Director of Technology: Leading Technology for Climate Solution Platforms

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Open Earth Foundation

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San José, Costa Rica

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Director of Technology: Leading Technology for Climate Solution Platforms


Application link: https://noteforms.com/forms/director-of-technology-job-application-n3qh9w


Have you created a successful career in technology and want to do something good with your skills and experience? If yes, then join us in our mission to build open-source innovative technology solutions for impactful climate change mitigation.


Open Earth Foundation is a California-based nonprofit on a mission to create groundbreaking technology that helps combat the climate crisis.


We’re a diverse, global team working remotely and collaborating with partners worldwide to make real change possible.

With strong funding and a powerhouse team of innovators, we’re ready to tackle big challenges for a resilient Earth for generations to come and we need the planet’s brightest minds to help solve them!


Priority will be given to applications submitted by January 30th.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:


As a Director of Technology on our team, you will 


  • Lead and support a small, distributed engineering team across full-stack, data, and AI work
  • Help guide technical decisions that keep our platform stable, scalable and easy to evolve
  • Partner closely with product and leadership to turn real-world needs into shipped features
  • Strengthen development practices, documentation and collaboration across the team
  • Support thoughtful, responsible use of AI in both product development and internal workflows
  • Help shape technical direction and priorities, ensuring decisions support long-term sustainability and real-world impact
  • Contribute to an open, mission-driven culture focused on impact and clarity


This position is remote and international as our organization goes across different time zones.

  • Schedule flexibility is expected with a willingness to collaborate in overlapping core hours for meetings from 8 am PST to 11 am PST (GMT-8).
  • Availability to work with overlapping hours across U.S. and European time zones is preferred.


The following requirements describe our ideal candidate. If you don't meet some of the requirements, you're encouraged to apply anyway. 


The ideal candidate: passionate about collaborative technical climate solutions

  • Cares deeply about using technology for real-world impact. 
  • Enjoys working collaboratively to solve complex problems. 
  • Comfortable leading and supporting a small technical team.
  • Experience making thoughtful technical decisions and helping turn ideas into reliable, usable products. 
  • Value clarity, openness and steady progress. 
  • Excited to work in a mission-driven, globally distributed environment.


Responsibilities: help turn real-world user needs into reliable, usable technology

  • Help guide the technical direction of our platform so it remains stable, scalable and easy to evolve.
  • Work closely with product and leadership to understand user needs and translate them into technical priorities.
  • Support the team in designing, building and improving features that are used by real users.
  • Strengthen development practices, documentation and collaboration across the engineering team.
  • Support thoughtful and responsible use of AI in both product development and internal workflows.
  • Help ensure our systems are reliable, well-structured and ready to grow over time.


Interpersonal skills: a time-zone management master, clear communicator, building trust through collaboration, clarity and follow-through

  • Communicates clearly and thoughtfully across technical and non-technical teams.
  • Is comfortable working across time zones and coordinating with teammates in the U.S., Europe and beyond.
  • Brings curiosity, creativity and a problem-solving mindset to your work.
  • Pays attention to detail while keeping the bigger picture in mind.
  • Builds trust through clarity, follow-through and respect.
  • Enjoys mentoring, supporting and learning alongside others.


Qualifications:

  • Experience leading or supporting engineering teams working on real-world products.
  • Strong technical foundation across modern web systems, data workflows or backend platforms.
  • Familiarity with technologies commonly used in our stack, such as TypeScript, Python, React, Next.js, FastAPI, or data pipelines.
  • Interest in or experience using AI-powered tools to support product development, decision-making or engineering workflows is a plus.
  • Experience helping bring products or features into production and supporting them over time.
  • Ability to balance hands-on technical work with leadership and decision-making
  • Comfort working in distributed, multicultural teams
  • Interest in climate, civic tech, or mission-driven technology is a strong plus


Compensation and benefits: 

  • Salary range: $115,000–$135,000 USD, depending on experience, role scope and location
  • Fully remote role with overlap across U.S. and European time zones
  • Occasional travel for team retreats and partner meetings.
  • Opportunity to contribute to meaningful, mission-driven work with global impact.
  • Commitment to equity, inclusion, openness and collaborative ways of working.


OEF is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion in teams, and believe people should align their work with their purpose. Join us if you love Earth. 


We look forward to hearing from you!