Director of Regulatory Affairs

Endurance Energy; Washington; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Dental, Vision insurance

Flexible PTO + holidays

Global fieldwork opportunities

Sea trials with leading institutions

Cutting-edge energy tech development

Meaningful, impactful work in critical

Dive certification

Company boat access

Job summary

Endurance Energy seeks a Director of Regulatory Affairs to lead regulatory strategy for subsea geothermal projects. You will be the principal contact with federal and state regulators and coordinate with legal, engineering, and development teams to secure permits and approvals.

You will oversee NEPA reviews, prepare testimony, and manage filings with agencies, while guiding cross-functional teams on regulatory risk, timelines, and budget.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in energy regulatory affairs, utility regulation, or a related legal or policy role, with at least 5 years engaging directly with regulators
• Experience with environmental permitting and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review
• Demonstrated ability to translate technical and legal requirements into clear guidance for non-specialists
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including testimony and senior-level briefings

Responsibilities

• Build and run a regulatory roadmap for current and planned projects, and advise executives on regulatory risk, timing, and cost
• Manage filings and relationships with the Marine Minerals Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Fish and Wildlife, and US Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and track their rulemakings and guidance
• Lead engagement with State energy planning agencies, State land use planning agencies, and State coastal agencies that have authorities over permits for cable and shore infrastructure
• Lead transmission and interconnection regulatory work, including transmission line siting approvals, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) filings, regional transmission organization (RTO) and independent system operator (ISO) interconnection processes, and transmission planning proceedings
• Oversee permit applications and environmental reviews which includes National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as well as other environmental review processes
• Draft comments and testimony on proposed rules, and represent the company in coalitions and trade associations
• Maintain the company's regulatory compliance program, including North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability standards where they apply, prepare for audits, and report regularly to executives and the board

Skills

Regulatory affairs

NEPA experience

Policy communication

Stakeholder engagement

Education

JD or related master's

Job description

About Endurance

Endurance is building the world's first modular subsea geothermal power plants, converting vast thermal resources under the ocean into gigawatts of baseload power. Backed by Founders Fund, Felicis, First Round Capital, and Point72 Ventures, our founding team includes veterans from SpaceX, Helion, Blue Origin, and Apple. We have completed multiple deep-ocean deployments to subsea volcanoes and are launching a long-term demonstration project this fall. By leveraging modular design, manufacturing scale, efficient drilling, and latent cooling on the seafloor, we are pioneering a new category of energy that outperforms traditional sources on environmental impact, deployment speed, and cost.

What You’ll Be Doing

The Director of Regulatory Affairs leads Endurance Energy's regulatory strategy and keeps the company's projects, products, and operations in line with the rules that govern them. This person is our principal point of contact with federal and state energy and environmental regulators as well as international entities.

The role partners closely with our Director of Environmental Affairs to anticipate regulatory change, clear the path for permits, approvals, and interconnection, and give leadership early, accurate guidance on how rules affect the business plan. The Director works closely with legal, engineering, project development, and government affairs, and represents the company before regulators, industry groups, and partners.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and run a regulatory roadmap for current and planned projects, and advise executives on regulatory risk, timing, and cost

• Manage filings and relationships with the Marine Minerals Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, US Fish and Wildlife, and US Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and track their rulemakings and guidance

• Lead engagement with State energy planning agencies, State land use planning agencies, and State coastal agencies that have authorities over permits for cable and shore infrastructure

• Lead transmission and interconnection regulatory work, including transmission line siting approvals, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) filings, regional transmission organization (RTO) and independent system operator (ISO) interconnection processes, and transmission planning proceedings

• Oversee permit applications and environmental reviews which includes National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as well as other environmental review processes

• Draft comments and testimony on proposed rules, and represent the company in coalitions and trade associations

• Maintain the company's regulatory compliance program, including North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) reliability standards where they apply, prepare for audits, and report regularly to executives and the board

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in energy regulatory affairs, utility regulation, or a related legal or policy role, with at least 5 years engaging directly with regulators

• Experience with environmental permitting and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review

• Demonstrated ability to translate technical and legal requirements into clear guidance for non-specialists

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including testimony and senior-level briefings

Preferred Skills

• Juris Doctor (JD) or a Masters degree in a related field

• Prior service at a regulatory agency, utility, or grid operator, or as a legislative staffer on an energy committee

• Experience with microgrids, long-duration energy storage, distributed generation, or critical infrastructure

• Familiarity with projects on Department of Defense (DoD) installations and related federal energy programs

• Experience managing outside counsel, consultants, and regulatory budgets

Compensation, Benefits, & Perks

As a pre-revenue startup, Endurance Energy offers competitive base salaries and generous equity packages for full-time employees. Final base salary will be determined by an array of factors including internal equity, job-related knowledge, skills, and work experience.

A key aspect of our compensation philosophy is that value creation should be aligned with rewards. Right now this means equity is a significant portion of every full-time employee's compensation. As the company matures, there will be continued evolution and changes to the total rewards and total compensation package. What will always be true is that if we win, we win together. Equity is granted to every full-time employee as a meaningful piece of ownership. We believe the people building the company should share directly in the value they create.

In addition to a competitive base salary and equity, employees will receive all of our other great benefits and perks, including:

• Benefits: Health, Dental, and Vision insurance coverage

• Time Away: Flexible PTO including 12 paid company holidays

• Global Fieldwork: Travel to fascinating deployment sites along oceanic ridges in locations like the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, and the Azores

• Hands-on Experience: Participate in sea trials and deployment operations in partnership with leading oceanographic institutions

• Cutting-edge Development: Work with technology that spans high-power electronics, marine systems, and clean energy

• Impactful Work: Help solve one of the world's most pressing challenges

• Dive Certification: Company-sponsored recreational dive certification

• Other Perks: Access to the company boat, free meals and snacks, and the list goes on!