Agile Project Manager

Agile Project Manager

About Us

Carbon Mapper is a non-profit organization with a public-good mission to detect, pinpoint, quantify, and track 80% of the world’s methane and carbon dioxide (CO2) point source emissions. Our mission is to aid in the acceleration of climate mitigation efforts globally at the scale of individual facilities. The Carbon Mapper public-private partnership includes Planet Labs, Inc., the California Air Resources Board, the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

Carbon Mapper uses advanced imaging spectroscopy remote sensing on satellites and airborne assets to detect and analyze methane and carbon dioxide emissions around the world and provide information data products to inform decision makers as well as the general public. As part of its public education and research support activities, Carbon Mapper will provide a global open data portal, including a data trust and a website offering rapid visualization and interpretation for both expert and non-expert audiences. Carbon Mapper also supports advances in science algorithms, machine learning, and big data for remote sensing through multi-source analytics, cloud computing, open-source development, and geospatial analytics.

Position Summary

We are looking for an Agile Project Manager to support Carbon Mapper’s engineering team by ensuring clear backlog management, prioritization, story refinement, and efficient sprint execution. In this role, you’ll help shape tools like our Data Portal, API, and overall data system which are central to delivering real-time emissions insights to policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders. Your work will directly support global efforts to reduce methane and carbon dioxide emissions by ensuring our platform delivers actionable climate data.

The Agile Project Manager will collaborate closely with the Director of Engineering and Products, Technical Lead, Front-End Lead, and the rest of the engineering team to ensure user needs are well understood, issues and stories are clearly defined, and work is efficiently prioritized. This role will focus on backlog grooming, sprint planning, and Agile facilitation, helping the team stay focused on delivering high-impact software. We are looking for someone who is passionate about environmental impact, thrives in a fast-paced environment, and can independently make decisions aligned with our mission with minimal direction.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Backlog Management, Prioritization & Story Refinement

• Work with engineers and leads to translate user problems into well-defined user stories with clear acceptance criteria.

• Ensure tickets are actionable, properly scoped, and appropriately prioritized before sprint planning.

• Collaborate with stakeholders to balance short-term needs with long-term roadmap priorities.

• Maintain backlog hygiene, removing outdated or redundant issues.

Sprint Planning & Execution

• Facilitate sprint planning, retrospectives, and standups in collaboration with the technical lead.

• Track sprint progress and ensure that the team is not overloaded or blocked.

• Identify and escalate dependencies or blockers that impact delivery.

Cross-Team Coordination

• Work with the product lead and stakeholders to align data system development priorities with broader organizational goals.

• Keep documentation up to date for roadmaps, milestones, and release schedules.

• Ensure API and platform updates are communicated clearly to internal teams.

• Monitor project timelines, working with leadership to allocate resources effectively and ensure alignment with organizational goals.

• Draft proposals for platform enhancements, collaborating with the engineering team to define scope and secure stakeholder buy-in.

Process Improvement & Agile Best Practices

• Help optimize the Agile process for the data system team without adding unnecessary overhead.

• Assist with GitLab issue and board management, making sure tickets and workflows are structured for clarity.

• Promote a lightweight but effective Agile culture, balancing speed and structure.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)

Must-Have Skills & Experience:

• 4+ years of Agile project management experience in software development teams.

• Strong understanding of Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe, etc.).

• Experience managing software backlogs in GitLab, Jira, GitHub Projects, Linear, or similar tools.

• Ability to translate user problems into structured user stories and establish clear prioritization criteria.

• Strong organizational and communication skills to work with engineers and leadership.

• Proven ability to lead sprint planning and backlog refinement with tools like Jira, Gitlab, or GitHub Projects, driving team consensus on priorities.

Nice-to-Have Skills:

• Experience in API product management or technical documentation.

• Familiarity with geospatial data, cloud platforms (AWS/GCP), or satellite imagery.

• Previous experience in climate tech, scientific computing, or environmental data applications.

• Experience managing budgets or resources for software projects, ensuring efficient delivery within constraints.

Location

Carbon Mapper is headquartered in Pasadena, California, but we embrace the virtual office and are continuing to grow our team across the United States.

Compensation

The total compensation for this opportunity includes a base salary range of $120,000 - $160,000/year. This is our target compensation range and is subject to multiple factors including level, experience, and location. As you go through our interview process, our recruiter will work with you to identify a competitive base salary within the proposed range that will support your excitement in joining Carbon Mapper.

Benefits

As a Carbon Mapper, you will have access to a wide range of benefits including affordable health coverage (medical, dental, vision), a generous time-off policy, professional development, and more.

Carbon Mapper is an equal opportunity employer that believes a diverse team will not just lead to a better working environment, but will also help us create better products and services.

Carbon Mapper is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. If any reasonable accommodation is needed in our process, please reach out to hr@carbonmapper.org.