Senior Hardware Test Engineer, PCBA

Planet Labs•Berlin, BE 10115, DE• Contract

Posted 3 hours ago• Electrical• Manufacturing

Job Description

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 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:

The Manufacturing Test Engineering Team is responsible for creating and maintaining the tests and infrastructure for our satellite manufacturing operations. The hardware test engineers on our team tackle projects large and small to design and build software and hardware to automate functional & integration testing, instrument calibration, and qualification testing for both production and design validation. As a member of the Manufacturing Test Engineering team, you will collaborate with design engineers to develop board-level tests and be responsible for designing and developing the test fixtures, test hardware, and test software. This will involve working with a broad variety of disciplines, including our top-notch design, qualification, and manufacturing teams.

This is a full-time, in-office position based in our Berlin Manufacturing Center 5 days a week.

Impact You’ll Own:

Develop test plans in collaboration with design engineers.
Drive the strategy and approach to PCBA test for manufacturing.
Design, validate, and deploy bed-of-nails and boundary scan test fixtures both in-house and at supplier facilities.
Design PCBA’s for testing– adapters, interface, and breakout boards.
Develop the automation and test scripts to functionally test the hardware through various stages of manufacturing.
Continuous improvement of test software and hardware to ensure high reliability and scalability of test systems.
Troubleshoot failures and non-conformances through all stages of test, drive root cause analysis, and recommend corrective actions.

What You Bring:

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering or similar.
6+ years of experience in PCBA testing or manufacturing electrical test development.
Experience with JTAG/boundary scan and bed-of-nail testers.
Experience in design and layout of PCBA’s for adapting or interfacing with test hardware.
Ability to read and interpret PCBA schematics and use them to design tests and troubleshoot hardware.
Experience creating system diagrams as well as detailed wiring diagrams.
Experience troubleshooting hardware/software issues and identifying root causes.
Familiarity with measurement hardware and test equipment such as DMMs, oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, analog and digital I/O, data acquisition systems, switch matrices, relay banks, and signal conditioning.
Experience programming in Python, especially functional tests of hardware.
Comfortable using Linux.
Experience with DVCS such as git or mercurial.

What Makes You Stand Out:

Advanced Python programming skills with a track record of developing and contributing to a large and complex code base.
Experience using Altium.
Experience in design, manufacturing, or test of satellite or aerospace hardware.
Experience developing functional tests from the ground up including the development of test requirements, pass/fail criteria, test station hardware, and procedures.
Experience designing, building, validating, troubleshooting, and deploying boundary scan and bed-of-nails testers.

Application Deadline:

June 1, 2026 by 11:59p / 23:59 CET (Central European Time)

Export Control Requirements:

Planet Labs Germany GmbH is authorized to receive U.S. export-controlled information at Planet under an export license issued by the Bureau of Industry and Security. This position requires access to U.S. and German/EU export-controlled information, and as such, employment (or hiring of a contractor) is contingent upon the candidate’s ability to access all applicable export-controlled information without additional export licensing being required by German, EU, or U.S. authorities.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

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

Paid time off including vacation, holidays and company-wide days off
Employee Wellness Program
Home Office Reimbursement
Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
Equity
Volunteering Paid Time Off

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. 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.

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 [email protected] or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

Privacy Policy: By clicking "Apply Now" at the top of this job posting, I acknowledge that I have read the Planet Data Privacy Notice for California Staff Members and Applicants, and hereby consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of my personal information as described therein.

Privacy Policy (European Applicants): By clicking "Apply Now" at the top of this job posting, I acknowledge that I have read the Candidate Privacy Notice GDPR Planet Labs Europe, and hereby consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of my personal information as described therein.

AI in Our Interviewing Process: Planet is committed to providing an exceptional interview experience for all candidates. We are currently exploring AI interviewing technologies to better focus on candidates and less on trying to capture notes. As such, with the candidate's 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 one's 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 tools—e.g. Large Language Models (LLMs), deep fake technology, etc.—is 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 [email protected] 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.