Geospatial Data Scientist, Agriculture

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 headquartered in San Francisco, California, Earth.

About the Role:

The Calibration, Analytics Ready Data and InterOperability (CARDIO) team enables the generation of accurate and interoperable products from Planetscope satellites. There are multiple methods used to characterise image quality and ensure accuracy; from celestial maneuvers to harmonisation of earth-facing on-orbit imagery. The CARDIO team leverages data from third party sensors (e.g., MODIS, VIIRS, Landsat, Sentinel) in synergy with Planet’s multi-constellation Cubesats for the development of enhanced level 3 and level 4 “Fusion” products. The work of the CARDIO team is performed at scale and affects millions of images and terabytes of data. 

This position will focus on developing novel higher level Planet Fusion products including core Biophysical Properties. At its core, Planet Fusion integrates the best features from both public and private satellite sensor resources using a rigorous methodology to enhance, harmonize, inter-calibrate, and fuse cross-sensor data streams.

There is much work to be done and this represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to join a team of scientists and software engineers to co-develop next generation products that deliver accurate quantitative insights at unprecedented spatial resolution and temporal frequency for robust and efficient decision making for customers.

Impact You’ll Own:

• Drive research into the development of state-of-the-art algorithms for deriving core biophysical properties (e.g., Evapotranspiration) using the Planet Fusion Surface Reflectance product as a key input
• Dive into multi-sensor data fusion (e.g., optical multispectral and hyperspectral, SAR, thermal)
• Support Planet Fusion development and advancement and the release of products to the public
• Help with the implementation of developed algorithms for scalable production
• Help create documentation and release material for Planet Fusion products
• Troubleshooting product quality issues and deploy software fixes

What You Bring:

• PhD in a relevant scientific/engineering field
• A passion for Programming, Photography, Remote Sensing, Earth Sciences, and Geography
• A record of relevant peer-reviewed publications
• Extensive land surface remote sensing research experience related to higher level (biophysical) product development
• Knowledge of land surface modeling, leaf/canopy radiative transfer, meteorology, and weather prediction
• Experience leveraging large datasets from different satellites and data providers in a variety of formats
• Knowledge of radiometry, calibration, and imaging sensors
• Extensive experience leveraging scientific computing using Python in a Unix/Linux environment
• Hands-on, can-do attitude, great interpersonal skills, and ability to collaborate effectively
• Practical experience in solving problems by exploiting large cloud-based datasets

Benefits While Working at Planet:

• Comprehensive Health Plan
• Wellness program and onsite massages in specific offices
• Flexible Time Off
• Recognition Programs
• Commuter Benefits
• Learning and Tuition Reimbursement
• Parental Leave
• Offsites and Happy Hours
• Volunteering Benefits

Some Press About Us: 

Our CEO, Will Marshall featured on TED and featured in a Planet Blog

“Planet: Bringing Space Back Down to Earth”

Tiny, privately owned satellites are changing how we view the Earth features in NBC News

“Planet And Rocket Lab Create Mission Patch To Honor Women In Aerospace” —Planet Blog

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 with diversity, equity and inclusion.  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.