Front End Drilling Engineer

Stanford Climate Ventures; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Fervo is seeking a Front End Drilling Engineer to lead long-term drilling planning and preparation, ensuring wells and rigs are permitted, scheduled, and resourced well ahead of spud. This role will drive cross-functional alignment with Drilling, Permitting, Supply Chain and Reservoir teams.

The position requires strong organizational skills, experience in SIMOPS planning, and the ability to coordinate long-lead equipment and contracts for upcoming drilling programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering.
• 3–5 years of drilling engineering or planning experience.
• Knowledge of drilling permitting processes and regulatory requirements.
• Experience with rig scheduling, contracting, and mobilization planning.
• Familiarity with SIMOPS planning and risk assessment.
• Experience interfacing with procurement on long-lead equipment.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Commitment to Health, Safety, and Environment.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain long-term, multi-rig drilling schedules in coordination with operations, completions, and facilities teams.
• Interface with Permitting team to support preparation and submission of drilling permits and regulatory filings.
• Track approvals to ensure no impact to schedule.
• Provide support for rig scheduling and mobilization / demobilization planning.
• Plan and coordinate SIMOPS, developing procedures and risk mitigations for concurrent drilling, completions, and facilities work.
• Interface with supply chain to track long lead equipment and ensure readiness aligns with the drilling schedule.
• Coordinate site and location readiness, including access roads, pad construction, water sourcing, and utility hookups.
• Support AFE preparation and cost estimating for planned wells, incorporating vendor and contractor bids.
• Maintain drilling program documentation, including well designs, procedures, and permits.
• Track and communicate planning status, risks, and dependencies to cross-functional stakeholders and leadership.
• Support contracting and bid processes for rigs, tools, and services.

Skills

Drilling planning

Regulatory knowledge

Rig scheduling

SIMOPS planning

Supplier coordination

Communication

Problem solving

Health, Safety, Environment

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

Tools

Well engineering software

Job description

Job Type

Full-time

Description

Fervo is working to build the most cost-effective, repeatable geothermal power plants in the world. Delivering on this mission requires first-of-a-kind well designs, disciplined execution in the field, and continuous learning across the full well lifecycle. Joining Fervo’s Geoblock Factory organization means operating where subsurface innovation meets real-world execution, with safety, reliability, and capital efficiency as non-negotiables.

We are seeking a Front End Drilling Engineer who is excited by Fervo’s mission and motivated to lead long-term drilling planning and preparation activities that set field operations up for safe, efficient execution. This role is ideal for an engineer who thrives on early-stage planning, cross-functional coordination, and turning permits, schedules, and equipment readiness into a well-prepared drilling program in a highly dynamic environment.

The Front End Drilling Engineer is responsible for long-term drilling planning and preparation, ensuring wells and rigs are permitted, scheduled, and resourced well ahead of spud. The Front End Drilling Engineer will serve as the primary interface between the Drilling, Permitting, Supply Chain, and Resource/Reservoir team for to ensure aligned long lead readiness efforts.

Requirements

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain long-term, multi-rig drilling schedules in coordination with operations, completions, and facilities teams
• Interface with Fervo Permitting team in support of preparation and submission of drilling permits and regulatory filings, tracking approvals to ensure no impact to schedule
• Provide support for rig scheduling and mobilization / demobilization planning
• Plan and coordinate Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS), developing procedures and risk mitigations for concurrent drilling, completions, and facilities work
• Interface with supply chain to track long lead equipment (wellheads, casing, tubulars, etc.) and ensure readiness aligns with the drilling schedule
• Coordinate site and location readiness, including access roads, pad construction, water sourcing, and utility hookups
• Support AFE preparation and cost estimating for planned wells, incorporating vendor and contractor bids
• Maintain drilling program documentation, including well designs, procedures, and permits, ensuring alignment with current engineering standards
• Track and communicate planning status, risks, and dependencies to cross-functional stakeholders and leadership
• Support contracting and bid processes for rigs, tools, and services required for upcoming drilling programs
• Some travel to operational sites may be required

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering
• 3-5 years of experience in drilling engineering or drilling planning (experience with an operator in US Onshore horizontal drilling preferred)
• Working knowledge of drilling permitting processes and regulatory requirements
• Experience with rig scheduling, contracting, and mobilization planning
• Familiarity with SIMOPS planning and risk assessment for concurrent operations
• Experience interfacing with supply chain / procurement on long lead equipment
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple concurrent well planning efforts
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills (a team player)
• Ability to develop ideas and proposals with minimal supervision
• Strong problem solver committed to continuous improvement
• Unwavering commitment to protecting Health, Safety, and Environment in all aspects of planning and operations

Preferred

• Experience in US Onshore horizontal drilling planning
• Proficient in standard well engineering design softwares
• Experience permitting across multiple state and federal regulatory environments
• Experience with supply chain / procurement systems and long lead time equipment tracking
• Experience supporting first-of-a-kind, non-standard, or technically complex well programs
• Experience mentoring or supporting early-career engineers