How to apply for Senior Technical Program Manager-Platform

About Planet

Planet operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history and delivers a cloud-based platform for Earth-imaging data. The company serves commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors, and controls hardware design, manufacturing, data processing, and software engineering. Employees work remotely worldwide or from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.

About the role

As a Senior Technical Program Manager on the Platform team, you will drive Planet's largest, complex efforts that cross many teams and organizational boundaries. You will act as an accelerant, illuminating the path for teams and owning the predictability of execution. This role is remote within the US and is central to delivering Planet's platform capabilities.

A typical day

A typical day may involve coordinating across multiple engineering and product teams to unblock dependencies and track program milestones. You will spend time clarifying execution paths, updating stakeholders on predictability, and addressing risks that cross organizational boundaries. Specific daily routines are not detailed in the job description, so ask the hiring team about typical meeting cadence and tools.

Who Planet is looking for

• Experience managing large, cross-functional technical programs that span multiple teams and organizational boundaries.
• Background in platform engineering, cloud-based data platforms, or satellite data processing environments.
• Ability to own execution predictability and remove blockers for engineering teams.
• Comfort working in a remote-first, globally distributed company with hardware and software components.

Tips for this application

• Highlight specific examples of programs you managed that crossed team boundaries and had measurable execution predictability outcomes.
• Mention any experience with satellite data, Earth observation, or cloud-based data platforms, since Planet combines space and data.
• Reference Planet's mission of using space to help life on Earth and how your program management work supports platform reliability.
• Note your familiarity with remote work across US time zones, as this role is remote within the US.
• Use the exact job title 'Senior Technical Program Manager-Platform' in your application materials.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your track record of driving complex, multi-team technical programs and owning execution predictability.', "Specific experience with platform engineering or cloud-based data systems relevant to Planet's imaging constellation.", 'How you act as an accelerant for teams by illuminating paths and removing obstacles.', 'Your ability to work remotely and collaborate across global offices and time zones.']

Research before applying

• Planet's satellite constellation and the types of Earth-imaging data it delivers.
• The company's cloud-based platform and how customers in commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors use it.
• Planet's remote-first culture and global office locations to understand how teams collaborate.
• Recent Planet announcements or product updates related to platform capabilities or data processing.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you have managed a program that crossed many teams and organizational boundaries, and how you measured success.
• Your approach to owning predictability of execution when dependencies are outside your direct control.
• A time you acted as an accelerant for a team that was blocked or unclear on next steps.
• How you would handle program management for a platform that processes satellite imagery at scale.
• Your experience working with hardware design, manufacturing, and software engineering teams simultaneously.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Focusing only on generic program management skills without connecting them to cross-team, platform-level execution.
• Ignoring Planet's dual identity as both a space company and a data company in your application.
• Assuming daily routines or team structures that are not described in the job details instead of asking about them.