Application Guide

How to Apply for Senior Engineering Manager, Platform Engineering & Data Systems

at Carbon Mapper

🏢 About Carbon Mapper

Carbon Mapper is a nonprofit organization on a mission to track and reduce 80% of global methane and CO2 emissions using satellite-based remote sensing. Their work directly supports climate action by providing open-access data to governments, companies, and researchers. Joining Carbon Mapper means contributing to cutting-edge environmental monitoring with tangible impact on global emissions reduction.

About This Role

As Senior Engineering Manager of Platform Engineering & Data Systems, you will lead a team building scalable infrastructure to process, store, and deliver satellite-derived methane and CO2 data. Your work ensures that scientists, policymakers, and the public can access reliable, near-real-time emissions data through the Carbon Mapper Data Portal. This role combines technical leadership with direct climate impact, managing critical data pipelines and cloud architecture.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your day might start with a stand-up with the platform engineering team to review progress on data pipeline improvements, then a cross-functional sync with scientists to discuss new data source integration. After lunch, you could dive into a technical design review for a new cloud architecture component, followed by one-on-ones with team members to support their growth. You'd end the day reviewing system performance metrics and planning next sprint's priorities.

🚀 Application Tools

Generate Cover Letter

AI-powered, tailored for Carbon Mapper

Interview Prep

Practice questions for this role

🎯 Who Carbon Mapper Is Looking For

  • A seasoned engineering leader with 7+ years in software engineering and at least 3 years managing platform or data engineering teams, ideally in a startup or mission-driven environment.
  • Deep expertise in cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, or Azure), containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), and data engineering tools (SQL, Python, data pipelines) with a track record of building production-grade systems.
  • Experience with geospatial data, remote sensing, or environmental data systems is highly preferred, as the role involves handling large-scale satellite imagery and emissions data.
  • A collaborative leader who can work cross-functionally with science, product, and engineering teams to translate complex data requirements into reliable, scalable technical solutions.

📝 Tips for Applying to Carbon Mapper

1

Highlight any experience with satellite data, geospatial analysis (e.g., GDAL, rasterio, STAC), or environmental monitoring in your resume and cover letter.

2

Showcase specific examples of scaling data pipelines or cloud infrastructure for large datasets (e.g., petabyte-scale), emphasizing reliability and performance.

3

Mention familiarity with open data standards (e.g., Cloud Optimized GeoTIFFs, Zarr) and data portals, as Carbon Mapper emphasizes accessibility.

4

Tailor your leadership examples to include mentoring, team building, and cross-functional collaboration, especially with non-engineering stakeholders like scientists.

5

Include links to open-source contributions or projects related to climate tech, geospatial data, or data engineering to demonstrate passion.

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your motivation for working at Carbon Mapper specifically—connecting technical skills to climate impact.', 'Your experience leading platform engineering teams and building scalable data systems, with concrete metrics.', 'Any prior work with geospatial or environmental data, even if not directly satellite-related.', 'Your ability to manage complex data pipelines and cloud architecture while ensuring data quality and accessibility for diverse users.']

Generate Cover Letter →

🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Explore Carbon Mapper's Data Portal (data.carbonmapper.org) to understand the current data products and user interface.
  • → Read about their satellite constellation and how methane/CO2 detection works (e.g., hyperspectral imaging).
  • → Review their public datasets and documentation to understand the data formats and delivery mechanisms.
  • → Look into their partners (e.g., NASA JPL, Planet) and how they collaborate on data processing and distribution.

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you design a data pipeline for processing satellite imagery from multiple sources into a unified, accessible data portal?
2 Describe a time you scaled a data infrastructure under tight deadlines—what trade-offs did you make?
3 How do you ensure data reliability and consistency when ingesting data from different satellite missions with varying formats and timeliness?
4 Explain your approach to managing a team of engineers while also contributing to architectural decisions and code reviews.
5 What experience do you have with cloud cost optimization for large-scale data storage and processing?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Not demonstrating specific knowledge of geospatial data challenges (e.g., coordinate reference systems, tiling, cloud-native formats).
  • Focusing only on backend engineering without showing understanding of data portal user experience and accessibility.
  • Underestimating the importance of cross-functional collaboration with scientists and non-technical stakeholders.
  • Treating the role as just another engineering management job—failing to connect with the climate mission.

📅 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 Carbon Mapper!

← Back to Job Listing Apply Now →