Chief of Staff, Operations

Fervo is working to build the most cost-effective repeatable power plants in the world unlocking 24/7 carbon-free energy from geothermal. Delivering on this mission demands strategic clarity organizational discipline and the ability to execute with speed across a complex capital-intensive business. As Fervo scales from first-of-a-kind demonstration into fleet-scale project development the company is building the operational rigor capital strategy and cross-functional alignment required to deliver geothermal at global scale.

Joining Fervo at this stage means operating at the center of company-building where decisions around strategy capital and execution directly shape long-term value creation. The Chief of Staff to the CEO will serve as a force multiplier for the CEO helping translate company priorities into coordinated action across engineering development finance and commercial functions while ensuring that the organization moves decisively and with discipline.

The Chief of Staff to the VP of Operations will serve as a direct extension of the VP across Fervos Operations organization spanning Operations Engineering O&M Production Engineering and Commissioning with accountability for keeping the full portfolio aligned moving and decision-ready. You will go where the leader cannot represent the leader in forums the leader cannot attend drive workstreams requiring senior coverage and engage with full authority and accountability to make decisions on the leaders behalf. This role reports directly to the VP of Operations.

Fervo is scaling an industry-defining geothermal program from Cape Station Phase I through a fleet of repeat-build plants and the Chief of Staff to the VP of Operations owns the operational rhythm that enables a single leader to manage a program that would otherwise require three. You will track AFEs and forecast spend reconcile change orders prepare executive-grade deliverables run cross-functional meetings close action items and stand in for the leader across engineering commissioning production engineering and O&M coordination. If a workstream is slipping you identify the cause before you are asked. If a deliverable is due it is on the leaders desk before they request it. You operate by reasoning from first principles questioning every inherited requirement eliminating what does not add value simplifying what remains accelerating where ownership permits and building every output for repeatability across the next plant.

COVER LETTER SUBMISSION HIGHLY ENCOURAGED

Responsibilities

Strategic Partnership & Extension of Leadership

• Bachelors degree in an Engineering discipline (non-engineers will be considered if relevant experience can be demonstrated).
• 10 years of experience in an engineering finance consulting data science or operations role preferably in the energy oil & gas or industrial sector.
• Demonstrated experience with project financial tracking: AFEs budgets change orders vendor cost reconciliation accruals and variance analysis.
• Strong fluency reading and synthesizing engineering and construction documentation P&IDs schedules drawings vendor scope packages commissioning procedures.
• Track record building executive-grade deliverables (PowerPoint Excel models written briefings) under tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to engage credibly with senior executives and field personnel alike.
• Track record of operating at the intersection of multiple disciplines engineering construction commissioning operations finance.
• Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and equally comfortable revising those decisions as better information becomes available.
• Willing and able (with or without reasonable accommodation) to travel to Cape Station and other Fervo locations up to 25% of the time.

Cross-Functional Coordination

• Interface daily with Engineering Commissioning Production Engineering O&M HSSE Supply Chain and Finance to keep workstreams aligned and unblocked.
• Coordinate with external partners OEMs owners engineers and vendor field service personnel on behalf of Fervo leadership.
• Run cross-functional meetings: set agendas drive decisions capture action items and follow them through to closure.
• Translate between disciplines so that engineering operations finance and executives are working from the same picture.

Financial Tracking & Cost Engineering

• Own ongoing tracking of CapEx and OpEx budgets AFEs and actuals across owned workstreams; build and maintain monthly spend forecasts and variance analyses.
• Develop and refine cost models for Cape Station and follow-on plants CapEx OpEx and lifecycle in support of investment-grade forecasting and project decision-making.
• Manage vendor purchase orders invoices and accruals against scope and progress; flag commercial risk before it becomes a dispute.
• Prepare executive budget summaries AFE narratives and variance commentary that stand up to scrutiny from the ELT the board and external stakeholders.

Risk Schedule & Decision Support

• Track schedule cost and risk metrics across owned workstreams; produce the data and analysis leadership uses to make decisions.
• Maintain risk registers RAG status reports and 2- / 4- / 8-week look-aheads. When a metric goes red you bring a recovery plan not a status update.
• Build executive-facing PowerPoint deliverables briefing memos and one-page summaries clear dense and decision-ready.

Process Standardization & Continuous Improvement

• Identify duplicated effort redundant approvals and friction in current workflows; eliminate the unnecessary first then simplify what remains.
• Build reusable templates trackers and standard operating procedures so that each successive plant begins with the accumulated advantage of those that came before it.
• Codify what works into Fervos playbook for plant delivery; treat every Cape Station deliverable as reusable IP for the next site.
• Question every inherited requirement trace it to its source and if no rationale can be established treat it as a candidate for elimination.

Special Initiatives & AI Adoption

• Integrate AI tools into daily workflows to drive efficiency across reporting cost tracking scheduling and cross-functional coordination; model their use for the broader operations team.
• Identify and lead special initiatives that fall outside existing functional lanes process redesign technology adoption capability-building and drive them to completion with the same ownership expected of core workstreams.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

• Draft executive communications ELT QBR content board materials and regulatory submissions on behalf of leadership.
• Liaise with internal stakeholders (Engineering Commissioning Operations Finance HSSE ELT) and external (OEMs regulators owners engineers) with discretion and judgment.
• Translate field reality into reporting that is concise enough for an executive and actionable enough for a craft foreman.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelors degree in an Engineering discipline (non-engineers will be considered if relevant experience can be demonstrated).
• 10 years of experience in an engineering finance consulting data science or operations role preferably in the energy oil & gas or industrial sector.
• Demonstrated experience with project financial tracking: AFEs budgets change orders vendor cost reconciliation accruals and variance analysis.
• Strong fluency reading and synthesizing engineering and construction documentation P&IDs schedules drawings vendor scope packages commissioning procedures.
• Track record building executive-grade deliverables (PowerPoint Excel models written briefings) under tight deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to engage credibly with senior executives and field personnel alike.
• Track record of operating at the intersection of multiple disciplines engineering construction commissioning operations finance.
• Comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and equally comfortable revising those decisions as better information becomes available.
• Willing and able (with or without reasonable accommodation) to travel to Cape Station and other Fervo locations up to 25% of the time.

Preferred

• Direct experience with geothermal ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) combined-cycle gas complex facilities or other power plant commissioning startup or repowering projects.
• Prior chief-of-staff business operations or senior management role supporting a P&L owner or major program leader.
• Cost engineering AFE management or project controls background; experience with cost-loaded schedules EVM or formal project controls disciplines.
• Familiarity with various EDMS Primavera P6 SmartPlant Bluebeam or comparable project execution and commissioning systems.
• Lean / Six Sigma / TPS exposure or a track record of cycle-time and cost reductions in a project execution environment.
• Experience preparing materials for ELT board investor or regulatory audiences.
• Experience supporting or advising on PPAs and O&M agreements.
• Comfort leading RCA workshops HAZOPs MOC reviews or other structured problem-solving forums.
• Startup-environment experience comfortable building the process while running it.

Location

Fervo Energy is headquartered in Houston TX with offices in Oakland CA Golden CO Reno NV and Salt Lake City UT. This position is an in-person role in our Houston TX headquarters. Travel up to 25% is required for this role.

Fervo Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race color creed gender religion marital status registered domestic partner status age national origin ancestry physical or mental disability medical condition sex genetic information sexual orientation military and veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful by federal state or local laws. It also prohibits unlawful discrimination based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics.