Application Guide

How to Apply for Senior Full-Stack Engineer

at Forerunner

🏢 About Forerunner

Forerunner is uniquely positioned at the intersection of climate technology and community empowerment, providing actionable flood risk data to combat climate change impacts. Unlike typical tech companies, they focus on meaningful environmental solutions while maintaining a collaborative, cross-functional culture where engineering, product, design, and customer success teams build together rather than in silos.

About This Role

As a Senior Full-Stack Engineer at Forerunner, you'll own complete features from database modeling to polished UI, working across the entire stack with TypeScript and React. This role is impactful because you'll directly build capabilities that communities rely on for flood risk management, with roughly 80% of your time dedicated to new features customers are actively requesting.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical Wednesday might start with designing a new API endpoint based on customer feedback heard directly from the customer success team, then implementing the database schema changes, and finishing with polishing the React frontend interface—all while using AI tools to assist with planning and code generation. You'd participate in collaborative sessions with design and product teams, review colleagues' code with an eye for raising the bar, and potentially be on call to maintain system reliability.

🚀 Application Tools

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Interview Prep

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🎯 Who Forerunner Is Looking For

  • A product engineer with 5+ years experience who owns outcomes, not just writes code—demonstrated by shipping features real users depend on
  • Full-stack fluent with deep TypeScript/React expertise and ability to move from backend API endpoints to pixel-perfect frontends in the same day
  • Data-driven thinker with strong SQL and database design instincts who naturally thinks in schemas rather than just queries
  • AI-assisted development practitioner who has used tools like Cursor or Claude Code to plan and execute projects from specifications

📝 Tips for Applying to Forerunner

1

Highlight specific examples where you've used AI-assisted development tools (Cursor, Claude Code, etc.) to plan or execute projects—this is explicitly mentioned in their job description

2

Demonstrate your 'product engineer' mindset by quantifying outcomes of features you've shipped, not just listing technologies you've used

3

Showcase your full-stack ownership with examples of features you built end-to-end from database to UI, emphasizing the Wednesday workflow mentioned in the posting

4

Include SQL/database design examples that show you think in schemas, not just queries—perhaps a schema optimization or complex data modeling challenge you solved

5

Tailor your experience to show comfort with ambiguity by describing how you've driven projects from unclear problems to concrete delivery without step-by-step plans

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Your experience with AI-assisted development tools and how they've improved your workflow", 'Specific examples of owning complete features from database to UI and the outcomes those features achieved', 'Your approach to working in collaborative, cross-functional environments where you hear directly from users', "Why you're drawn to Forerunner's mission of empowering communities with flood risk data specifically"]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Research Forerunner's specific flood risk data products and how communities currently use them
  • → Understand the climate change impacts on flooding in regions Forerunner serves
  • → Explore the company's engineering blog or tech talks to understand their stack and development philosophy
  • → Learn about their cross-functional 'campfire' approach—how engineering, product, design, and customer success collaborate

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk through a recent project where you used AI tools to assist with planning or execution
2 Describe how you've handled ambiguous problems—what's your process for moving from vague goals to concrete delivery?
3 Technical deep dive on a full-stack feature you owned end-to-end, including database design decisions
4 How do you balance shipping new features (80% of time) with system reliability and technical debt?
5 Discuss your experience with on-call rotations and making alerts meaningful rather than just responding to them
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Focusing only on coding skills without demonstrating product ownership or outcome-driven work
  • Presenting as a specialist in only frontend or backend rather than showing full-stack fluency and comfort
  • Describing work in isolated team silos rather than collaborative, cross-functional environments

📅 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 Forerunner!

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