Government Relations Lead (Federal)

TAR•Austin, TX

2d•Hybrid

About The Position

TAR builds fully islanded solar and storage campuses that power AI data centers, and powering the AI buildout is now a first-order issue in Washington: we sit at the intersection of the two topics every office is working on, AI and energy. As Government Relations Lead (Federal), you own TAR's federal agenda end to end and the political relationships that protect the economics our projects depend on. Clean energy tax credits, domestic content rules, and tariff policy move project returns by whole percentage points; when the next tax bill gets marked up, the credits need to survive it, and when Congress writes the next AI infrastructure or energy bill, TAR's model should be the one they are writing for, not the one they forgot. Today nobody on the Hill knows our name; you change that. You are our one-person Washington operation with full autonomy and a direct line to the founders, based in Washington, DC, or at our Austin or San Francisco offices with frequent DC travel. We hire people who believe American energy abundance is the foundation of AI leadership.

Requirements

Meaningful time on the Hill, in an Administration, on campaigns, or in a federal affairs role, with the relationships to show for it: members, chiefs of staff, committee staff, and the people who actually move text.
You have worked energy, tax, tech, or infrastructure issues and can walk into a tax staffer's office and hold your own on ITC mechanics, or know exactly who to bring with you.
You have gotten something into, or kept something out of, a bill, a markup, or a rule, and can tell the story of how.
You know how to run lobbyists and trade associations so they multiply your effort instead of replacing it.
You can stage a site visit, prep a founder for testimony, and write talking points that survive contact with a hostile question.
Comfortable operating as a one-person Washington operation for a fast-moving company: no committee behind you, full autonomy, and accountability for outcomes.

Nice To Haves

Texas delegation relationships.
Connections in the AI policy community.
Experience building the federal affairs function from zero at a high-growth company.
Campaign experience.

Responsibilities

Set and run TAR's federal strategy: define advocacy priorities, build the legislative agenda, and decide where we engage across Congress and the Administration.
Build and maintain relationships with members of Congress and their staff, especially the Texas delegation, energy and tax committee staff (Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Senate Finance, Senate Energy and Natural Resources), and the offices leading on AI policy.
Monitor and shape legislation affecting the business, including energy tax credits, AI infrastructure and permitting bills, trade and tariff measures, and data center policy, and brief leadership on what is moving and where TAR needs to weigh in.
Coordinate outside resources: select and manage contract lobbyists, own trade association memberships and working groups (SEIA, ACP, and data center and AI coalitions), and decide where TAR leads versus where the coalition carries it.
Run political visibility: site visits that put members and staff in front of American-built solar powering American AI, congressional testimony, delegation briefings, fly-ins, and the press-adjacent moments that come with them.
Represent TAR in White House, OSTP, DOE, and Commerce conversations shaping AI infrastructure and energy policy.
Ensure lobbying compliance, including LDA registration and reporting and political activity policies, coordinating cleanly with legal.
Partner with state and local government affairs, development, and communications so the Washington story and the ground truth in West Texas are the same story.