How to apply for Senior Security Engineer

About Overstory

Overstory uses AI and satellite imagery to help electric utilities find vegetation risks before they cause wildfires or outages. The company works with utility partners across the Americas and has a remote team across the Americas and Europe. This role is a chance to work on security problems for a company whose product directly supports grid reliability and wildfire prevention.

About the role

As a senior security engineer, you will own security engineering work for a remote-first company that handles satellite data, AI models, and utility customer data. The job posting does not list specific tools or frameworks, so expect to ask about the current security stack, compliance requirements, and how security is organized across the engineering team. The impact is direct: your work helps protect the systems that utilities rely on to prevent wildfires and keep power on.

A typical day

A typical day may include reviewing security for cloud infrastructure, working with engineers on secure design for data pipelines, and answering security questions from utility customers. Because the job posting does not describe the team structure, ask in the interview how security work is prioritized, who you would report to, and how you would collaborate with engineering and product teams.

Who Overstory is looking for

• Has senior-level experience in security engineering, such as application security, cloud security, or infrastructure security.
• Can work independently in a remote setting and communicate clearly with engineers, product, and leadership across time zones.
• Is comfortable with or curious about satellite imagery, AI/ML pipelines, or data-heavy platforms, since Overstory's product depends on those.
• Understands security in a B2B or utility-facing context, including customer data handling and compliance expectations.

Tips for this application

• Read Overstory's product pages and recent news about utility partnerships before writing your application, then connect your security experience to protecting grid-related data and systems.
• The job description focuses on climate impact, so mention in your application why you want to work on security for a climate technology company, not just any security role.
• Since the requirements section is incomplete, do not assume specific certifications or tools. Instead, describe your security strengths and ask in your cover letter or interview what the current stack looks like.
• Highlight any experience with remote-first teams, since Overstory's team spans the Americas and Europe and the role is remote in the US.
• If you have worked with critical infrastructure, utilities, or geospatial data, put that near the top of your resume because it maps directly to Overstory's customers and product.

What to cover in your cover letter

Explain why security for a climate-focused satellite data company interests you specifically. Describe a security problem you solved that involved cloud infrastructure, data pipelines, or customer-facing platforms. Show that you can work remotely and collaborate across time zones. Ask a specific question about how security supports Overstory's utility partners, which shows you have read about the company.

Research before applying

• Overstory's product: how the satellite imagery and AI analysis work, and what data the company handles for utilities.
• Overstory's customers and partners: which utilities or regions they work with, and what security or compliance expectations those customers may have.
• Overstory's funding, size, and remote team structure, so you understand the stage of the company and how security may be organized.
• Recent news about wildfires, grid reliability, and vegetation management, so you can speak to the problem Overstory solves.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• How you would approach security for a platform that combines satellite imagery, AI models, and utility customer data.
• Your experience with cloud security, identity and access management, and secure software development in a remote engineering organization.
• How you handle security trade-offs when engineering teams move fast and the company is scaling.
• How you would work with utility customers on security reviews, questionnaires, or compliance requirements.
• A concrete example of a security incident or vulnerability you found and fixed, including how you communicated it to non-security colleagues.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Sending a generic security resume that does not mention climate, utilities, satellite data, or Overstory's product.
• Assuming the role is only about compliance or only about hands-on engineering without asking how the security function is set up.
• Ignoring the remote and distributed nature of the team, such as not mentioning experience working across time zones or communicating in writing.