Staff Machine Learning Engineer - Wildfire

Overstory; United States; Remote; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Home office stipend

Coworking and ongoing education

Job summary

Overstory is seeking a Staff Machine Learning Engineer to lead scaling of our Wildfire Fuel Detection Model, combining satellite data with environmental science to map vegetation, fuel loads, and wildfire risk. You’ll shape modeling capabilities, balance scientific rigor with production needs, and mentor engineers across teams.

Based on Eastern time zones and a globally distributed team, you’ll drive architecture decisions, implement robust pipelines, and collaborate with data science, ML, and

Qualifications

• Experience thriving at the intersection of machine learning, geospatial data, and environmental science; deeply motivated by the opportunity to reduce wildfire risk through data‑driven insights
• 10+ years of experience designing and building production‑grade ML pipelines and systems
• Strong background in deep learning, computer vision, or remote sensing
• Skilled in designing end‑to‑end ML systems — from data ingestion and preprocessing to deployment and monitoring
• Hands‑on experience with frameworks like PyTorch, TensorFlow, XGBoost, or LightGBM, and data tools like Dask, Spark, or GeoPandas
• Familiarity with GCP and Vertex AI, or similar cloud‑based ML platforms
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across technical and scientific domains
• Comfortable leading architectural discussions and mentoring other engineers

Responsibilities

• Architect and build advanced ML models to map and predict vegetation and fuel conditions across diverse geographies.
• Design and maintain robust data and feature pipelines for large‑scale geospatial and temporal data.
• Partner with wildfire science and product teams to define modeling objectives and evaluation metrics tied to real‑world impact.
• Build reproducible experimentation frameworks and model evaluation workflows.
• Scale models from research to production with a focus on performance, reliability, and explainability.
• Lead the evolution of ML systems, tooling, and processes — ensuring that our wildfire fuelscape models remain state‑of‑the‑art and maintainable.
• Collaborate with MLOps peers to streamline training, inference, and monitoring in production environments.

Skills

Machine learning pipelines

Geospatial data

Deep learning

End-to-end ML systems

PyTorch

TensorFlow

XGBoost

LightGBM

Dask

Spark

GeoPandas

GCP / Vertex AI

Communication

Mentoring

ML architecture

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

XGBoost

LightGBM

Dask

Spark

GeoPandas

GCP Vertex AI

Job description

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 a Staff Machine Learning Engineer at Overstory, you will lead the development and scaling of our Wildfire Fuel Detection Model. This core engine powers how we understand vegetation structure, fuel loads, and wildfire risk from satellite and environmental data. You’ll help shape the next generation of Overstory’s modeling capabilities by combining cutting‑edge ML techniques, large‑scale geospatial data, and real-world domain expertise.

Reporting to our VP of Product Engineering, you’ll work closely with data scientists, ML engineers, and product teams to ensure our wildfire models are accurate, robust, and production‑ready – balancing scientific rigor with practical engineering excellence. As a senior technical leader, you’ll mentor other engineers, drive architectural decisions, and define standards for modeling, experimentation, and deployment across Overstory.

Time zone requirement: Eastern North America (NST, AST, EST)

What You’ll Do

In collaboration with data, ML, and science colleagues, you will:

• Architect and build advanced ML models to map and predict vegetation and fuel conditions across diverse geographies.
• Design and maintain robust data and feature pipelines for large‑scale geospatial and temporal data.
• Partner with wildfire science and product teams to define modeling objectives and evaluation metrics tied to real‑world impact.
• Build reproducible experimentation frameworks and model evaluation workflows.
• Scale models from research to production with a focus on performance, reliability, and explainability.
• Lead the evolution of ML systems, tooling, and processes — ensuring that our wildfire fuelscape models remain state‑of‑the‑art and maintainable.
• Collaborate with MLOps peers to streamline training, inference, and monitoring in production environments.

Skills & Experience

• Experience thriving at the intersection of machine learning, geospatial data, and environmental science; deeply motivated by the opportunity to reduce wildfire risk through data‑driven insights
• 10+ years of experience designing and building production‑grade ML pipelines and systems
• Strong background in deep learning, computer vision, or remote sensing
• Skilled in designing end‑to‑end ML systems — from data ingestion and preprocessing to deployment and monitoring
• Hands‑on experience with frameworks like PyTorch, TensorFlow, XGBoost, or LightGBM, and data tools like Dask, Spark, or GeoPandas
• Familiarity with GCP and Vertex AI, or similar cloud‑based ML platforms
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across technical and scientific domains
• Comfortable leading architectural discussions and mentoring other engineers

Nice To Have

• Background in wildfire science, forestry, or remote sensing
• Experience integrating physics‑based models with ML or working with active learning and uncertainty quantification
• Experience in model interpretability and data provenance for environmental ML systems
• Experience with deep learning models for weather or climate data
• Experience in remote‑first or globally distributed teams

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 group of 100 people from all over the world. Fifteen nationalities are represented in our team and at last count we speak fourteen languages: English, Dutch, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Luxembourgish, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Estonian, and Danish.

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.