Driven By Impact: Goodbye 2024!

Your weekly recap + what to expect in 2025

Driven By Impact 🌱

Edition 84: December 19, 2024

Navigating the End-of-Year Job Market: Tips for Hiring Managers and Job Seekers

As the year winds down, it’s easy to assume that the job market slows to a halt—but that’s far from true. Hiring managers are still actively filling roles, and job seekers can benefit from reduced competition during this time.

Here are some strategies to overcome year-end hiring and job-seeking challenges.

🔑 For Hiring Managers:

  • Budget and Time Constraints: With year-end budgets and headcount on the line, efficiency is key. Streamlining your process and aligning expectations can help secure top talent before the new year.

  • Competitive Edge: Proactive hiring now positions you ahead of the January hiring rush.

🔑 For Job Seekers:

  • Perceived Slowdown Myth: Companies are hiring, and fewer candidates mean higher chances for you.

  • Balancing Bonuses vs. Career Moves: Carefully evaluate opportunities and prioritize your long-term career goals over short-term incentives.

Don’t let the season hold you back! Whether you’re hiring or job hunting, stay active and make the most of this time to set yourself up for success in the new year.

🌎 WHAT: MCJ + Climate People: The Power of Focused Networking
🗓️ WHEN: 1/8/2025 at 12 pm EST
đź“ŤWHERE: https://lu.ma/35a69muq
👤WHO: Job Seekers

🌎 WHAT: Climate Start Up Recruiting Foundations
🗓️ WHEN: 1/15/2025 at 12 pm EST
đź“ŤWHERE: https://lu.ma/HiringFoundations-Jan2025
👤WHO: Founders/Hiring Managers

🌎 WHAT: Purpose to Pay: Tricks to Get to the Top of the Pile
🗓️ WHEN: 1/24/2025 at 12 pm EST
đź“ŤWHERE: https://lu.ma/PurposetoPay2
👤WHO: Job Seekers

→ Last week, we co-hosted a “2025 Climate Job Market Predictions” event with MCJ Collective. Check out the recording here!

→ Missed last week’s edition? It was a jam-packed one! Check it out here.

→ Career coach Trish Kenlon compiled a list of her favorite 2024 Climate Job Search resources. You can find it here!

→ Sightline Climate’s 2024 Climate Capital Stack & New Funds report launched last week. Read some of the takeaways here!

→ Looking to stand out in the job market? Here are four things that the top 10% of candidates are tinkering with.

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Want to share your work/resources? Send it over, and we will slate it for a future edition!

🪴 PRINCIPAL SOFTWARE ENGINEER
➵ We’re partnering with a fast-growing grid-resiliency company in San Francisco, backed by top investors, to hire a Principal Software Engineer. You'll develop scalable, full-stack systems to process real-time sensor data and enhance grid reliability. Ideal candidates have 5+ years in Python backend development, experience with cloud platforms (AWS preferred), event-driven architectures, and proficiency in SQL, GraphQL, React, and TypeScript, plus familiarity with observability tools and Linux environments.

🪴 DIRECTOR OF HARDWARE PRODUCTS
➵ We’re excited to partner with Gridware, a fast-growing grid-resiliency company in San Francisco, backed by top climate-tech investors. Gridware’s advanced sensing technology safeguards the electrical grid, mitigating risks like wildfires and outages. They’re seeking a Hardware Product Manager to own the hardware product lifecycle, fast-track development, and innovate reliable solutions. Ideal candidates have 4-10 years in hardware product management (6-7 years preferred), an engineering degree, and experience with utility or sensor-based hardware products. This role requires strong problem-solving skills and in-person collaboration in San Francisco 2-3 days a week.

🪴 SENIOR ELECTRICAL DESIGN ENGINEER - R&D
➵ We’re excited to partner with Gridware, a fast-growing grid-resiliency company in San Francisco, backed by leading climate-tech investors. Gridware’s advanced sensing technology protects the electrical grid, mitigating risks like wildfires and outages. They’re hiring an Electrical Research Engineer to develop novel sensing technologies for their flagship product. The role involves prototyping low-power sensing systems, building data acquisition infrastructure, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. Ideal candidates have 4+ years of experience with physical sensing, embedded data acquisition, PCB design, and analog circuit design, along with strong fundamentals in electromagnetism.

🪴 SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER
➵ Join a profitable, remote-first startup revolutionizing renewable energy projects by helping developers connect to the grid faster, reducing emissions in the process. As a Senior Software Engineer, you’ll work directly with the CTO to design and build backend services, tackle infrastructure challenges, and contribute to product development. We're seeking a mission-driven engineer with 5+ years of experience (Python, pandas, GraphQL, React, TypeScript) who’s excited about climate tech, learning how the grid works, and thriving in the fast-paced, ever-changing environment of a growing startup.

🪴 COMPUTATIONAL RESEARCH ENGINEER
➵ We’re partnering with a company accelerating the transition to a decarbonized grid through innovative software solutions for grid operators, utilities, and renewable energy developers. They’re seeking a Computational Research Engineer to work hybrid in Pittsburgh, PA, and collaborate with the Chief Technologist to prototype cutting-edge simulation and optimization technologies. Ideal candidates have a PhD (or are PhD candidates) in Engineering or Computer Science, expertise in Python and C++, and deep experience with numerical methods for simulation and optimization. Knowledge of high-performance computing, cloud environments, and power systems is a plus.

That's all for this edition! We will be taking a break from publishing for the next two weeks for the holidays – we hope you have a great end of your year and will see you in 2025! Thanks for doing your part in mobilizing a workforce transition to work on climate!