NERC Compliance Manager

Fervo Energy; Houston (TX); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision coverage

401(k) with company match

Hybrid work & Houston office access

Career development programs

Job summary

Fervo Energy is seeking a NERC Compliance Manager to own the reliability compliance program for Cape Station in WECC. You will serve as the primary compliance contact with NERC and WECC, ensuring readiness for audits and ongoing regulatory interaction.

You will collaborate with Plant Operations, Engineering, OT Security, Asset Management, and Legal to maintain controls, evidence, and training. This role reports to the Head of Compliance & Regulatory Programs and requires travel to Cape Station.

Qualifications

• Requires 6+ years in NERC reliability compliance with experience supporting audits or spot checks.
• Technical depth in protection systems, facility ratings, and generator model verification.
• Working knowledge of CIP-002 and CIP-003 low impact requirements.
• Experience managing consultants or service providers against scope, quality, deadlines, and budget.

Responsibilities

• Own registration with regulators and manage NERC/WECC compliance artifacts.
• Maintain applicability: track standard revisions and update procedures before they take effect.
• Lead audits, self-certifications, data requests, and reports with Legal involvement.
• Direct outside providers: set scope, deadlines, budget for compliance services.

Skills

NERC compliance

Regulatory liaison

Audit coordination

Protection systems knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s in engineering or related field

Tools

CIP-002/CIP-003

Job description

Fervo Energy (NASDAQ: FRVO) is a modern power company developing next-generation geothermal resources to meet the growing demand for affordable, reliable, 24/7 carbon-free energy. Our mission is to transform geothermal into America’s most dependable and affordable source of clean, around-the-clock power. By combining innovations in horizontal drilling, fiber-optic sensing, and advanced reservoir engineering, Fervo has developed a repeatable approach to building utility-scale enhanced geothermal systems. Our flagship Cape Station development in Utah is planned to deliver 500 MW of firm, carbon-free power, and we are advancing a development pipeline of more than 50 GW. Join us and work alongside world-class engineers, geoscientists, operators, project builders, and business leaders working to make geothermal a cornerstone of a more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy future.

Position Description

The NERC Compliance Manager owns Fervo’s reliability compliance program for its registered Generator Owner and Generator Operator entities, starting with Cape Station in WECC. You will serve as Primary Compliance Contact with NERC and WECC, keep the program current as Fervo grows, and prepare Fervo for its first WECC audit.

This role suits a reliability compliance professional who wants to own a working program, not a blank page. Procedures, controls, training, and registration are in place; the job is to make them audit-ready and keep them that way.

You will partner with Plant Operations, Engineering, OT Security, Asset Management, Legal, and outside compliance and testing providers. These functions retain their responsibilities; the Manager owns the compliance calendar, validation, evidence, and regulator relationships, and routes issues promptly to accountable owners.

This hands-on role reports to the Head of Compliance & Regulatory Programs. Regular engagement with plant operators, engineers, and regulators is central.

Responsibilities

Own registration and regulators: serve as Primary Compliance Contact; manage Align, CORES, NERC Alerts, and user access

Manage registration changes for new units and resource types, including inverter-based resources

Maintain applicability: track standard revisions and effective dates, update procedures and controls before they take effect, and own Section 1600 data submissions

Build audit-ready evidence: map each applicable requirement to its RSAW and to an artifact produced in normal work

Close open engineering evidence packages with Engineering, and challenge weak evidence before an auditor does

Validate controls and change: confirm owners in Operations, Engineering, and OT Security execute procedures as written

Define the events that force immediate review, such as new units, changes in operating authority, or new remote-access paths

Oversee CIP compliance: partner with OT Security on CIP-002 categorization and the CIP-003 low impact program, and assess how operational changes could affect impact ratings

Own NERC training: run operations training with new-operator onboarding as a trigger and records an auditor can test

Lead audits and issues: manage self-certifications, data requests, spot checks, and audits; arrange a mock audit before the first WECC engagement; and recommend self-reports with Legal

Direct outside providers: set scope, quality, deadlines, and budget for compliance services and testing vendors, and recommend which work moves in-house

Report and escape: provide regular written updates on status, open evidence, and compliance risks to the Head of Compliance & Regulatory Programs and, as needed, Executive Leadership Team

Qualifications

Required

Bachelor’s in engineering or a related technical field, or equivalent experience

6+ years in NERC reliability compliance, including 4+ years with Generator Owner and Generator Operator standards and direct support of a Regional Entity audit or spot check

Technical depth in protection systems, facility ratings, and generator model verification sufficient to challenge engineering evidence; working knowledge of CIP-002 and CIP-003 low impact requirements

Experience managing consultants or service providers against scope, quality, deadlines, and budget

Judgment to resolve routine questions independently and escalation appropriately; willingness to travel regular to Cape Station

Preferred

WECC audit experience, ideally taking a newly registered entity through its first audit cycle

Inverter-based resource or synchronous thermal generation experience

Commitment to clean energy and desire to own a function critical to first-of-a-kind projects

Location

Fervo Energy has offices in Houston, TX, Golden, CO, Reno, NV, Oakland, CA, and Salt Lake City, UT. This position will be eligible for some hybrid work flexibility, but regular in-office presence at the Houston office will be required.

• Fervo offers a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your health, financial well-being, and life outside of work. Benefits for eligible employees include:
• Medical, dental, and vision plan options
• Employer-paid basic life insurance and short-term and long-term disability coverage
• A 401(k) plan with up to 6% match
• Flexible paid time off and paid parental leave
• Family-building, fertility, hormonal health, pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting support through Carrot
• A dependent care FSA for eligible child and elder care expenses
• An annual Lifestyle Spending Account for eligible wellness expenses, including fitness, financial planning, pet insurance, and pet care
• Employee ownership opportunities through Fervo’s Employee Stock Purchase Program, as well as LTI and bonus opportunities for eligible roles

Benefits and programs are subject to eligibility requirements and may change.

Our Workplace

Fervo Energy highly values having employees work in the office to foster collaboration and strengthen our company culture. This role follows a hybrid schedule, with team members expected to work in the office three days per week. Fervo considers this in-office schedule an essential function of the role. Your recruiter can share more information about the schedule.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Fervo Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender, religion, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sex, genetic information, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local law. Fervo also prohibits discrimination based on the perception that an individual has any of these characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of these characteristics.

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey.Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiringprocess or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in aconfidential file.

As set forth in Fervo Energy’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection.As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measurethe effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categoriesis as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.