Geothermal Well Permitting & Compliance Lead

Fervo Energy; Salt Lake City (UT); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision

Employer-paid life insurance

401(k) with company match

Flexible PTO and parental leave

Stock purchase program

Bonus opportunities

Disability coverage

Wellness program

Job summary

Fervo Energy, a Utah-based geothermal developer, seeks a Well Permitting Specialist to manage planning, permitting, and regulatory compliance for geothermal wells across exploration, development, and operations. You will serve as the primary interface with state and federal agencies, coordinating with Drilling, Completions, Construction, Surveying, Environmental, and Land teams.

Candidates should have 8+ years of permitting/regulatory experience in energy or infrastructure, strong knowledge of

Qualifications

• Engineering, Geology, Environmental Science, Natural Resources, Planning, or related technical discipline.
• 8+ years of permitting or regulatory experience supporting energy, mining, oil & gas, geothermal, or other large infrastructure projects.
• Demonstrated experience preparing and obtaining drilling permits from state and/or federal regulatory agencies.
• Strong understanding of geothermal drilling operations and well development.
• Excellent organizational, communication, project management, and stakeholder coordination skills.
• Self-starter capable of managing multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Ability to travel approximately 25% to project sites throughout the western United States.

Responsibilities

• Develop permitting strategies that support exploration, appraisal, injection, monitoring, production, and commercial geothermal well development.
• Prepare and submit complete drilling permit applications to state and federal agencies.
• Coordinate permit sequencing with project schedules, drilling programs, and construction milestones.
• Identify permitting risks and develop mitigation strategies to minimize impacts to project schedules.
• Maintain a comprehensive permitting schedule and forecast for active and future drilling programs.
• Coordinate regulatory agency meetings and technical reviews, respond to agency requests for additional information, and negotiate permit conditions where appropriate.
• Maintain positive working relationships with regulatory personnel.
• Review technical information, including drilling programs, casing and cementing programs, blowout prevention (BOP) specifications, directional drilling plans, well location plats, surface use plans, and other plans programs associated with well development.
• Ensure drilling operations comply with all permit conditions and regulatory requirements, and manage permit amendments as drilling programs evolve.
• Develop systems to track permit obligations, reporting deadlines, inspections, and regulatory commitments.
• Coordinate responses to agency inspections and compliance reviews.
• Support internal compliance audits and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Manage permitting consultants and technical contractors and review consultant work products for technical accuracy and regulatory compliance.
• Manage consultant budgets and schedules.
• Develop internal guidance documents and best practices.
• Provide regulatory training to project teams.
• Maintain complete regulatory records for all well permits.
• Develop standardized permitting templates and procedures.

Skills

Permitting experience

Regulatory knowledge

Stakeholder coordination

Project management

Communication

Education

Engineering, Geology, Environmental Science, Natural Resources, Planning, or related technical discipline

Job description

Fervo Energy, a Utah-based geothermal developer, seeks a Well Permitting Specialist to manage planning, permitting, and regulatory compliance for geothermal wells across exploration, development, and operations. You will serve as the primary interface with state and federal agencies, coordinating with Drilling, Completions, Construction, Surveying, Environmental, and Land teams.

Candidates should have 8+ years of permitting/regulatory experience in energy or infrastructure, strong knowledge of