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.
Every megawatt Fervo generates passes through the turboexpander-generator. We are looking for a turbomachinery engineer who will own the heart of the powerplant. We are looking for someone who understands that the job is not to engineer the best possible tuqQrbine package in isolation, but to own the conversion scope across an entire fleet, drive cost out of it on every iteration, and build a team capable of delivering alongside world-class OEMs while filling the gaps they leave. If you want your engineering decisions to show up in the output of every geothermal plant Fervo builds for the next decade, this is the role.
As the TurboGen Manager, you own the engineering, procurement, and delivery of the turboexpander-generator systems across Fervo's ORC facility portfolio. That scope includes the turboexpander, generator, breakers, protections, auxiliaries, and all associated foundations, piping, and valves within the turbine package boundary. You own schedule, budget, and OEM performance. You lead a large cross-functional team of engineers. You report to the Director of Engineering.
Requirements
Responsibilities
Own the Scope and the Cost
- Drive technical delivery of the full turbomachinery scope from early engineering through commissioning handover.
- Question every specification and requirement. If it can't be justified by physics, safety, or economics, it should not be in the design. You are not here to execute an inherited scope. You are here to own it and improve it.
- Define and enforce the turbine package boundary. Turbine inlet conditions are set upstream. Back-pressure is set downstream. Know those interfaces cold and optimize everything in between.
Manage the OEMs
- Serve as Fervo's primary technical interface to world class turboexpander OEMs. Fervo works with multiple vendors across its portfolio. Structure your team to fill the gaps. Do not wait on vendors to answer questions you should be able to answer yourself.
- Own vendor performance against schedule, technical, and contractual commitments.
- Support procurement strategy and contract negotiations. You are accountable for the cost of this scope. That accountability does not stop at the contract signature.
Build the Standard
- Identify and drive standardization opportunities across turbine configurations, auxiliary systems, and installation methods. Massive scale comes from simplifying the design and building on every prior iteration.
- Close the feedback loop between engineering and field execution aggressively.
- Build turbomachinery design standards, specifications, and interface definitions that your team can execute repeatedly.
Lead the Team
- Recruit, develop, and lead a large cross-functional team of engineers. Set direction, hold high standards, and grow the people around you.
- Build a team that owns outcomes, not just deliverables.
- Translate turbomachinery constraints into clear inputs for adjacent teams. Own the interface.
Qualifications
Required
- B.S. or M.S. in Mechanical Engineering or related discipline.
- 7+ years in rotating equipment or turbomachinery engineering with direct ownership of turbine or compressor package scopes.
- Proven track record leading and developing high-performing engineering teams
- Deep expertise in turboexpander or steam/gas turbine systems.
- Able to translate technical complexity into clear, fast decisions for cross-functional partners and executive leadership.
Preferred
- OEM experience.
- Background building something that had to scale, where the standard you set mattered beyond the project in front of you.
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.
