Process Engineer

Fervo Energy Company•Houston, TX

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Geothermal energy currently represents a small fraction of the global electricity mix, not due to a lack of resources, but because of the challenge in building cost-effective and repeatable geothermal power plants. Fervo is addressing this by developing the world's first commercial-scale enhanced geothermal system and aims to move beyond first-of-a-kind projects to aggressive deployment and scaling. The success of a geothermal power plant relies heavily on its auxiliary systems, including instrument air, plant water, chemical injection, HVAC, and the integrated control architecture. This role is crucial for ensuring predictable and scalable plant operations. Fervo seeks an individual to own, critically evaluate, simplify, and standardize these utility systems for replication across all future plants.

Requirements

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.
Ability to translate technical complexity into clear, fast decisions for cross-functional partners.

Nice To Haves

Background building scalable systems where setting standards was critical beyond a single project.
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.

Responsibilities

Own the engineering and delivery of auxiliary and utility systems that ensure geothermal power block operational efficiency.
Collaborate with turboexpander, electrical, and thermal engineering teams to ensure utility system design supports overall plant performance.
Own process design and analysis for utility systems (instrument air, chemical injection, HVAC, firewater) from P&ID development through commissioning support.
Critically evaluate all requirements, trace specifications to their origin, and avoid traditional, unexamined approaches.
Drive design tradeoffs based on first principles to deliver aggressively scalable solutions, not just technically adequate designs.
Standardize utility system design across all Fervo power plants, ensuring each new design benefits from previous decisions.
Consider the downstream impact of design changes on construction, commissioning, and operations.
Take full ownership of the cost implications of design decisions.
Aggressively close the feedback loop between design and field execution, applying lessons learned from every installation.
Support commissioning activities.