Process Engineer

Description

Geothermal today is less than half a percent of the global electricity mix. This is not because the resource isn't there. It is, nearly everywhere. It's because no one has figured out how to build geothermal power plants cheaply and repeatedly enough to compete. Fervo is changing that. We have built the world's first commercial-scale enhanced geothermal system, and we will never build a first-of-a-kind project again. Everything from here is a product, not a project. The opportunity now is aggressive deployment to keep up with explosive demand to make geothermal an essential part of the global energy mix instead of a niche one. 

A geothermal power plant only runs as well as the systems that keep it running — instrument air, plant water, chemical injection, HVAC, and the control architecture that ties every process together. These are not afterthoughts. They are the difference between a plant that operates predictably at scale and one that doesn't. We are not looking for someone to spec utilities from a vendor catalog. We are looking for someone who will own this scope, question every requirement in it, drive complexity out of it, and build a standard Fervo can replicate across every plant it builds. If that sounds like the role you've been waiting for, we want to talk to you. 

As Process Engineer on the Utilities & Controls team, you own the engineering and delivery of the auxiliary and utility systems that keep a geothermal powerblock operational. You work closely with the turboexpander, electrical, and thermal engineering teams to make sure utility system design supports plant performance, not just minimum functionality. You report to the Controls and Auxiliaries Manager.  

Requirements

Responsibilities

Own the Scope and the Cost 

• Own process design and analysis for utility systems across the powerblock, including instrument air, chemical injection, HVAC, and firewater, from P&ID development through commissioning support. 
• Question every inherited requirement. Trace every specification to its origin. Do not accept 'that's the way it's always done' as an answer.
• Drive tradeoffs from first principles. You are not here to deliver a technically adequate design. You are here to deliver an aggressively scalable solution. 

Build the Standard 

• Standardize utility system design across all power plants. Every plant Fervo builds should benefit from the decisions made on the last one. 
• Every design change must account for its downstream impact on construction, commissioning, and operations. Engineers own the full cost of their decisions, not just the drawing.
• Close the feedback loop between design and field execution aggressively. Learn from every installation and apply it forward. 

Qualifications

Required 

• B.S. or M.S. in Chemical, Mechanical, or Process Engineering or related discipline.
• 5+ years of process engineering experience.
• Hands-on experience with P&ID development and process design basis support.
• Able to translate technical complexity into clear, fast decisions for cross-functional partners. 

Preferred 

• Background building something that had to scale, where the standard you set mattered beyond the project in front of you.
• Experience with commissioning support
• Familiarity with DCS or PLC-based control system architecture and integration.
• Track record driving process standardization and cost reduction across multiple projects or sites. 

Location

Fervo Energy is headquartered in Houston, TX with growing offices in Oakland, CA, Golden, CO, Reno, NV, and Salt Lake City, UT. This position will be eligible for some hybrid work flexibility, but regular in-office presence at  Fervo's Houston office will be required. Some travel is required for this position.