Engineering Manager, Machine Learning

The climate crisis is the defining challenge of our time—but it’s also the greatest opportunity for innovation, and a challenge we’re proud to take on. At Overstory, we’re harnessing cutting-edge technology to enable a resilient electrical grid that keeps communities thriving as our world changes. The grid is the backbone of life as we know it. It powers hospitals, keeps food fresh, and ensures communities stay connected. But extreme weather, aging infrastructure, and growing wildfire risks are putting this critical system under pressure. All of this combined makes the electric utility industry the greatest opportunity for tackling climate change. One of the leading causes of catastrophic wildfires and power outages? Trees and brush coming into contact with power lines. That’s where we help. At Overstory, we use AI and advanced satellite imagery to pinpoint and prioritize vegetation risks before they materialize. By giving utilities critical analysis on those risks, we’re helping prevent outages, reduce wildfire risks, and accelerate the transition to a safer, more resilient grid. Our team spans the Americas and Europe, and we work with utility partners across the Americas and beyond. We’re outdoor enthusiasts, musicians, artists, athletes, parents, and adventurers. What unites us is a passion for solving complex problems, a commitment to climate action, and the belief that technology should be a force for good. Join us to help us build a more resilient world together. Role & Team As an ML Engineering Manager, you will lead across several cross-functional teams, managing up to ~10 machine learning engineers and data scientists. You will support teams working on data- and machine-learning-driven product capabilities. Our product teams are cross functional and will typically include product managers, designers, engineers and subject matter experts relating to the team’s domain. You will be accountable for the technical direction and delivery outcomes of your area. You will challenge your teams to pursue ambitious goals while providing a high level of support — growing engineering talent and fostering a highly collaborative, team-based environment where people can do great work. Your primary focus will be on building high-performing teams and driving results through others. You will not be expected to spend significant time doing hands-on coding; however, you will be expected to dive deep technically when required and leverage your experience to support strong technical decision-making. Time zone requirement: Europe (GMT/WET, CET, EET) and Eastern North America (NST, AST, EST) What You'll Do Enable our Machine Learning and data teams to operate as highly productive, cross-functional teams delivering high-quality ML-driven capabilities Support teams working with satellite imagery and geospatial datasets, balancing experimentation, iteration, and ongoing improvement of existing solutions Grow the teams by attracting and hiring great Data and ML talent Foster an inclusive, supportive, and caring culture where everyone can do their best work Provide regular 1:1 coaching and feedback to help others thrive, grow, and reach their aspirations Act as a strategic partner to Product Managers within your domains, ensuring technical decisions balance short- and long-term goals Ensure the technical approaches within your domains support future product and modelling needs Work closely with other Product, Design and Engineering leaders on strategy, technology, and people Help evolve Data and ML practices and introduce ways of working that improve collaboration, delivery, and learning Skills & Experience 8+ years of professional experience building ML- or data-driven systems, at least 3 years’ experience leading and managing ML or data-focused teams Passionate about climate and the role technology can play in addressing environmental challenges Experience working in a high-growth scale-up or startup environment Product-minded, with the ability to demonstrate meaningful business impact through technology Sufficient technical depth in machine learning, data systems, or applied ML to guide teams and challenge decisions Experience working with python-based ML or data workflows and collaborating closely with data scientists Strong leadership skills, with a coaching mindset and the ability to support engineers and data scientists at all levels Excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate effectively in cross-functional environments Passion for learning and staying current with evolving technologies and industry trend Nice To Have Engineering mindset or background, with experience applying software engineering best practices to data and ML systems (e.g., reproducibility, testing, monitoring, and production deployments) Note: We believe that all people are capable of great things. We encourage you to apply even if you do not meet all of the requirements that are listed within this job description. What We Offer Competitive, location-specific compensation and benefits Flexible, autonomous and collaborative working environment rooted in trust - we build our work days around our lives, not the other way around Home office stipend, coworking and ongoing education budgets A company culture that genuinely embodies each of our core values To be part of truly mission-driven work that reduces wildfires, protects earth’s natural resources and helps solve our climate crisis About Our Team We are a fast-growing team of about 100 people from all over the world. Fifteen nationalities are represented and at last count we speak fourteen languages: English, Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Luxembourgish, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Finnish, Estonian, and Afrikaans. We work remotely from eleven countries and are looking for candidates that are living and working in one of them: United States, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Estonia, Portugal, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and Canada. We gather once a year in-person for our unforgettable team gathering event. We also offer the option to occasionally meet up for in-person collaboration. Diversity & Inclusion The climate crisis is a human crisis that requires diverse perspectives to solve. We place enormous value on diversity and believe that the best ideas emerge when people with different backgrounds and experience work together. We remain committed to scaling a team that reflects the communities we serve, and strive to uphold equitable and inclusive practices across every aspect of our business. We are responsible for creating and maintaining a culture where everyone - regardless of background - has a voice in building a sustainable future. Our Values Tackling the climate crisis is our greatest mission. We act with urgency. Our curiosity fuels our growth. We recognize that change is constant, and we find joy and power in exploration. We’re rooted in diversity. Just as ecosystems need biodiversity to thrive, our resiliency comes from our differences. We care for each other. We love the power of machines but we nurture each other as humans. Trust is fundamental. We assume the best in everyone, and we share ideas openly so that we have a positive impact. _________________________________ Use of AI in Our Hiring Process We sometimes use AI tools to support parts of our hiring process, such as helping us manage applications more efficiently or ensuring job descriptions are clear and inclusive. All hiring decisions are always made by people, not machines. Any data processed by AI is handled securely in line with GDPR and our Privacy Notice .

• Highlight any ML projects that directly improved grid reliability or wildfire risk prediction (e.g., a model that reduced false‑positive line‑trip alerts by 20%). Include a concise one‑page “impact sheet” in your resume that lists dataset size, model type, performance metrics, and the concrete operational outcome; Overstory’s interviewers will look for measurable climate‑impact results.
• Build a short (2‑3 min) demo video or interactive Jupyter notebook that walks through a end‑to‑end pipeline: ingest geospatial/tree‑line data, clean it in Excel (show pivot tables, Power Query, or VBA macros), train a tree‑based model, and export predictions to a GIS format. Share the link in your cover letter; the team values clear communication of technical work to non‑engineers.
• Emphasize remote leadership experience: prepare a 1‑page “remote team playbook” that outlines your sprint cadence, code‑review workflow (e.g., PR templates, CI/CD), and how you keep cross‑functional stakeholders (grid engineers, safety regulators) aligned across time zones. Overstory’s hiring panel will probe for proven remote‑first management habits.
• Tailor your portfolio to the energy‑utility domain: include any work with SCADA data, outage analytics, or climate‑impact modeling. Annotate each project with the specific utility problem you solved, the regulatory or safety constraints you considered, and any cost‑savings or emissions reductions achieved.
• For salary discussions, research the median total compensation for ML engineering managers in the listed countries (e.g., US ≈ $200‑$250 k total, EU ≈ €150‑€180 k). Prepare a brief “value proposition” slide that quantifies your past ROI (e.g., $X saved per MW of grid capacity) and request a compensation package that includes a performance‑based equity component tied to climate‑impact milestones, which aligns with Overstory’s mission‑driven culture.