Policy and Operations Manager

Endurance is building the worlds first modular subsea geothermal power plants converting vast thermal resources under the ocean into gigawatts of baseload power. Backed by Founders Fund Felicis First Round Capital and Point72 Ventures our founding team includes veterans from SpaceX Helion Blue Origin and Apple. We have completed multiple deep-ocean deployments to subsea volcanoes and are launching a long-term demonstration project this fall. By leveraging modular design manufacturing scale efficient drilling and latent cooling on the seafloor we are pioneering a new category of energy that outperforms traditional sources on environmental impact deployment speed and cost.

The Policy & Operations Manager is the execution arm for Endurances highest-priority policy permitting and environmental workstreams. You will work directly with the Director of Environmental Affairs and the Director of Policy & External Affairs taking special projects from a one-line ask to a finished product: a permit application package a comment letter a regulatory strategy memo an agency briefing a stakeholder engagement plan or more.

This is a builders seat in Washington. You will sit close to the agencies congressional offices and coalitions that shape our operating environment with two Directors who need a partner who can run a workstream without being managed through it. The role carries unusual exposure for its level: you will draft the material that goes into agency meetings staff our Directors and executives inside them and own the follow-through that comes out.

You will also spend time where the technology is. Expect regular trips to Seattle and periodic time at deployment sites (Pacific Islands Japan Taiwan).

• Own discrete special projects end to end (scope plan contributors and delivery) with limited oversight and tight timelines

• Track and analyze federal and state legislative activity international activity rulemakings and agency actions relevant to geothermal offshore energy ocean policy and clean firm power and flag what matters and why it matters to our schedule

• Draft and edit policy and regulatory materials: memos one-pagers talking points comment letters regulatory filings briefing books testimony and presentations

• Support permitting and environmental review for demonstration and commercial projects including NEPA documentation consultation and authorization requirements and state and local siting approvals

• Build and maintain the internal source of truth for permitting status agency touchpoints environmental commitments and regulatory deadlines across every project

• Coordinate across engineering marine operations legal and commercial teams to assemble the technical record agencies require and hold internal contributors to deadlines and requirements

• Prepare the Directors and company executives for engagements with agency officials congressional staff coalitions tribal nations and community stakeholders and research partners

• Manage outside consultants environmental contractors and counsel: scopes deliverables budgets and quality of work product

• Support external affairs and coalition work including trade associations NGO relationships and stakeholder engagement in project communities

• Identify and pursue federal and state funding grant and demonstration-program opportunities relevant to first-of-a-kind energy infrastructure

• Represent Endurance in Washington when the Directors cannot and travel to Seattle and deployment sites often enough to speak to the technology firsthand

• 2 years of experience in policy government affairs environmental permitting regulatory affairs or program management. A variety of backgrounds including on the Hill in an agency at a trade association in consulting at an NGO or in-house at a developer can all fit

• Based in the Washington DC area with the ability to be in and around the agencies and the Hill in person

• Working knowledge of federal environmental review and permitting: NEPA plus at least one of the Endangered Species Act Marine Mammal Protection Act Clean Water Act Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Magnuson Stevens Act Rivers and Harbors Act or state coastal zone management programs

• Demonstrated track record running projects with multiple contributors to a hard external deadline including work you did not personally control

• Clear direct writing under deadline pressure with examples of concise material prepared for policymakers regulators or senior leaders; shows mastery of AI as a tool but not as a thought

• Ability to absorb unfamiliar technical material quickly and represent it accurately to a non-technical audience

• Comfort operating with ambiguity incomplete data and short timelines and a strong bias toward action

• Sound judgment and discretion handling sensitive commercial regulatory and pre-decisional information

• Bachelors degree in public policy political science environmental policy or science law marine affairs or a related field

• Willingness to travel roughly 1525% between Seattle and deployment sites

• Experience with offshore or ocean regulatory frameworks and the agencies that administer them: Marine Minerals Administration NOAA/NMFS USACE EPA or state coastal commissions

• Experience permitting first-of-a-kind pre-commercial or demonstration-scale energy infrastructure where standard templates do not yet apply

• Familiarity with geothermal offshore wind marine energy or subsea operations

• Hill appropriations or authorizing-committee experience or familiarity with DOE ARPA-E the Energy Dominance Fund or FERC

• Exposure to international permitting or regulatory regimes in geothermal-relevant jurisdictions such as Iceland or Japan

• Experience managing environmental consultants or preparing agency-facing technical documentation

• Advanced degree in law public policy environmental policy STEM or marine affairs

• Experience in an organization with aggressive commercial and operational schedules

As a pre-revenue startup Endurance Energy offers competitive base salaries and generous equity packages for full-time employees. Final base salary will be determined by an array of factors including internal equity job-related knowledge skills and work experience.

A key aspect of our compensation philosophy is that value creation should be aligned with rewards. Right now this means equity is a significant portion of every full-time employees compensation. As the company matures there will be continued evolution and changes to the total rewards and total compensation package. What will always be true is that if we win we win together. Equity is granted to every full-time employee as a meaningful piece of ownership. We believe the people building the company should share directly in the value they create.

In addition to a competitive base salary and equity employees will receive all of our other great benefits and perks including:

• Benefits: Health Dental and Vision insurance coverage

• Time Away: Flexible PTO including 12 paid company holidays

• Global Fieldwork: Travel to fascinating deployment sites along oceanic ridges in locations like the Pacific Northwest Hawaii Iceland Japan New Zealand and the Azores

• Hands-on Experience: Participate in sea trials and deployment operations in partnership with leading oceanographic institutions

• Cutting-edge Development: Work with technology that spans high-power electronics marine systems and clean energy

• Impactful Work: Help solve one of the worlds most pressing challenges

• Dive Certification: Company-sponsored recreational dive certification

• Other Perks: Access to the company boat free meals and snacks and the list goes on!

If youre selected for consideration a recruiter will be able to discuss in greater detail.

Required Experience:

Manager