Application Guide

How to Apply for Senior Software Engineer

at Planet

🏢 About Planet

Planet operates the largest constellation of Earth-imaging satellites, providing daily, global coverage that empowers environmental monitoring, agriculture, and disaster response. Working here means contributing to a mission-driven company where your engineering directly impacts planetary stewardship and sustainability.

About This Role

As a Senior Software Engineer on the platform team, you will design and implement Infrastructure-as-Code solutions to ensure Planet’s satellite data services are secure, scalable, and reliable. You’ll lead modernization initiatives like migrating from legacy tooling to cutting-edge cloud-native technologies, directly influencing the operational backbone that supports customer-facing SLAs.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your day might start with a standup discussing ongoing platform migrations, then you’ll dive into writing Terraform modules for a new GCP service or debugging a Kubernetes cluster issue. After lunch, you could collaborate with the satellite data team to define SLOs and set up Grafana dashboards, followed by a code review for a Go-based automation tool. The day ends with updating runbooks and planning the next sprint’s IaC improvements.

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Planet Is Looking For

  • Has 4+ years deep experience in Platform Engineering, DevOps, or SRE with a focus on Kubernetes in production, including cluster management, networking, and security.
  • Is proficient in Terraform or Crossplane for IaC, and has hands-on experience with GitOps workflows using ArgoCD and GitLab CI/CD.
  • Can build and maintain services in Go and Python, with a strong grasp of Docker, Git, and CI/CD pipelines.
  • Thrives in a remote, collaborative environment and is passionate about observability (Grafana, SLOs) and platform reliability.

📝 Tips for Applying to Planet

1

Tailor your resume to highlight specific Kubernetes projects you’ve led, especially migrations or large-scale cluster operations.

2

In your cover letter, mention your experience with IaC (Terraform/Crossplane) and how you’ve improved SLAs or reliability in previous roles.

3

Showcase any open-source contributions or public talks related to cloud-native technologies – Planet values community involvement.

4

Quantify your impact: e.g., 'Reduced deployment time by 40% using ArgoCD and GitOps' or 'Managed 50+ Kubernetes clusters across multi-cloud.'

5

Prepare a concise summary of a platform modernization project you drove, emphasizing challenges and results.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your passion for Planet’s mission of using satellite imagery for environmental and social good.', 'Specific examples of designing IaC solutions (Terraform/Crossplane) and managing Kubernetes at scale.', 'Experience with platform modernization, especially migrating from legacy systems to cloud-native architectures.', 'How you’ve used observability tools (Grafana, Prometheus) to establish SLOs and improve operational readiness.']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Read Planet’s blog posts on their satellite technology and platform architecture to understand their infrastructure challenges.
  • → Explore Planet’s public GitHub repositories or tech talks to see their use of Golang, Kubernetes, and observability tools.
  • → Review their mission and recent news about environmental initiatives (e.g., forest monitoring, carbon tracking) to align your values.
  • → Understand Planet’s remote culture – check their careers page for remote work policies and team collaboration tools.

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Describe a time you migrated a critical service from legacy infrastructure to Kubernetes. What were the key challenges and how did you ensure zero downtime?
2 How would you design a GitOps workflow for deploying microservices across multiple Kubernetes clusters in GCP and AWS?
3 Explain how you would set up SLOs for a satellite data ingestion pipeline and what metrics you’d monitor in Grafana.
4 Walk through a scenario where a Kubernetes cluster experiences a networking issue affecting customer SLAs. How do you debug and resolve it?
5 Discuss your experience with Crossplane or Terraform. How do you manage state and secrets in a multi-cloud environment?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don’t focus solely on frontend or backend development; emphasize platform engineering, infrastructure, and operations.
  • Avoid generic claims like 'I love Kubernetes' without concrete examples of cluster management or IaC at scale.
  • Don’t neglect the company’s mission – failing to mention Planet’s Earth-imaging purpose can signal lack of genuine interest.

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Planet!

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