Visiting Scientist

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 Planets data to develop new technologies drive revenue power research and solve our worlds 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 a global company with employees working remotely world wide and joining us from offices in San Francisco Washington DC Germany Austria Slovenia and The Netherlands.

About the Role:

We are seeking a highly motivated Visiting Scientist (Postdoctoral Researcher) to join our AI Research (AIR) team for a one-year this role you will work directly with Dr. Mirela Tulbure during her sabbatical at Planet to develop our proprietary geospatial foundation models (GFMs).

While Planet has historically leveraged external models we are now focused on building in-house models specifically trained on our unique imagery. As a postdoctoral researcher you will be the primary technical engine behind creating temporally dense embeddings that capture the dynamic and ephemeral nature of our planetsuch as rapid flooding and disaster impacts. You will collaborate with Planeteers across data pipelines and analytics to bridge the gap between academic research and operational AI/ML solutions.

Impact Youll Own:

• GFM Implementation: Contribute to the design and training of a foundation model specifically optimized for Planet imagery focusing on the integration of time-series data.
• Technical Benchmarking: Execute the systematic evaluation of existing GFM architectures (e.g. TerraMind Prithvi Clay) against PlanetScope data to identify performance bottlenecks and transferability.
• Prototype Development: Build and test workflows for detecting short-lived events such as floods and fires using high-cadence embeddings.
• Multi-Sensor Data Fusion: Develop methods to integrate PlanetScope with Sentinel-1 SAR and other commercial datasets to maintain time-series continuity under cloud cover.
• Research to Production: Work closely with Planets research scientists to transition experimental prototypes into scalable operational products.
• Scholarly Contribution: Co-author findings for publication in top-tier journals and present research at leading conferences like IGARSS or CVPR.

What You Bring:

• Academic Foundation: A recently completed PhD in Geospatial Analytics Computer Science Remote Sensing or a related field.
• Research Track Record: Demonstrated experience in building AI-based models for environmental change or satellite image analysis.
• AI/ML Fluency: Hands-on experience with foundation models contrastive learning and deep learning frameworks (PyTorch/TensorFlow).
• Advanced Technical Stack: Expert-level Python skills and proficiency with the geospatial scientific stack (e.g. xarray Dask Rasterio GeoPandas).
• Data Engineering Aptitude: Experience building automated pipelines for preprocessing and labeling planetary-scale datasets.
• Collaborative Research: Experience working within a research lab environment and a strong desire to apply academic rigor to industry challenges.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Specialized Domain Knowledge: Prior research in flood-extent mapping water dynamics or disaster response.
• GFM Fine-Tuning: Direct experience fine-tuning or modifying specific GFM architectures like TerraMind Prithvi or Clay.
• Multi-Sensor Expertise: Proven ability to work with a variety of sensors including PlanetScope Landsat and Sentinel-1/2.

Operational Mindset: A history of developing human-in-the-loop workflows or active learning strategies for labeling time-sensitive data.

Application Deadline:

August 12 2026 by 11:59p / 23:59 CET (Central European Time)

Benefits While Working at Planet:

These offerings are dependent on employment type and geographical location based upon applicable law or company policy.

• Comprehensive Medical Dental and Vision plans
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with a company contribution
• Generous Paid Time Off in addition to holidays and company-wide days off
• 16 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave
• Wellness Program and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Home Office Reimbursement
• Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
• Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
• Equity
• Commuter Benefits (if local to an office)
• Volunteering Paid Time Off

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is listed below. Additionally this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives (bonus and equity). The final salary range is determined by job related experience skills and location. The range displays our typical hiring range for new hire salaries in US locations only. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Why we care so much about Belonging.
Were 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. Thats why Planet is guided by an ultimate north star of Belongingdreaming big as we approach our ongoing work. If this job intrigues you but youre 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 dont just fill positions we aspire to fulfill peoples 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 youre excited to come along for the ride.

EEO statement:
Planet is committed to building a community where everyone belongs and we invite people from all backgrounds to apply. Planet is an equal opportunity employer and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race religious creed color national origin ancestry physical disability mental disability medical condition genetic information marital status sex gender gender identity gender expression pregnancy childbirth and breastfeeding age sexual orientation military or veteran status or any other protected classification in accordance with applicable federal state and local laws. Know Your Rights.

Accommodations:
Planet is an inclusive community and we know that everyone has their own needs. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation during the hiring process please reach out to or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

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AI in Our Interviewing Process: Planet is committed to providing an exceptional interview experience for all candidates. We currently use Metaview to better focus on candidates and less on trying to capture notes. As such with the candidates consent select interviews may be recorded and include a Planet AI Notetaker for transcription and summarization purposes. Should an interview involve use of AI interview technologies the candidate will receive notification and have the ability to opt out both in advance and/or real-time. Opting out will not affect ones candidacy.

Candidate AI Policy: Planet embraces Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and we encourage its responsible use. We understand that candidates may use various resources including AI tools to prepare for interviews and assessments. However during any live interview stage or when actively completing assessments for this position the use of AI toolse.g. Large Language Models (LLMs) deep fake technology strictly prohibited unless explicitly prompted by an interviewer or assessment instructions. If you are unsure about acceptable use please contact your recruiter for clarification. If an AI tool or similar technology is desired as an accommodation please contact with your request for assistance. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you. Violation of this policy may result in disqualification of your application.