Intern, RF and Optical Communications

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:

Planet is working on the next generation small satellite bus that will host a high resolution optical imaging payload (Pelican) and a hyperspectral payload (Carbon Mapper). Planet has continuously iterated and developed small spacecraft communication systems including board level hardware, antennas, and ground station equipment that produce record data rates. Our system consists of transceivers in several bands, as well as a worldwide network of ground stations. 

We are seeking an RF/Optical Communications summer intern to develop our next-generation onboard, ground radios, modems and antenna systems that push the frontiers of satellite communications. As a RF/Optical Comms Intern you will assist the team in making evolutionary and revolutionary improvements in their performance, reliability and cost, including the design of next-generation S-band through Ka-band radios, Intersatellite Optical communications and a variety of antennas as well as contribute to various ongoing projects. You will participate in design and implementation of communication systems, PCB layout projects and interface with cross functional teams - electrical, FPGA, DSP, software and mechanical engineers to address challenging design issues.

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:

• RF/MW hardware transceiver and circuit design, simulation (Spice, ADS, HFSS), instrumentation, test and characterization.
• Modem design, implementation, validation and verification
• Antenna design, simulation and testing
• Digital communications theory and associated signal processing algorithms for both narrowband and wideband data transmission systems
• Software Defined Radio (SDR) platforms and respective signal processing toolkits (ex.: GNURadio)
• Optical communication systems integration and test
• Validation and Verification of radios and antennas pre-shipment and validation of radio performance on orbit after satellite launch.

What You Bring:

• Graduate or Ph. D. candidate pursuing a dissertation in a related RF, Optical Communications field. 
• Passion for RF/MW, communications, electromagnetics, and signal processing
• Ability to adapt and learn a multitude of technical skills related to the position and other building blocks for space and ground station applications.
• Excellent documentation, presentation and communication skills.

What Makes You Stand Out: 

• Experience with Optical comms systems
• Class projects, prior internships or contribution to open source projects in the areas of digital signal processing and digital communications
• Understanding of finite word length effects in the implementation of DSP algorithms.
• Knowledge of mixed signal (A/D, D/A), digital, FPGA and uProcessor design, bringup, interfacing and prototyping.
• Experience in Linux, Python, MATLAB/Simulink, and data analysis tools
• Experience with at least one RF/MW design and simulation suites (ADS, HFSS, Microwave Office)
• Experience utilizing AI tools and agentic workflows for rapid development.

Application Deadline:

April 5, 2026 at 11:59p PT