Senior Program Manager – Energy Innovation & Cleantech Ventures

Start2 Group; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 99,000 - 121,000; Full time

Job summary

Start2 Group in Houston seeks a Senior Program Manager to lead energy sector initiatives across oil & gas, renewables, storage, hydrogen, and grid tech. Immediate start; full-time role with a $110,000 salary.

You will build a robust network with founders, researchers, investors, and corporate partners, design energy-focused programs, recruit mentors, manage budgets, and report progress to leadership. The ideal candidate blends technical depth with broad strategic vision and can travel to

Qualifications

• Engineering or energy sciences background.
• Broad familiarity with energy tech domains (oil & gas, renewables, storage, hydrogen, grids).
• Ability to discuss technical concepts with founders and researchers.

Responsibilities

• Identify and build relationships with energy founders, researchers, investors, and corporate leaders.
• Represent Start2 Group at energy conferences and symposia to raise visibility.
• Design and manage energy-focused programs, including curriculum and workshops.
• Recruit mentors and experts for energy cohorts and match them with founders.
• Oversee program operations, budget, and stakeholder communications.

Skills

Engineering background

Energy systems

Technical generalist

Networking

Program leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or related field

Job description

Title: Senior Program Manager - Energy Innovation & Cleantech Ventures

Start2 Group is looking for an experienced, well-connected Senior Program Manager to build and lead our presence in the energy sector, based in Houston, one of the world's leading energy hubs. This role covers the full energy transition landscape, including oil and gas, renewables, energy storage, hydrogen, carbon capture, grid modernization, and adjacent cleantech and industrial decarbonization sectors.

Location:

Houston, TX

Job Function:

Full-time

Start:

Immediately

Compensation:

$110,000 annually

Key Responsibilities

Industry Outreach & Relationship Building

• Proactively identify and build relationships with founders, researchers, investors, and corporate innovation leads across oil and gas, renewables, energy storage, hydrogen, carbon capture and removal, grid technology, and industrial decarbonization.
• Represent Start2 Group at major energy industry conferences (such as CERAWeek), research symposia, and specialized meetups to build credibility and visibility in the Houston and broader U.S. energy community.
• Develop a working network of universities, national laboratories, federally funded research centers, technology transfer offices, and specialized accelerators active in energy and cleantech.
• Maintain a regular, ongoing outreach cadence rather than one-off contact, using shared tools, automation, and team support to keep that cadence sustainable at scale.

Startup & Partner Sourcing

• Scout and assess energy and cleantech startups for fit with Start2's programs, including companies whose technology has both commercial and public-sector applications.
• Connect promising founders with relevant mentors, investors, and corporate partners in Start2's network.
• Identify corporate, institutional, and public-sector partners whose needs align with energy programming, and lead structuring of qualified partnerships, including MOUs and program sponsorships, in coordination with business development leadership.

Program Design & Delivery

• Own the technical substance and strategic direction of programs serving energy cohorts: the curriculum, the workshop content, and what founders and operators in this sector actually need to learn.
• Design workshops, mentor sessions, and cohort content in partnership with researchers, operators, and commercialization experts.
• Recruit and curate the mentor and expert bench for the energy vertical, matching founders with advisors who have relevant domain and commercialization experience.
• Support startup selection, assessing technical maturity and commercial readiness for companies with long development cycles and capital-intensive paths to market.
• Own program operations and budget for the energy vertical, including scheduling, logistics, materials, founder onboarding, check-ins, and milestone tracking.
• Mentor and provide day-to-day guidance to junior team members supporting the energy vertical (to be confirmed: whether this role carries formal line management responsibility).
• Track outreach activity, new relationships built, and pipeline of startups and partners sourced.
• Collect feedback from founders, mentors, and partners to improve program design and outreach approach over time.
• Provide regular updates to Start2 leadership on ecosystem developments, funding movements, new contacts, and emerging opportunities across the energy sector.

What You'll Bring to the Role

• An engineering, energy sciences, or comparable technical background, and a demonstrated ability to get up to speed quickly on technologies and business models you have not worked with before.
• Working familiarity with one or more of: oil and gas operations, renewables (solar, wind), energy storage, hydrogen, carbon capture and removal, or grid modernization.
• Ability to speak credibly with technical founders, operators, and researchers about their work and its commercial potential.
• To be explicit: we are not looking for a narrow specialist in any one of these fields. We are looking for someone who can move between them at a senior level.

Federal & Institutional Fluency

• Understanding of how energy innovation gets funded in the U.S., including DOE programs (such as ARPA-E, the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, and the Loan Programs Office), SBIR/STTR, national labs, and university technology transfer.
• Familiarity with federal and Texas-specific energy innovation ecosystems and public-private partnerships, and comfort engaging government and institutional stakeholders at a senior level.
• Awareness of the constraints energy founders face, including long development timelines, capital intensity, permitting, and regulatory cycles, and how those shape the support they need.

Networking & Relationship Management

• Proven ability to build and sustain a professional network from scratch in a specialized or technical field, including at the executive level.
• Comfortable with sustained outreach, and with using tools, automation, and shared workflows to run it at scale rather than one message at a time.
• Confidence engaging with founders, researchers, investors, and senior corporate, institutional, and government stakeholders.

Program Management Skills

• Strong project and budget management fundamentals: able to plan, coordinate, and deliver program activities alongside outreach work with minimal oversight.
• Experience designing or leading programs that help startups commercialize, enter new markets, or navigate complex funding pathways.
• Comfortable managing multiple relationships, workstreams, and (where applicable) junior team members at once without dropping follow-through.

Cross-Cultural Competence

• Ability to navigate cultural and business differences across founders, research institutions, and corporate stakeholders.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, comfortable working across geographies and technical disciplines.

The Ideal Candidate

• 7+ years of experience in a role involving energy, cleantech, or a related sector, whether in industry, research, venture, or ecosystem support.
• A technical generalist: deep enough to be taken seriously by founders and operators, broad enough to move across oil and gas, renewables, storage, and grid technology without starting from zero each time.
• A natural connector who is energized by meeting new people and building networks, with a track record of doing so at a senior level.
• Prior experience managing or mentoring junior staff, or leading a program area with budget and outcome accountability, is preferred.
• Equally comfortable being measured on the strength of the relationships built and on the quality of the programs delivered.
• Familiarity with the U.S. startup ecosystem and the needs of early-stage energy companies, and specifically the Houston and Texas energy landscape.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to travel domestically, and internationally as needed, to attend relevant industry events.
• Professional working proficiency in English.

About Start2 Group:

Start2 Group is a global innovation platform helping growth-oriented startups, corporations, and governments shape and scale purpose-driven ventures. Founded in 2008, we've guided 6,000 startups from initial fundraising to global expansion, with reach across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East.

Equal Employment Opportunity Policy

Start2 Group is an equal opportunity employer. We prohibit discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability, genetics, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.