Transmission Development Lead

American Terawatt; San Francisco, New York (CA, NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Wellness reimbursement (up to $300/mo)

Lunch provided daily in SF office

Unlimited PTO

Office near Embarcadero, SF

Job summary

American Terawatt is building a national-scale industrial electric grid and seeking a Transmission Development Lead to drive high-stakes transmission opportunities from origination through construction.

You will lead diligence, engage with utilities and large-load customers, and shape project economics and timelines. This senior role requires substantial experience in transmission or large-scale energy infrastructure development and strong financial modeling capabilities.

Qualifications

• Senior-level experience in advancing complex energy infrastructure projects through multiple development stages (origination, diligence, interconnection, permitting, commercial structuring, execution).
• Proven ability to own workstreams end-to-end and push projects toward concrete commercial or investment decisions.
• Strong grasp of project economics and experience building or evaluating financial models for large-scale energy infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Identify and advance transmission development opportunities based on power availability, interconnection potential, permitting feasibility, project economics, and network compatibility.
• Lead diligence across grid interconnection, transmission routing, permitting, land, power availability, and timelines, forming a practical plan beyond studies.
• Collaborate with utilities, RTOs/ISOs, generation owners, landowners, developers, and large-load customers to secure development rights and agreements.
• Evaluate alternative development pathways and tradeoffs across schedule, cost, interconnection risk, permitting, constructability, and value.
• Develop project economics and support commercial structuring and negotiation of opportunities.
• Identify critical development risks early and drive them toward resolution.
• Partner with engineering, project management, procurement, legal, and commercial teams to move projects from early-stage opportunities through development to construction.

Skills

Transmission

Power infrastructure

Interconnection

Permitting

Commercial negotiation

Financial modeling

Job description

American Terawatt is building a new industrial electric grid for the United States. Executing successfully means engaging in power development at national scale.

We design and deploy advanced power transmission systems, serving large industrial loads, hundreds of megawatts at a time. Our systems deliver electric power to everything from frontier AI datacenters to highly automated manufacturing, refineries, mines, and more.

We make interconnection fast, simple, and cheap. On our network, generation owners get their projects online faster, delivering abundant power at competitive prices.

The backbone of American Terawatt’s network is based on long-distance HVDC transmission, anchored by software-defined ‘Macrogrids’ which actively manage local transmission between generation, storage, and loads.

The Role

As a Transmission Development Lead at American Terawatt, you will:

• Identify and advance transmission development opportunities based on power availability, interconnection potential, permitting feasibility, project economics, and suitability for American Terawatt’s broader transmission network.

• Lead diligence across grid interconnection, transmission routing, permitting, land, power availability, and project delivery timelines, developing a clear view of what is achievable in practice — not just what is reflected in studies and documentation.

• Work directly with utilities, RTOs/ISOs, generation owners, landowners, developers, and large-load customers to advance projects and secure the agreements and rights needed for development.

• Evaluate alternative development pathways and make tradeoffs across schedule, cost, interconnection risk, permitting, constructability, and commercial value.

• Develop project economics and support the commercial structuring and negotiation of transmission development opportunities.

• Identify critical development risks early and proactively drive them toward resolution.

• Partner closely with engineering, project management, procurement, legal, and commercial teams to move transmission projects from early-stage opportunity through development and toward construction.

Experience

This is a senior role requiring significant prior transmission, power, or large-scale energy infrastructure development experience.

Required Experience

• Demonstrated experience advancing complex energy infrastructure projects through multiple stages of development, including origination, diligence, interconnection, permitting, commercial structuring, and execution.

• Track record of personally owning meaningful development workstreams and driving projects toward commercial or investment decisions — not simply analyzing opportunities.

• Strong understanding of project economics and experience building or evaluating financial models for large-scale energy infrastructure projects.

• Working knowledge of grid interconnection, transmission development, permitting, utility coordination, and realistic project delivery timelines.

• Experience navigating complex projects involving multiple external counterparties, regulatory requirements, and competing technical and commercial constraints.

Preferred Experience

• Background at an independent power producer, transmission developer, utility, energy infrastructure developer, or energy team within a large technology company.

• Existing relationships with utilities, RTOs/ISOs, generation owners, developers, or other power-market participants.

• Direct experience developing high-voltage transmission, substations, generation interconnection, or other bulk-power infrastructure.

• Familiarity with HVDC transmission or long-distance bulk power infrastructure development.

Position Details

This position reports directly to the Head of Power Development and will serve as a senior development lead on American Terawatt’s transmission projects, owning key development workstreams and helping shape project strategy from early-stage opportunity through execution.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation: Competitive compensation package commensurate with experience, including salary and equity participation.

Healthcare: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, including 75% coverage for dependents and spouses.

Wellness: Up to $300/month reimbursement for gym and wellness expenses, or Bay Club membership for SF-based employees.

Meals: Lunch provided daily when working from the office.

Time off: Unlimited PTO with manager approval, plus company-wide office closures for one week in June and one week in December.

Additional perks: Apple laptop provided, convenient SF office near the Embarcadero and public transit, and employee contribution 401(k) program.