Director, Business Development

NET Power, LLC; Houston (TX); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Net Power seeks a Director of Business Development to own origination, PPA/offtake structuring and siting for behind-the-meter natural gas power projects. You will lead the pipeline, negotiate commercial terms, and coordinate with legal, finance and project management to move opportunities from first contact to financial close.

Based on-site in Houston with a hybrid schedule (3 days in office, 2 remote) and regular travel to prospective markets and project sites.

Qualifications

• Typically 10+ years in power origination, project development or energy business development.
• Proven track record closing large, complex transactions and PPAs.
• Experience building and managing a customer or account pipeline for hyperscale, data-center or large-load customers.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or related advanced degree is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Own the front-end origination, marketing and development process from first contact to signed agreement.
• Structure power offtake, pricing, and related commercial terms with Legal and Finance.
• Lead site and land-control strategy, interconnection planning, and permitting coordination.
• Manage stakeholder engagement, community outreach, and public-affairs activities.
• Develop corporate development opportunities, partnerships, JVs or M&A with Operations and Finance.
• Represent Net Power in industry networks and customer engagements to grow the pipeline.

Skills

Power origination

Project development

PPA negotiation

Deal structuring

Stakeholder engagement

Cross-functional leadership

Travel willingness

Financial analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or related advanced degree

Job description

Net Power is an energy technology and project development company focused on the development of natural gas power generation projects to meet growing demand for reliable power. Our near-term development activities are focused on delivering natural gas power generation, with equipment designed to accommodate carbon capture in later phases.

Our vision is to make natural gas the lowest cost form of clean firm power.

Our impact is transformational - Headquartered in Houston, Texas, we aspire to improve the communities where we work and we’re committed to pioneering advancements that redefine the energy landscape, ensuring a better future for generations to come.

Job Overview

Net Power is developing behind-the-meter, natural gas-fired power generation to serve large-load customers. This role owns the full front end of that business — finding and developing the next customers, structuring and negotiating the power offerings that win and retain them, and leading the site development work that turns a customer commitment into a buildable, permittable project.

The Director of Business Development will build the prospective-customer pipeline beyond the current anchor program, lead PPA/offtake structuring and negotiation, and drive siting strategy, land control, and stakeholder engagement for both active and prospective sites. The role sits at the center of three closely linked disciplines — origination, power marketing, and development — and works in constant coordination with Project Management, Engineering, Fuel Supply & Hedging, Finance, and Legal to move opportunities from first customer conversation to signed contract to financial close.

This role is based on-site in Houston, TX. Net Power offers a hybrid work schedule, 3 days in the office and 2 days remote. Travel Required - regularly to prospective markets and active project sites.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Customer & Market Origination / Strategic Accounts

• Search for future customers and large-load opportunities, using the scale and pace of the current 1,800 MW, anchor program as the benchmark for what a qualified opportunity looks like.
• Identify attractive markets, customer segments, and demand centers, prioritizing regions where gas access, land availability, and interconnection conditions favor behind-the-meter generation.
• Build and manage the prospective-customer pipeline, tracking opportunities from first contact through qualification and into active development, using market intelligence and pipeline analytics.
• Track data-center siting trends, large-load interconnection queues, regional power-market dynamics, and regulatory developments affecting behind-the-meter and co-located generation, to inform market prioritization and commercial strategy.
• Develop strategic customer relationships, serving as the senior commercial point of contact for hyperscale, large-load, and data-center customers throughout the deal lifecycle.
• Understand each customer's energy needs, sustainability goals, and operational constraints to tailor power offerings, and respond to customer RFPs and RFIs with supporting proposal materials.
• Represent Net Power in data center and energy industry networks, conferences, and customer engagements, and provide input into the Company's business plan and development strategy.

