Application Guide

How to Apply for Staff Software Engineer, Geospatial Data

at Overstory

🏢 About Overstory

Overstory uses real-time satellite data to combat climate change by reducing wildfire risk and improving grid reliability. Unlike typical tech companies, their mission directly addresses urgent environmental challenges through geospatial technology. Working here means contributing to tangible solutions for climate resilience while working with cutting-edge satellite data.

About This Role

As a Staff Software Engineer for Geospatial Data, you'll lead the technical vision for annotation/QA web applications while optimizing ML model orchestration for object detection and image alignment. This role directly impacts Overstory's ability to process millions of geospatial entities and develop new products like outage impact prediction systems. You'll combine software craftsmanship with coding agents while mentoring engineers on these practices.

💡 A Day in the Life

You might start by reviewing performance metrics for object detection models, then collaborate with product managers on outage impact prediction features. Afternoon could involve architectural discussions for annotation web applications and mentoring engineers on coding agent best practices, ending with optimizing geospatial data pipelines processing millions of entities.

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🎯 Who Overstory Is Looking For

  • 7+ years as Senior/Staff Engineer or Tech Lead with proven experience in React, FastAPI, and PostgreSQL web applications
  • Demonstrated expertise in production ML system orchestration and monitoring, specifically for object detection/image alignment models
  • Strong background designing ETL pipelines with near-real-time orchestration for geospatial or large-scale data systems
  • Experience leading architectural discussions and mentoring engineers while combining coding agents with software engineering best practices

📝 Tips for Applying to Overstory

1

Highlight specific examples of geospatial data pipeline projects you've designed or optimized, especially with satellite imagery

2

Demonstrate your experience with ML model orchestration in production environments, not just model development

3

Show how you've combined coding agents/tools with traditional software craftsmanship in previous roles

4

Include metrics about scale (e.g., 'processed X million entities' or 'reduced latency by Y%') in your resume

5

Reference Overstory's climate mission and explain why their specific wildfire/grid focus resonates with you

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your experience with geospatial data systems and satellite imagery processing pipelines', 'Examples of mentoring engineers on combining coding agents with software craftsmanship practices', 'Specific achievements in optimizing ML model orchestration for production systems', "Why Overstory's climate mission (wildfire risk reduction, grid reliability) aligns with your professional goals"]

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🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Overstory's specific wildfire prevention and grid reliability case studies on their website
  • → Recent news about their satellite data technology and partnerships
  • → The geospatial data ecosystem (satellite providers, GIS tools, standards like GeoJSON)
  • → Climate tech industry trends and how Overstory positions itself within this space

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Technical deep dive on designing near-real-time ETL pipelines for millions of geospatial entities
2 Architecture discussion for annotation/QA web applications using React, FastAPI, and PostgreSQL
3 Scenario-based questions about orchestrating multiple object detection and image alignment models
4 Approaches to mentoring engineers on coding agents and software craftsmanship best practices
5 How you'd work with product managers to discover new products for outage impact prediction
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⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Generic application materials that don't reference geospatial data or satellite imagery experience
  • Focusing only on ML model development without discussing production orchestration and monitoring
  • Failing to demonstrate experience with the specific stack (React, FastAPI, PostgreSQL) at scale

📅 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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