Senior Drilling and Completions Engineer

Zanskar; Salt Lake City (UT); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid holidays

18 days PTO + accrual increase based –

Medical, Dental & Vision Coverage

Paid Parental Leave

401k

Stock options

Growth opportunities

Job summary

Zanskar in Salt Lake City seeks a Senior Drilling and Completions Engineer to lead geothermal drilling campaigns, plan completions, and optimize field operations. The role focuses on safety, efficiency, and regulatory compliance across frontier geothermal projects.

The candidate will design well programs, supervise field execution, and collaborate with vendors to achieve project goals in a fast-paced, innovative environment.

Qualifications

• Hands-on field drilling/completions/operations experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in an Engineering discipline; geothermal experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead design, plan, and execution of geothermal drilling campaigns from gradient wells to production and injection wells.
• Develop well programs and ensure regulatory and HSE compliance.
• Provide daily technical support and act as field contact for engineering issues.
• Design, procure, and write procedures for ESP installations.
• Work on completions designs for EGS stimulations.
• Negotiate contracts with drilling contractors and cost estimates.
• Coordinate cross-functional field development and permitting data.
• Travel to the field frequently to oversee operations and coordinate with vendors.

Skills

Drilling engineering

Field operations

Casing design

completions design

Project management

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Job description

Senior Drilling and Completions Engineer

Role Overview

Title: Senior Drilling and Completions Engineer
Hours: Full Time; Salaried
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Manager: Head of Drilling

Mission - Why we exist and why we need you

Geothermal energy is the most abundant renewable energy source in the world. There is 2,300 times more energy in geothermal heat in the ground than in oil, gas, coal, and methane combined. However, historically it’s been hard to find and expensive to develop. At Zanskar, we’re using better technology to find and develop new geothermal resources in order to make geothermal a cheap and vital contributor to a carbon-free electrical grid.

In order to find and develop a portfolio of new geothermal projects, we need a Drilling and Completions Engineer to join our Drilling team to enable large-scale drill programs, scope completion parameters, monitor drilling programs in-field, and identify ways to drill safely and more rapidly in frontier geothermal systems.

Outcomes - Problems you’ll solve

The Engineer is responsible for leading the design, plan, and operational execution of drilling campaigns ranging from temperature gradient wells to full-size production and injection geothermal well construction, including completions. The scope of work includes owning the technical, business, and operational aspects of drilling.

• Develop and implement step-by-step well program design(s) to achieve well objectives
  and maintain full compliance with regulatory and HSE requirements
• Provide technical and management support on daily drilling activities and serve as the
  primary point of contact for field engineering issues
• Design, Procure, and write procedures for ESP installations
• Work on completions designs for EGS stimulations
• Negotiate contracts from drilling companies on drilling/completions services and materials cost estimates ranging from simple scoping to probabilistic cost estimates
• Support cross-functional field development optimization efforts through well planning, in-field mobilization, and design optimization
• Compile technical and operations data for permitting and all other regulatory filings
• Lead after-action review to identify best practices and lessons learned; provide internal and external benchmarking and end of project reports
• Prepare tenders, analyze vendor responses, and support contract negotiation and administration
• Travel to the field frequently to oversee operations, and foster strong working relationships with contracted drillers, field personnel and 3rd party vendors and suppliers, to effectively coordinate and provide support to business-critical needs

Competencies – What we’re looking for

• Engineering Experience: Hands-on field experience in drilling
  engineering/completions/operations. Competent with standard drilling calculations, drill string design and performing casing design. Experience with EGS stimulation design preferred. Bachelor’s Degree in an Engineering discipline and geothermal experience preferred.
• Vendor and project management: Experienced with procurement and onboarding new vendors. Can evaluate drilling contractors’ performance and manage to improve performance in speed and cost. Ability to travel up to 20% of the time to field locations to manage projects.
• Balances safety and adaptability: Understands and manages the risk trade-offs needed to both create safe, standardized operations and well control while working in a fast-paced, innovative environment and shift priorities/focus depending on the business needs

Location and Benefits

• The position is based out of our headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah
• Paid holidays
• 18 days PTO + PTO accrual increase based on tenure
• Medical, Dental & Vision Coverage
• Paid Parental Leave
• 401k
• Stock options
• Growth opportunities at a company with a direct impact in displacing carbon emissions

Equal Opportunity Employer

Zanskar is an equal-opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practice laws.