How to apply for Full Stack Software Engineer (CFS Platform)

About Climate Finance Solutions

Climate Finance Solutions is a consultancy that has secured over $1.6 billion in grant funding for climate technology companies. It is building a software platform to turn its internal funding workflows, client portal, and funding dataset into a real product. This is a chance to join as the first dedicated software engineering hire and shape the platform from an early stage.

About the role

You will be the first full-time software engineer on the CFS Platform (GMS), working directly with the founder and a small group of collaborators. The platform currently lives across Airtable, Google Drive, email, and Slack, and you will help turn it into a product with an internal workflow tool, a secure client portal, and AI-assisted analysis of solicitations and proposals. You will have real ownership over what gets built and how.

A typical day

You might start by reviewing the current workflows in Airtable and Google Drive with the founder, then spend time building a feature for the internal workflow tool or the client portal. Later, you could work on integrating AI-assisted analysis for a new solicitation or discuss priorities with collaborators. The day is likely a mix of coding, product decisions, and learning about the grant funding process.

Who Climate Finance Solutions is looking for

• You have full stack experience and are comfortable working across the stack, from frontend interfaces to backend services and data.
• You can take ownership of an early codebase and make architectural decisions without a large team to lean on.
• You are interested in climate technology and grant funding, or you are willing to learn the domain quickly.
• You are self-directed and can work remotely with a small, distributed team.

Tips for this application

• Show that you have built or maintained a product from an early stage, not just contributed to an existing large codebase.
• Mention any experience with tools like Airtable, Google Drive, Slack, or similar workflow tools, since the current platform lives across these.
• If you have worked with AI-assisted document analysis or natural language processing, highlight it because the role involves AI-assisted analysis of solicitations and proposal documents.
• Explain why you want to work on climate funding and how you think software can improve the grant funding process.
• Since this is the first dedicated engineering hire, describe a time you made technical decisions with limited guidance or set up processes for a small team.

What to cover in your cover letter

Focus on your experience building full stack products from scratch or early stages. Explain how you have worked with non-technical stakeholders to turn manual workflows into software. Show that you understand the grant funding or climate technology space, or that you can learn it quickly. Emphasize your ability to work independently and make decisions in a small team.

Research before applying

• Read about Climate Finance Solutions and the types of climate technology companies it supports, and look at the grants it has helped secure.
• Understand what a grant management system (GMS) typically does and how consultancies use them.
• Look into common grant funding databases and how funding opportunities are tracked and analyzed.
• Check if CFS has published anything about its platform or technology stack, and be ready to ask about the current state of the codebase.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How would you approach migrating workflows from Airtable, Google Drive, email, and Slack into a unified platform?
• Describe a time you built a client portal or a secure external-facing application.
• How would you design an AI-assisted system to analyze grant solicitations and proposal documents?
• What trade-offs would you consider when building a platform that serves both internal users and external clients?
• How do you prioritize features when you are the only engineer and have input from a founder and a small group of collaborators?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Do not apply if you only want to work on a large, established codebase with a big team; this role requires comfort with ambiguity and early-stage decisions.
• Avoid generic cover letters that do not mention climate funding, grant workflows, or the specific tools the platform currently uses.
• Do not focus only on your coding skills without showing how you work with non-technical stakeholders or handle product ownership.