Climate Scientist (Supply)

Supercritical Tech Limited; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 50,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Training from senior scientists

Wellbeing and growth opportunities

Job summary

Supercritical Tech Limited in London is seeking a climate-focused specialist to assess the quality and risk of carbon removal projects, helping to scale reliable credits on the Supercritical platform. You will develop and refine vetting standards, apply commercial frameworks to project viability, build relationships with suppliers, and support sales with climate thought leadership.

This is an opportunity to work at the cutting edge of CDR, with training from senior scientists and a hybrid work

Qualifications

• MSc or higher in chemical engineering, environmental science, or related natural science.
• Biomass-based CDR pathways expertise such as biochar or bioenergy.
• 3–5 years of relevant experience in climate and sustainability.
• Strong curiosity and broad understanding of carbon and climate issues.
• Excellent writing and communication skills; punchy and impactful.
• Excellent analytical skills and Excel proficiency.

Responsibilities

• Lead vetting and development of CDR projects to ensure quality.
• Develop and refine vetting standards and frameworks.
• Apply commercial vetting to assess project viability and credit delivery.
• Build relationships with CDR project suppliers and share insights.
• Become in-house expert on CDR project suppliers and updates.
• Support sales/marketing with climate thought leadership.

Skills

Biomass-based CDR expertise

Excel/spreadsheets

Strong communication skills

Analytical skills

Adaptability

Climate/sustainability knowledge

Education

MSc or higher in chemical engineering, environmental science, or related natural science

3–5 years relevant work experience in climate and sustainability

Tools

LCA

carbon accounting

financial modelling

TEA

MRV plans

environmental impact assessments

Job description

The Supercritical mission

The latest IPCC reports tell it all. We can decarbonize industry, switch to renewables, and drive electric vehicles. But we still need to remove 10 billion tonnes of CO2 from the air each year by 2050 to stay below 1.5C of warming. To do this, the voluntary carbon removal industry needs to scale by 14,000x in the next 24 years. That's where Supercritical comes in.

Our mission is to scale carbon removal to gigatonne capacity before it's too late. As the leading carbon removal marketplace we provide liquidity to this new market by matching large-scale buyers with the most trusted suppliers of carbon removal credits. We help ambitious buyers find innovative supply, de-risking the transaction for buyers and providing a route to market for suppliers.

In June 2023 we raised a $13M Series A from Lightspeed Venture Partners to achieve the next stage of our growth. We'd like your help!

Why is carbon removal critical?

Carbon removal includes nature-based solutions like biochar and cutting-edge technologies that literally pull carbon from the sky and store it underground for millennia. We need to scale to remove 10 billion tons a year by 2050 to stay below 1.5 degrees of warming. This is over 14,000x the rate we are removing carbon at today. We've only removed a few thousand tonnes to date. This will be a trillion dollar industry by 2050.

The Role

This is an opportunity to work at the cutting edge of carbon removal and to deeply understand the science and operations of the most innovative CDR projects on the planet. You will be responsible for assessing the quality and risk of projects in order to improve transparency and trust, ultimately helping to scale the market in a sustainable way.

What will you achieve in the next 12 months?

• Lead the delivery of the vetting and development processes for specific Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) projects to guarantee the highest quality of projects on the Supercritical platform. You'll receive training and support from our experienced Lead Climate Scientist and Director of Climate Science.
• Develop and refine our CDR quality standards and vetting frameworks, staying up-to-date with the latest advancements in climate science.
• Independently apply commercial vetting frameworks to assess project viability and long-term credit delivery.
• Cultivate relationships with our CDR project suppliers, offering feedback and sharing market insights.
• Become an in-house expert on the details of our CDR project suppliers and stay current with the latest scientific developments.
• Support the sales and marketing team by contributing to initiatives that promote climate thought leadership, educating potential CDR buyers.

• MSc or higher in chemical engineering, environmental science, or a relevant natural science such as chemistry, or a BEng/BSc with 3-5 years of relevant work experience.
• In-depth expertise in biomass-based CDR pathways such as biochar or bioenergy.
• Previous experience working in the climate and sustainability field; academic, consulting, commercial, government, NGO etc.
• A lot of curiosity and a broad understanding of carbon, climate, and sustainability issues, and a genuine care about real climate impact.
• High attention to detail and a love of digging below the surface to understand what is really going on.
• Excellent communication skills and a passion for clear scientific communication. Your writing is punchy and impactful.
• Excellent analytical skills and good proficiency with Excel/spreadsheets.
• Passion for fast-paced environments with a high level of resilience and adaptability to ambiguity.
• Experience with one or more of the following would be a strong plus, particularly in a CDR or biochar context: LCA, carbon accounting, financial modelling, TEA, MRV plans, or environmental impact assessments.

What values can you expect from your colleagues?

We have set ourselves the mission of leading the carbon removal market to 14,000x its current size by 2050. In order to do that we need brave adventurers that think huge and deliver at speed. We call this the 14,000x mindset. The key components of the 14,000x mindset are:

• Ownership mentality: We relish autonomy and we create it for others. We are deeply curious and thrive on understanding the root cause of complex problems. We take ownership over our own and our team's development by giving and soliciting direct and actionable feedback.
• Move fast: We identify the most important problems to solve and cut everything else. We test ideas early so we don't waste time on dead ends. We default to action and deliver awesome results.
• Radiate positive energy: We come to problems with energy and passion. We nurture new ideas and engage positively in testing them. We inspire our colleagues to go further and are resilient to set backs. We recharge by taking time off. We are here for a great day, not a long day.
• Communicate proactively: We communicate simply and directly. We broadcast updates, insights and lessons learnt, especially when things haven't gone to plan. We give as much context as possible so our teammates can make great decisions.

Diversity and Inclusion

We've been committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace since day one of the company. We're the only company we're aware of with a 50:50 gender balanced list of investors and our day to day processes are always defined with D&I in mind, for example our remote first policy and flexibility around working time.

We are excited to encourage applications and interest from individuals underrepresented in the climate and tech space. Climate change and climate justice is a social issue that cuts across race and gender. We welcome applicants with lived experience across these issues.

Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire!

UK Sponsorship & Applicants currently outside the UK

• UK Work Sponsorship: Unfortunately, at this stage of our growth, we are unable to offer UK sponsorship to applicants.
• Candidates who live outside the UK who are not looking to live and work in the UK, are within 3 hours of the GMT/BST timezone and are willing to travel to London quarterly are encouraged to apply. Please note we will use an Employer of Record arrangement in these circumstances.

• Basic salary: £50,000-£62,500 per annum, dependent on experience
• Annual leave: unlimited
• One company-wide day off on the first Friday of every month
• Pension: 3% employer contribution when matched by 5% employee contribution
• Hybrid working: remote first with the option to work from our London co-working space 1-2 days per week
• Other benefits: £1000 annual wellbeing allowance and working-from-home equipment budget up to £500
• Monthly company socials in London
• Purchase high quality carbon removal offsets for your personal emissions from our inventory