Lead Optical Manufacturing Technician

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 worldwide and joining us from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.

As the Lead Optical Manufacturing Technician, you will oversee and guide a team of 5 optical technicians responsible for building, testing, aligning, and characterizing optical payloads across multiple satellite programs. You will become deeply knowledgeable in the optical architecture, program milestones, and manufacturing workflows across all optics lines, enabling you to delegate effectively, ensure priorities are clear, unblock issues quickly, and maintain high technical razlik and operational standards.

You will serve as the primary liaison between the optics technicians in manufacturing and optomechanical/optical engineering teams, translating requirements, ensuring proper documentation and training, and maintaining an efficient communication loop. The ideal candidate combines strong optics expertise, excellent communication, proactive leadership, and the organizational rigor needed to drive multiple optical programs forward in a fast‑paced environment.

This is a full‑time, in‑office position based in our San Francisco office 5 days per week.

• Lead a team of optics technicians through daily standups, clear task delegation, and continuous alignment across multiple active optical payload programs.
• Become fully fluent in the optical design, requirements, test needs, and build sequences for all optics programs (e.g., telescopes, focal planes, camera assemblies).
• Prioritize work across programs, ensuring the team is meeting deadlines, escalating blockers early, and keeping engineers informed.
• Train technicians on optical assembly, alignment, metrology, and test procedures; ensure all training and documentation is thorough and consistently followed.
• Own execution and quality standards for optical builds, including IPC cleanliness expectations, proper optical handling, and alignment best practices.
• Partner closely with optical and optomechanical engineers to resolve issues, perform root‑cause analysis, request missing information, and ensure manufacturing readiness for new designs.
• Maintain a well‑organized optics lab, including test equipment, metrology stations, optical benches, hardware, calibration tools, and inventory.
• Review, improve, and enforce detailed procedures and build instructions to ensure repeatability, clarity, and high‑quality output.
• Report daily/weekly program status, team progress, and risks to engineering and manufacturing managers.
• Drive continuous improvement in throughput, yield, documentation, team communication, ergonomics, and workflow.

• Bachelor’s degree in Optical Engineering, Physics, Optics, or related field.
• 6+ years of hands‑on experience with imaging systems, telescope builds, optical metrology, or optomechanical assemblies.
• Strong understanding of optical alignment, image quality metrics, stray light considerations, camera calibration, and radiometric/MFT calculations.
• Tot to match? Not needed we keep:
  Ability to lead or mentor technical teams—delegation,…