Vice President of Engineering

TL;DR

Mission-driven climate tech company with world-changing technology is seeking an experienced VP of Engineering to oversee engineering efforts across a full-stack of IoT hardware sensing, software, front end, and cloud operations. You possess unmatched management skills, a vision for architecture, customer obsession, and the engineering chops to orchestrate and collaborate up and down the stack to build truly innovative capabilities. The right candidate knows how to lead and build an amazing team, and can draw from direct experience to build tech that delights customers.

About Aclima

Aclima is pioneering an entirely new way to monitor and respond to air pollution in communities, and track the effectiveness of focused mitigation efforts. We leverage cutting-edge sensor technology mounted on fleets of mapping vehicles to measure air pollution, greenhouse gases, methane, and air toxics across entire cities, states, and regions at block-level resolution. Our professional analytics software, Aclima Pro, translates billions of scientific measurements into insights at the source level, providing environmental intelligence for governments, industry, and communities. Our free app delivers address-level air pollution insights for the communities we serve. Aclima is a purpose-driven technology company helping to catalyze bold climate action that protects community health, reduces emissions, and supports smart government.

Aclima is one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential companies. Other awards include Fast Company’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in the World, #1 in Data Science, Inc. Magazine’s Best in Business, a Fast Company 2022 World Changing Idea, a WEF Technology Pioneer, and one of the top 100 companies in GovTech for 2023. Aclima is headquartered in San Francisco.

To learn more about Aclima, please visit https://aclima.io.

About the Role

As the VP of Engineering, you will report directly to the CEO, leading and coordinating engineering teams across the stack. This includes frontend and backend engineering as well as data science, modeling, AI, and hardware, developing a healthy and fun engineering culture centered on quality, speed, collaboration, and cost. Additionally, you will be responsible for building and managing engineering teams, and working hand-in-hand with Aclima’s product leadership to ensure engineering innovation maximizes Aclima’s products to provide delightful differentiated value to our customers and users. Your experience as an engineer building complex architectures and data products gives you credibility to guide our talented engineering teams. 

The ideal candidate will be resourceful, organized, motivating, optimistic, astute, savvy, action-oriented, outcomes-focused, and a cultural cornerstone of the organization. A sense of humor helps too! Responsibilities will span the following categories.

Strategic Leadership:

• Develop and execute the engineering strategy and innovation roadmap in alignment with the company’s vision and product objectives.

• Lead and mentor a diverse team of engineers across software, hardware, and data analytics disciplines.

• Provide detailed technical and strategic guidance to the engineering teams by balancing long-term engineering development efforts and more immediate product needs.

Product Development:

• Spearhead seamless collaboration with the product leads, resulting in efficient and effective execution on product roadmaps, enabling engineering teams to deliver exceptional products on time and within budget.

• Collaborate with all stakeholders in the organization, and occasionally with the customer to ensure solutions are engineered to meet the customer’s needs.

Technical Innovation:

• Drive innovation in environmental sensing technologies, and data systems, focusing on scalability, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

• Stay current with industry trends and the latest emerging technologies to maintain the most differentiated product for our customers.

• Manage the company’s IP portfolio and patent prosecution in partnership with Aclima’s IP counsel.

Operational Excellence:

• Design and implement best practices in engineering processes, tools, and methodologies to enhance productivity and quality.

• Ensure robust systems for testing, validation, and quality assurance. 

• Lead and motivate constituent engineering managers: oversee the allocation of resources, the hiring roadmap, recruiting,  compensation and leveling structure, and professional development roadmap. 

Collaboration and Communication:

• Foster a fun, collaborative, and inclusive culture within engineering teams and across departments where scrappy innovation and going the extra mile is celebrated.

• Regularly communicate progress to ensure alignment with company vision, timelines, and objectives.

• Communicate effectively with leadership and companywide, providing updates on engineering activities and progress.

• Occasionally support sales, customer success, and fundraising efforts.

• Present engineering roadmaps and progress to Aclima’s Board of Directors

Qualifications

• SF Bay Area preferred.

• 10+ years of experience in engineering roles, with at least 5 years in a leadership position.

• Track record of developing and deploying data generating IoT solutions, preferably within the environmental or climate tech related industries.

• Strong understanding of full-stack development with expertise in building scaled, cloud-native architectures..

• Exceptional leadership, management, communication, and project management skills.

• Experience scaling an engineering team from 5 to >100. 

• Customer-facing experience as the engineering owner for an organization.

• A love of startups. Professional experience in startups environments.

Bonus Qualifications:

• A passion for solving the climate crisis, protecting communities, and dedication to the mission.

• Experience in climate tech.

• Former founder.

• Background knowledge in related fields such as geospatial processing, remote sensing, or atmospheric science.

Pay Transparency

The base salary range for this full-time exempt position if located in the SF Bay Area, New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, or Seattle metro region is $221,000 - $289,000 + equity + benefits. For all other regions, the range is $190,000 - $248,000 + equity + benefits. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location, and are informed by current market data provided by Carta Total Comp.

Within those ranges, individual pay is determined by exact region and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. The hiring manager can share more about the specific salary range for your geographic region during the hiring process. Employee must continue to reside within 90 miles of location used to determine starting salary, otherwise Aclima reserves the right to make regional adjustments to pay.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Aclima is committed to diversity in our organization and building an equitable and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds and experiences, and has proudly made the Kapor Capital Founders' Commitment. Aclima provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Aclima complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location. We especially encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people, veterans, and people with disabilities. Full-time position only. Out of area candidates will be considered.  

Benefits

Aside from the fulfillment of working alongside world-class colleagues to make a positive impact in people’s lives, while improving planetary and public health, Aclima offers competitive compensation, equity potential, and excellent benefits. Benefits include medical/dental/vision/Life/AD&D/LTD, 401K, wellness credits, company events, and an extraordinary culture.