complex programs for government or public sector customers, including how you scaled adoption of a technical product.', 'How you coordinate cross-functional teams that include both technical and non-technical members.', "Your understanding of Planet's platform and data products, or your ability to learn a satellite data platform quickly.", 'Why you want to work at a company that operates the largest imaging satellite constellation and serves authoritative figures globally.']

Research before applying

• Planet's satellite constellation and the cloud-based platform that delivers its Earth-imaging data.
• The company's customer sectors: commercial, environmental, and humanitarian, and how government users fit in.
• Planet's remote-first structure and its offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.
• The full job description on Planet's careers site, because the provided text is truncated and may contain more requirements.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would drive government customer adoption of the Planet platform and its data products.
• A specific example of a complex program you managed across technical and non-technical teams, and the results.
• How you handle remote collaboration with global teams and offices in multiple countries.
• What you know about Planet's satellite constellation, cloud platform, and the types of customers it serves.
• How you prioritize competing demands when scaling adoption for governmental customers in professional services.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting a generic program manager resume that does not mention government customers, professional services, or data platforms.
• Ignoring Planet's remote and global setup, such as assuming a single office location or not addressing cross-time-zone work.
• Writing a cover letter that does not reference Planet's specific products, like its imaging satellites or cloud-based data platform.