Power Marketing & Offtake

• Structure power offtake and pricing that delivers competitive and reliable power to customers, while protecting Net Power's required return. Develop structure and pricing in coordination with Legal, Finance and Project Management ensuring alignment on risk, financial and technical assumptions, and deal economics.
• Lead commercial deal development and contract negotiations across the full contract suite — power offtake and related commercial agreements — working closely with Legal and Finance to close on schedule.
• Develop the commercial recommendation for each transaction as part of joint project approval / FID governance alongside Project Management, Finance, Legal, and Engineering; final approval follows company governance.

Project Development

• Identify and screen future sites, own the candidate-site pipeline, and determine which locations merit development work in consultation with Project Management, and Engineering; evaluate site control, land constraints, local permitting requirements, environmental aspects, gas access, power interconnection, and development feasibility.
• Lead site-control strategy and execution, with support from Legal and Project Management.
• Own power interconnection strategy and advancement, including queue strategy, submissions, and ongoing queue management, with support from Engineering and Project Management.
• Manage community, stakeholder, and public-affairs engagement, maintaining a consistent public narrative through permitting, including on contested or extended-review permit pathways.
• Build the local relationships needed to secure approvals and advance development, including landowners, counties, and permitting authorities.
• Track regulatory and policy developments affecting behind-the-meter and co-located generation and large-load interconnection (for example, in ERCOT) and engage consultants or industry coalitions where appropriate to advance Net Power's interests.
• Support Operations with market-entry and customer-location strategy, feeding lessons from active development into future site and market selection.

Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships

• Support the Head of Commercial in identifying, evaluating, structuring, and executing corporate development opportunities — strategic partnerships, joint development, M&A, and other strategic transactions — in collaboration with Operations and Finance.
• Negotiate and structure strategic partnerships, joint ventures, and alliances that expand Net Power's reach, strengthen its capabilities, and improve project viability, and prepare business cases, investment memos, and board-level presentations in support of major investment decisions.
• Rely on Project Management to assess technical, development, and integration implications, and on Finance for valuation, funding, diligence, and transaction economics.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Typically 10 or more years of experience in power origination, project development, or energy-sector business development, with a track record of closing large, complex transactions.
• Significant experience in power marketing, origination, or commercial development within power generation, energy infrastructure, or large-load/data-center energy procurement.
• Demonstrated track record structuring and negotiating PPAs or energy services agreements, including capacity, energy, and fuel pass-through pricing structures.
• Experience building and managing a customer or account pipeline for large, complex, long-lead-time transactions, ideally with hyperscale, data-center, or other large-load customers.
• Direct experience in site development — land control, permitting strategy, interconnection queue strategy, gas-access evaluation, and development feasibility screening.
• Experience leading corporate development transactions — strategic partnerships, joint ventures, or M&A — including structuring, negotiation, and diligence coordination.
• Strong analytical skills to assess market opportunities and the financial implications of transactions.
• Comfort managing community, stakeholder, and public-affairs engagement in support of local approvals.
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills; proven ability to align Commercial, Project Management, Engineering, Finance, and Legal around a shared schedule and deal structure.
• Familiarity with natural gas-fired or behind-the-meter power generation, and with Permian Basin or similar resource-rich regions, is a strong plus.
• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or related advanced degree a plus.
• Willingness to travel regularly to prospective markets and active project sites.

Additional Requirements

Candidates must be able to perform essential functions as outlined above, including but not limited to:

• Operate at a computer and sit for long periods of time.
• Repeat motions that may include the wrists, hands, or fingers.

This description reflects the general nature and scope of the role and is not an exhaustive list of duties. It may evolve with the needs of the business.

Net Power is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Net Power provides reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities and for sincerely held religious beliefs. Applicants who need an accommodation during the application or interview process may contact Human Resources.

UNSOLICITED THIRD-PARTY RESUMES NOT ACCEPTED.

Net Power LLC is not responsible for any fee related to unsolicited resumes from 3rd party staffing and recruiting agencies (whether submitted through this website or sent directly to employees) unless a written agreement is in place between the agency and NET Power LLC (“Company”) and an authorized Company representative makes a written request to the agency to assist with this requisition.