How to apply for Senior Infrastructure Solutions Engineer

About Planet

Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history. It is both a space company and a data company, delivering global Earth-imaging data through a cloud platform to commercial, environmental, and humanitarian users. Employees work remotely worldwide or from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.

About the role

A senior infrastructure solutions engineer makes Planet's infrastructure easier to use. The infra solutions team is small and multi-disciplinary, with engineers who operate systems as well as build them. The role involves both technical work and direct communication, including hard conversations and code reviews.

A typical day

A typical day likely mixes infrastructure engineering work with code reviews and direct conversations with other engineers about how systems are used. The job description does not list a fixed schedule or team routine, so ask the interviewer how the infra solutions team organizes its work and what a normal week looks like.

Who Planet is looking for

• Comfortable both operating existing infrastructure systems and building new ones.
• Works well in a small, multi-disciplinary team that spans infrastructure and software engineering.
• Can handle direct technical conversations and give or receive code review feedback.
• Has senior-level experience making infrastructure more usable for other engineers or teams.

Tips for this application

• Read Planet's public documentation and developer resources for its cloud-based platform before applying, and reference specific parts in your application.
• Explain how you have made infrastructure easier for others to use, not just how you built systems.
• Give examples of operating production systems, since the job description says engineers are as comfortable operating a system as building one.
• Show experience working in a small, multi-disciplinary team, because the infra solutions team is described that way.
• Mention any remote-work experience, since Planet has employees working remotely worldwide.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Concrete examples of infrastructure you built or operated and how you made it easier for other engineers to use.', 'Your experience working across disciplines, since the team is multi-disciplinary.', "A specific reason you want to work with Planet's satellite data or cloud platform, based on what you have reviewed.", 'Evidence that you can handle direct technical conversations and code reviews.']

Research before applying

• Planet's satellite constellation and what data it collects.
• Planet's cloud-based platform and developer documentation for accessing its data.
• Who Planet's customers are in commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors.
• Planet's remote work setup and office locations, since the role is remote and the company is global.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you have made an existing infrastructure system easier to use, with details on what changed and what the result was.
• A time you operated a production system and dealt with a failure or incident.
• How you handle disagreement in a code review or a hard technical conversation.
• How you work in a small team where roles overlap between infrastructure and software engineering.
• Your understanding of Planet's platform and how infrastructure solutions would support users of Earth-imaging data.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying with only build-focused experience and no evidence of operating production infrastructure.
• Writing a generic cover letter that does not mention Planet's satellite data or cloud platform.
• Ignoring the communication side of the role, which the job description explicitly calls out.