Development Manager

Title: Development Manager

Hours: Full time; Salaried

Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Manager: Chief Development Officer

Geothermal energy is the most abundant renewable energy source in the world. However, historically it’s been hard to find and expensive to develop. At Zanskar, we’re using advanced technology to find and develop new geothermal resources that make baseload geothermal a cost-effective and vital contributor to a carbon-free energy future. We are revolutionizing the exploration process, setting new industry standards for discovery rates by finding new prospects at an unprecedented scale and working to develop faster and cheaper with scale and reduced risk drilling. 

The development team at Zanskar is advancing a multi-gigawatt portfolio of firm, carbon-free energy projects. We need you to take ownership of a portfolio of greenfield projects that you’ll oversee from inception to the start of construction; to bring projects online, on schedule and within budgets that you build. You’ll be working in close coordination with interdisciplinary teams across Zanskar as well as third-party consultants to ensure we execute our vision of building best-in-class geothermal energy projects. 

Success in this role includes identifying new commercially viable sites for geothermal projects, helping to secure necessary land rights (including geothermal rights and surface use rights) applying for and leading all discretionary topside permits with support from the subsurface permitting, geology, drilling, transmission engineering teams. Additionally, you will support in obtaining interconnection rights and assisting with commercial offtake for a portfolio of geothermal development projects located across the western USA. This will require strong leadership with internal cross-functional teams to build an aligned strategy with the development, technology platform and operations teams for streamlined processes, improving execution and performance accountability. Externally, you will be building relationships with key stakeholders and third-party consultants with deep technical expertise to achieve successful outcomes and mitigate risk. We expect you to: 

• Own the advancement and execution of assigned projects with primary responsibility for schedule, budget, risk management, and milestone delivery;

• Serve as the primary point of contact to engage directly with appropriate federal, state, and local agencies, landowners, contractors, and utilities to ensure compliance and obtain necessary project approvals or permits;

• Present and communicate project goals, impacts, and benefits on Zanskar’s behalf;

• Manage third-party consultants to conduct site assessments (e.g., critical issues analyses, environmental surveys, cultural surveys, wetland surveys, title reports, etc.);

• Coordinate across technical teams and consultants to track project timelines and budgets and hold responsible parties accountable to deliverables and deadlines;

• Clear title of encumbrances necessary for title insurance and project finance;

• Lead project diligence for prospective offtakers and project financiers;

• Build cross-functional alignment to dedicate internal resources to progress project development with increasing scale and speed; and

• Innovate new solutions for accelerating project development and decreasing associated costs

The ideal candidate should demonstrate:

• Utility-scale energy experience. 3+ years experience in the energy (or closely-related) industry, preferably pertaining to utility-scale energy development in the western US.

• Commercial acumen. 3+ years experience negotiating commercial agreements and/or obtaining discretionary permits (e.g., conditional use permits, NEPA applications) for large infrastructure-based projects. 

• Entrepreneurial system builder that leaves lasting improvements. Track record of developing new processes and tools that improve results over time in alignment with our value to “Blaze a trail, leave a legacy.”

• Communicates clearly across disciplines. Surfaces issues early and communicates for understanding with a multidisciplinary team spanning our cross-functional subsurface resource/ geology, land, permitting, development, interconnection and finance teams.

• Strong project management: Keeps projects on-track despite challenges and constraints while also maintaining high integrity and safety. 

• Certification: Bachelor’s degree in Science or Engineering or equivalent professional experience required; advance degrees and/or certifications helpful.

• The position is located in Salt Lake City, UT with approximately 30% travel. 

• Full Time; Salaried

• Paid holidays, and 18 days PTO

• Paid parental leave

• Medical, dental & vision coverage

• 401k contribution

• A direct impact in displacing carbon emissions, and growth opportunities in a growing startup environment

Zanskar is an equal-opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practice laws.