Development Associate

Tensec; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Tensec is seeking a Development Associate in Austin, Texas, to support the development of a micro modular nuclear power plant portfolio. This role involves building project schedules, developing cost estimates, and maintaining risk registers.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree in a related field and 2–5 years of analytical experience, with strong Excel skills being essential. Knowledge of nuclear project development is a plus.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of experience in project controls, cost estimating, or project management support.
• Familiarity with project scheduling tools is a plus.
• Eager to learn nuclear project development and regulatory processes.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain project schedules across multiple sites.
• Develop cost estimates for site development activities.
• Maintain risk registers and track identified risks.

Skills

Advanced Excel skills

Quantitative analysis

Organizational skills

Clear written communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Finance

Tools

Smartsheet

MS Project

Primavera P6

Job description

Last Energy seeks a Development Associate to support the development of our micro modular nuclear power plant portfolio across domestic and international markets. This is a supporting role on a small, fast-moving team — you will be the person who keeps the numbers sharp, the schedules current, and the risks visible.

Day to day, that means building and maintaining cost estimates, project schedules, and risk registers across multiple active development sites; tracking consultant spend and milestones; and producing the analysis that helps the development team make faster, better decisions. If you're the kind of person who instinctively reaches for a spreadsheet, thinks in contingencies, and gets satisfaction from bringing order to complex, multi-variable problems, this role is for you.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

• Build and maintain detailed project schedules across multiple active development sites, tracking milestones, dependencies, and critical path for pre-construction deliverables
• Develop and update cost estimates for site development activities, including consultant scopes, permitting fees, site studies, and interconnection costs
• Maintain risk registers for each active site, tracking identified risks, probability, and impact assessments, mitigation actions, and ownership
• Support the team in tracking consultant budgets and invoices against approved scopes of work, flagging variances, and helping to manage spend across the portfolio
• Support due diligence workstreams by gathering, organizing, and analyzing data from geotechnical, environmental, survey, and interconnection consultants
• Help maintain organized project files, tracking documents, and records across a multi-site, multi-jurisdiction portfolio
• Assist senior team members with analysis and materials for regulatory submissions, site control negotiations, and partner-facing deliverables as needed
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Finance, or a related field
• 2–5 years of experience in project controls, cost estimating, project management support, or a related analytical role; energy, infrastructure, or construction experience is a plus
• Advanced Excel skills are essential — you should be comfortable building cost models, schedule trackers, and risk matrices from scratch
• Familiarity with project scheduling tools (Smartsheet, MS Project, Primavera P6, or similar) is a plus
• Strong quantitative and analytical instincts — comfortable working with uncertain inputs, building in contingencies, and communicating ranges rather than false precision
• Detail-oriented with strong organizational skills; able to track many moving pieces across multiple projects simultaneously without dropping the ball
• Clear, concise written communication — you will be summarizing complex status and analysis for internal audiences regularly
• Eager to learn the specifics of nuclear project development, regulatory processes, and energy infrastructure; prior knowledge is a plus but not required
• Strong self-starter with the ability to quickly adapt strategy in a fast-paced environment