Intern, Spacecraft Thermal Engineer

Intern, Spacecraft Thermal Engineer

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.

Internships at Planet:

Planet's Summer 2026 internships are full-time, paid 12-week positions located in our San Francisco HQ Office.

Program Dates:

• June 1 - August 21
• June 22 - September 11

About the Role:

The Thermal team at Planet is seeking a Thermal Engineer to help drive the thermal design, analysis and testing of our spacecraft and their subsystems. The ideal candidate is passionate about Planet's mission and thrives in a people-oriented environment. This role will appeal to candidates who are looking for opportunities to help Planet take their satellite designs and production to a new level by bringing new technology to our company on our new projects. As a member of the Thermal Engineering team within Planet's Space Systems division, you will be a contributor and stakeholder in Planet's agile aerospace approach to spacecraft design; you will work closely with the Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Qualification, Mission Operations and Manufacturing teams, as well as the rest of Planet's leading-edge spacecraft design teams.

This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our San Francisco office 3 days per week.

Impact You'll Own:

• Own the thermal design on key payload subsystems
• Collaborate with electrical and mechanical engineers to derive requirements that drive the thermal design.
• Ensure that all components of our payload are within their operational and survival temperature ranges throughout all phases of the mission.
• Collaborate with optical and mechanical engineers to ensure optical requirements are met.
• Drive part/assembly thermal analysis on key spacecraft subsystems to meet temperature requirements.
• Oversee quality of our space hardware as it's being built.
• Develop sub-contracts and Interface Control Documents (ICDs) for thermal hardware fabrication as needed.
• Support test planning and qualification campaigns by developing tests that validate the thermal performance of your designs.
• Support ICD development by ensuring the thermal interfaces are sufficiently well defined for mission success.
• Own thermal hardware configuration management and release to production.
• Collaborate with mission operation engineers to ensure proper mission design and flight operational and survival temperatures.
• Collaborate with the guidance, navigation and control engineers to ensure proper mission design and thermal modeling inputs.

What You Bring:

• Pursuing Master's or PhD degree in Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering or other related engineering or science degree.
• Good understanding of heat transfer.
• Ability to design tests proving thermal design.
• Experience in Thermalanalysis or similar tools for chip-level analysis.
• Ability to progress initiatives while working independently and as part of a team.

What Makes You Stand Out:

• Experience with satellites
• Experience with CAD - drawing your own thermal parts
• Machine shop and rapid prototyping experience (e.g., 3d printing, metal fabrication)
• Knowledge of thermal control technology of spacecraft

Application Deadline:

April 5, 2026 at 11:59p PT

EAR/ITAR Requirements:

This position requires access to 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 the Bureau of Industry and Security and/or the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls.

Benefits While Working at Planet:

• Commuter Benefits
• Paid time off for holidays and company-wide days off
• Internet reimbursement
• Access to LinkedIn Learning

Compensation:

The US hourly rate range for this position at the commencement of employment is $35 - $60. 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 Salary Range

$37 - $60 USD

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.