Application Guide

How to Apply for Analytics Engineer

at Bird

🏢 About Bird

Bird is revolutionizing urban transportation with eco-friendly, dockless electric scooters, focusing on sustainability and reducing carbon emissions. The company operates in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment where data directly impacts urban mobility decisions across multiple cities. Working at Bird means contributing to tangible environmental change while solving complex data challenges at scale.

About This Role

As an Analytics Engineer at Bird, you'll design data models that enable flexible querying and visualization of scooter usage patterns, operational metrics, and business performance. You'll instrument algorithms and ML pipelines from complex requirements like demand forecasting and fleet optimization, while advancing automation to reduce manual data manipulation. This role is impactful because your work directly informs decisions about fleet deployment, pricing strategies, and sustainability initiatives across Bird's global operations.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day involves collaborating with data analysts to understand their scooter utilization reporting needs, then designing or refining data models in the warehouse to support those queries. You might spend time optimizing Spark jobs that process real-time location data from thousands of scooters, or implementing new dimensions in your star schema to track sustainability metrics. The role balances hands-on pipeline development with roadmap planning to automate data validation and free up the team for deeper analysis of urban mobility patterns.

🎯 Who Bird Is Looking For

  • Has 2-3+ years of data engineering experience with expertise in SQL, star schemas, slowly changing dimensions, and ELT/ETL processes in MPP databases
  • Possesses hands-on experience with big-data technologies like Spark, Kafka, or Hive for processing high-volume scooter telemetry and transaction data
  • Holds a Bachelor's degree from a top-tier institution in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Statistics, or Finance with strong quantitative skills
  • Can translate complex business requirements about urban mobility patterns into scalable data models and automated pipelines

📝 Tips for Applying to Bird

1

Highlight specific experience with geospatial data or time-series analysis relevant to tracking scooter movements and usage patterns

2

Demonstrate how you've automated data validation or ETL processes in previous roles, quantifying time saved for analytics teams

3

Show familiarity with transportation, logistics, or IoT data challenges that align with Bird's dockless scooter operations

4

Mention any experience with sustainability metrics or environmental impact data that resonates with Bird's eco-friendly mission

5

Tailor your resume to emphasize MPP database experience and data modeling for business intelligence, not just generic data engineering

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Explain how your data engineering experience aligns with Bird's need for scalable data models to track scooter fleets across multiple cities", 'Describe specific examples of automating data pipelines that freed up analyst time for deeper insights', "Connect your skills to Bird's sustainability mission by mentioning relevant experience with operational efficiency or resource optimization data", 'Demonstrate understanding of how analytics engineering supports business decisions in fast-paced, operationally complex environments like urban mobility']

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • Bird's sustainability reports and environmental impact metrics to understand their data-driven approach to eco-friendly transportation
  • Urban mobility challenges in different cities where Bird operates to contextualize the data problems you'd be solving
  • Bird's technology blog or engineering articles to understand their current data stack and technical challenges
  • Competitive landscape of micro-mobility companies to understand industry-specific data needs and differentiators

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you design a data model to track scooter utilization, battery levels, and maintenance needs across different cities?
2 Describe your experience implementing slowly changing dimensions for business metrics that evolve over time
3 How have you instrumented machine learning pipelines from business requirements in previous roles?
4 What automation approaches have you used to reduce time spent on data validation and manipulation?
5 How would you handle the data engineering challenges of processing real-time scooter location data at scale?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on generic data engineering skills without connecting them to Bird's specific urban mobility context
  • Not demonstrating experience with the specific technologies mentioned (SQL, data warehousing concepts, big-data tools)
  • Presenting as purely technical without showing ability to translate business requirements into data solutions

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Bird!