Commercial AI Innovation Lead

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: As lead for Commercial AI Innovation, you will sit at the intersection of Planet's most valuable asset — the world's largest daily Earth observation archive — and the commercial use cases that prove its economic power. You will identify where Planet's imagery, analytics, and AI infrastructure can generate leading economic signals and physical economy intelligence for commercial customers, then rapidly prototype, validate, and scale those concepts into measurable revenue impact. This role is equal parts strategist and builder. You will partner closely with Sales, Customer Success, Product, and Data Science to translate Planet's AI-led product strategy into prioritized roadmaps and customer-ready proof points — moving fast, building proof, and finding the signal before committing full engineering resources. At a moment when Planet is expanding its next-generation constellation fleet and accelerating its analytics and intelligence offerings, this role exists to make sure the commercial organization is equipped to win the next chapter of Earth observation. This is a full-time, remote position based in the United States. If located near an office, you are expected to work from that office 3 days per week. Impact You'll Own: Identify and prioritize high-value commercial use cases where Planet's imagery archive, Planet Analytic Feeds, Planetary Variables, and embeddings infrastructure generate differentiated economic signals — with emphasis on financial services, supply chain, energy, and infrastructure verticals Spearheads a technology innovation pipeline from initial hypothesis through MVP validation, building demo-ready prototypes on Planet's platform well ahead of full product investment Partner with Commercial Sales and Customer Success leadership to systematically convert field insight and customer conversations into structured, repeatable AI-enabled concepts Provide support to translate validated prototypes into prioritized product roadmap inputs, coordinating across Product, Data Science, and Engineering to create a credible path to scale Serve as a senior thought partner to Commercial leadership, framing where AI-driven differentiation is both technically achievable and commercially viable Drive adoption of innovation outputs by embedding new tools and frameworks into Sales plays, Customer Success workflows, and partner programs Partner with the Education and research liaison on finding new innovation opportunities in academia. Represent Planet's commercial AI capabilities externally with customers (particularly our largest and most strategic commercial customers), at industry forums, and with the analyst community What You Bring: 10+ years spanning commercial strategy, customer-facing roles, and data or analytics product development — ideally at the intersection of geospatial, alternative data, or enterprise SaaS Deep familiarity with commercial market data use cases: alternative data for financial services, supply chain analytics, physical economy signals, or adjacent domains where satellite-derived intelligence creates decision advantage Ability to prototype and pitch AI-enabled concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences — you can build a compelling demo and a compelling business case, and you know which one the room needs Working knowledge of the geospatial AI landscape: change detection, image classification, time-series analysis over Earth observation data, and the role of embeddings in enabling semantic query across global imagery archives Track record of building momentum in ambiguous, low-resource environments Excellent verbal and written communication skills; experience influencing VP and C-suite stakeholders with data-backed narratives What Makes You Stand Out: Direct experience building or selling into the alternative data ecosystem — hedge funds, commodity intelligence, physical economy indexing, or supply chain analytics Hands-on experience with rapid prototyping tools and vibe coding workflows (Cursor, Streamlit, or similar) to build and validate concepts without a full engineering team Familiarity with Planet's product suite and the Earth observation competitive landscape Experience operating within or alongside a commercial skunkworks or innovation function inside a data or SaaS company Application Deadline: September 11, 2026 by 11:59p PST 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. #LI-REMOTE New York City + California Salary Range $153,000—$191,300 USD San Francisco Salary Range $162,600—$203,200 USD US National Salary Range $142,800—$178,500 USD 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. 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 accommodations@planet.com 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 currently use Metaview 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 accommodations@planet.com 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.