Hi! We're Forerunner.

Stronger, more resilient communities are built by the people inside government and regulated industries who keep critical infrastructure running. But they're working against real headwinds: fragmented data, field crews without the right tools, and high-stakes decisions made without a complete picture.

Forerunner exists to fix that. We build intelligent software that connects the systems these agencies and firms already rely on, fills the gaps those systems can't, and turns fragmented information into decisions and actions that reduce liability, surface revenue, and prevent small problems from becoming emergencies.

The Role

We're looking for a Senior Full-Stack Engineer with 5+ years of product engineering experience to join our Core Platform team. You'll implement features that help build resilient communities - from real-time flood risk visualizations to automated permit workflows that cut response times from weeks to hours. This is a product ownership role where you'll work directly with government users who are on the frontlines of climate adaptation.

You'll work on both backend and customer-facing features using TypeScript, React, PostgreSQL with PostGIS for geospatial analysis, and AWS. Your work will include processing hundreds of different geospatial datasets, creating intuitive interfaces for complex grant application workflows, and building APIs that integrate with a variety of different government systems - modernizing how America prepares for and adapts to climate change.

We offer schedule flexibility and ask for accountability in return. We are unable to sponsor H1-B visas at this time, so permanent residency or citizenship is required.

We strongly encourage people from underrepresented groups to apply - the problem of climate change impacts all of us, and we want to reflect that within our team's composition.

What You'll Do

• Gather around the campfire. Engineering, product, design, and customer success aren't siloed teams — we build together. You'll hear feedback from the people who use what you ship, and that context shapes what comes next.

• Drive projects from ambiguity to delivery. You'll get a problem and a goal, not a step-by-step plan. We trust our engineers to break down complexity, make smart tradeoffs, and keep things moving.

• Work with the best tools, not just the best people. We're all-in on AI-assisted development — Cursor, Claude Code, and whatever comes next. If you've already used AI to plan and execute projects from a spec or scaffold out entire features, you'll fit right in.

• Build the whole thing. You'll own features from database modeling to pixel-perfect UI — no tossing work over the wall to "the other team." New API endpoint in the morning, polished frontend by the afternoon? That's a Wednesday here.

• Ship constantly, and ship things that matter. This isn't a maintenance gig. Roughly 80% of your time goes toward new capabilities our customers are asking for, with the rest spent making the systems underneath faster, more reliable, and easier to work in.

• Own what you ship. The people who build the system are the best ones to keep it healthy. We run a fair on-call rotation and invest heavily in keeping alerts meaningful and manageable. We treat reliability as a craft — not a chore.

• Raise the bar for everyone. How we build matters as much as what we build. You'll help shape our engineering culture — improving our processes, refining our tech stack, and mentoring teammates along the way.

What We're Looking For

• A product engineer, not just a coder. 5+ years of experience building and shipping features that real users depend on — not just writing code, but owning outcomes.

• Full-stack fluency. Deep comfort with TypeScript, React, and working across the stack — backend to frontend and everything in between.

• Data at your core. Strong SQL and database design instincts — you think in schemas, not just queries.

• A history of leading by example. Through mentorship, code reviews, and sound technical decision-making — not because it's in your job description, but because it's how you work.

• At home in ambiguity. A track record of taking unclear requirements and delivering complex features independently. You thrive in a startup environment where ownership runs deep and the boundaries of your role are whatever the team needs.

• Respect for the systems around the code. Enough familiarity with CI/CD, testing frameworks, and developer tooling to improve how the team ships — not just what it ships.

• Bonus points. Experience with AWS, containerization, PostGIS or geospatial tech, ETL pipelines, or government/climate tech — but we'd rather have someone with the right instincts than the perfect resume.

What We Offer

Forerunner is an early stage company with an interdisciplinary team. We are motivated by seemingly intractable problems and work hard to support one another.

• We're mission-driven. Our mission orients our business strategy and pushes us to work with a sense of urgency. We’re in the weeds - our entire team spends time engaging with our partners in the field to better understand the real-world problems they face.

• We're a small team. As a member of our growing team, you will quickly become an invaluable part of our organization and have a meaningful impact on our business and technical direction. We welcome unique perspectives and backgrounds. Your opinion matters and we hope you'll share it.

• We build each other up. A team works best when its members are adequately equipped with the tools to tackle the problems they are facing. Forerunner strives to provide adequate feedback and appropriate learning opportunities to help all its team members expand their skills.

• We want you to be happy and healthy. Forerunner offers competitive compensation, health/vision/dental coverage, a 401k plan, and one expensed lunch per week. We also have a quarterly wellness reimbursement so that you can have flexibility in defining what “health” means to you.

• The salary range for this position is $185,000-$215,000. This posting may span more than one career level. Compensation is determined based on a variety of factors, including an individual’s skills, experience, and qualifications.

Senior Product Designer

Hi! We're Forerunner.

Stronger, more resilient communities are built by the people inside government and regulated industries who keep critical infrastructure running. But they're working against real headwinds: fragmented data, field crews without the right tools, and high-stakes decisions made without a complete picture.

