Application Guide

How to Apply for Engineering Manager, Full Stack & Data

at Overstory

🏢 About Overstory

Overstory uses real-time satellite data to help utilities reduce wildfire risk and improve grid reliability, directly combating climate change. As a remote-first company with a mission-driven team, you'll work on cutting-edge geospatial analytics that have tangible environmental impact. Their focus on rapid iteration and high-growth scaleup culture offers engineers the chance to shape products that protect communities and ecosystems.

About This Role

As Engineering Manager, you'll lead cross-functional teams of full stack, data, and GIS engineers to build customer-facing products and robust data pipelines. Your technical direction ensures high-quality data platforms that power wildfire risk assessments and grid insights. This role combines hands-on technical leadership with team growth, making it pivotal to Overstory's mission of preventing catastrophic fires.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your day might start with a standup with your full-stack team to review progress on a customer-facing dashboard, then shift to a data pipeline architecture discussion with data engineers and ML scientists. After lunch, you could conduct one-on-ones with direct reports, provide code review feedback on a FastAPI endpoint, and end the day by reviewing hiring resumes or interviewing a candidate. Throughout, you'll collaborate with product managers to prioritize features that reduce wildfire risk.

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Overstory Is Looking For

  • Has 2+ years of direct management experience leading full-stack or data engineering teams, with a proven ability to mentor and grow engineers at various levels.
  • Possesses deep technical expertise in React/TypeScript, Python/FastAPI, PostgresDB, SQL, and data pipeline tools like Airflow or Dagster, plus familiarity with data warehouses/lakehouses.
  • Thrives in a high-growth scaleup environment, comfortable balancing short-term delivery with long-term architecture decisions while partnering with product and ML teams.
  • Demonstrates a strong passion for climate action and can articulate how their work contributes to reducing wildfire risk or improving grid reliability.

📝 Tips for Applying to Overstory

1

Highlight specific examples of how you've led teams to deliver data-intensive products, especially those involving geospatial or real-time data pipelines.

2

Quantify your impact: e.g., 'Reduced pipeline latency by 40%' or 'Grew team from 3 to 8 engineers while improving retention.'

3

Tailor your resume to emphasize experience with Python, FastAPI, React, Postgres, and orchestration tools—Overstory's stack is non-negotiable.

4

Include a brief cover letter or note explaining your personal connection to climate change or wildfire prevention, as passion is a key requirement.

5

Mention any experience with satellite imagery, GIS, or working with utilities/energy sector, even if tangential—it's a strong differentiator.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your leadership philosophy: how you foster inclusive, high-performing teams and drive technical excellence.', 'Concrete examples of managing full-stack and data engineering teams simultaneously, especially in a scaleup context.', 'Your technical depth in the required stack, with emphasis on data pipeline orchestration and architecture decisions.', "Your genuine passion for climate tech and how Overstory's mission aligns with your career goals."]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Read Overstory's blog and case studies to understand their product offerings and how they talk about wildfire risk reduction.
  • → Look into their open-source contributions or technical talks to gauge engineering culture and priorities.
  • → Understand the competitive landscape: companies like Pano AI, Firemaps, and Descartes Labs—how does Overstory differentiate?
  • → Review recent news about utility wildfire liabilities (e.g., PG&E, Xcel) to contextualize the urgency of Overstory's mission.

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you design a data pipeline to process satellite imagery for real-time wildfire risk assessment?
2 Describe a time you had to balance short-term feature delivery with long-term data architecture improvements. What was your approach?
3 How do you coach a junior engineer who is struggling with a complex data transformation task?
4 Given Overstory's stack (React, Python, Postgres, Airflow), how would you evaluate and improve the team's development workflow?
5 What metrics would you use to measure the success of a cross-functional engineering team in a climate tech startup?
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Don't focus solely on management without demonstrating technical depth—this role requires hands-on guidance in a complex stack.
  • Avoid generic statements about 'passion for the environment' without connecting to Overstory's specific mission or your relevant experience.
  • Don't underestimate the importance of data pipeline experience; ignoring mentions of Airflow/Dagster or data warehousing will weaken your application.

📅 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 Overstory!

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