Forerunner exists to fix that. We build intelligent software that connects the systems these agencies and firms already rely on, fills the gaps those systems can't, and turns fragmented information into decisions and actions that reduce liability, surface revenue, and prevent small problems from becoming emergencies.

About the position

Great design builds trust. At Forerunner, it also helps communities adapt to change.

We're looking for a Senior Product Designer to own complex, cross-functional work — from defining problem spaces and success metrics to shipping polished, accessible workflows. We're still early. That means there's no established playbook, priorities shift as we learn from customers, and you'll regularly need to make good decisions with incomplete information. Some days you'll be deep in discovery and systems thinking; other days you'll sweat interaction details, unblock engineering on a tight timeline, or step back and help the team figure out what we should even be building. If you thrive on variety, move comfortably between vision and detailed execution, and can stay grounded when the ground shifts — you'll feel right at home.

Your work will help public and private agencies manage assets, enforce codes, track grants, and more — the everyday decisions that keep communities safe and running. You'll set a high bar for clarity and responsibility, because when those services affect people's lives and futures, design can't be an afterthought.

What You'll Do

Discover & Define

• Partner with PM + Eng to clarify problems, define scope, and set measurable outcomes — even when the problem is still fuzzy and the roadmap is evolving.

• Lead discovery: interviews, task analyses, field / context research; turn insights into strategy.

• Anticipate edge cases, constraints, and operational realities early — and adapt when new information changes the picture.

Design & Deliver

• Design end-to-end flows across web and mobile, from low-fi to high-fi. Move quickly when speed matters; go deep when quality demands it.

• Prototype fast (Figma, Claude Code), validate with users, and iterate — sometimes across multiple competing directions at once.

• Drive implementation with engineering and run final design reviews before launch. Roll up your sleeves when the situation calls for it.

Systematize

• Contribute to our design system (Figma + component library), building scalable, accessible patterns — and know when to build new patterns versus reuse existing ones.

• Document rationale and decisions so teams can move faster with confidence, even as priorities shift.

Collaborate & Influence

• Build trusted relationships with PM, Eng, and CS; facilitate alignment in ambiguity and help the team make decisions when there isn't a clear right answer.

• Communicate clearly to drive decisions and tell compelling product stories — in a scrappy Slack message or a polished review, whatever the moment calls for.

• Share feedback generously and collaboratively; help raise the quality bar across teams.

About you

• You've led complex product design projects before — from early discovery through launch — and influenced product direction, not just executed on it.

• Your portfolio shows systems thinking, crisp UX, and an ability to simplify complex workflows.

• You bring depth in user research and product judgment: you know how to frame problems, validate solutions, and connect design choices to measurable outcomes.

• You're fluent in Figma and Claude Code workflows and comfortable building and evolving design systems; you can prototype at multiple fidelities to communicate ideas.

• You're a clear communicator who can tell compelling product stories and align cross-functional partners — and you can do it without waiting for perfect information.

• You're genuinely comfortable with ambiguity and shifting priorities. You've worked in environments where the plan changed mid-sprint, where you had to make your best call without all the answers, and where scrappiness was a virtue. You didn't just survive that — you liked it.

• You're resourceful. When you don't have a dedicated researcher, a UX writer, or a full component library, you figure it out. You make thoughtful decisions about when to go deep and when to ship.

• You're collaborative and humble — you elevate teammates, welcome feedback, and contribute to design culture.

(Typically this means 5–8 years of experience in product design or equivalent depth — but we care more about the impact you've had than the exact number of years.)

Bonus: experience in civic tech, climate tools, or other high-stakes, data-heavy domains.

Our team has a lot to offer

Forerunner is an early stage company with an interdisciplinary team. We are motivated by seemingly intractable problems and work hard to support one another.

• High bar. We sweat details in flows, interactions, and storytelling because great design builds trust. Last year, our team spoke at Figma's Config about design for climate resilience () — a reflection of how seriously we take design craft across the company.

• Mission-driven. Our mission orients our business strategy and pushes us to work with a sense of urgency. We're in the weeds — our entire team spends time engaging with partners in the field to better understand the real-world problems they face.

• Small team, real ownership. We're still building the plane while flying it. You'll have more ownership here than you would at a larger company — and more responsibility to go with it. What you ship matters, and you'll feel that every day.

• Remote-first. We have small offices in San Francisco and Portland, ME. Many members of our team work remotely. We offer schedule flexibility for all of our employees and ask for accountability in return.

• We want you to be happy and healthy. Forerunner offers competitive compensation, health/vision/dental coverage, commuter benefits, and a quarterly wellness reimbursement so you can define what “health” means to you.

• Compensation. The salary range for this position is $160,000–$190,000. This posting may span more than one career level. Compensation is determined based on a variety of factors, including an individual’s skills, experience, and qualifications.

Forerunner is an equal opportunity employer committed to embracing diversity and the perspectives of individuals from all backgrounds.