Computational Geoscientist

Role Overview Title: Computational Geoscientist Hours: Full time Location: Salt Lake City, UT (preferred) or global remote (contractor role) Benefits Eligible: Yes Manager: Ahinoam Pollack, Head of Research
Mission – Why we exist and why we need you Geothermal energy is the most abundant renewable energy source in the world. There is 2,300 times more energy in geothermal heat in the ground than in oil, gas, coal, and methane combined. However, historically it’s been hard to find and expensive to develop. At Zanskar, we’re using better technology to find and develop new geothermal resources in order to make geothermal a cheap and vital contributor to a carbon-free electrical grid. We set new industry standards for discovery rates, finding new prospects at an unprecedented scale and revolutionizing the exploration process.
The research team at Zanskar is at the cutting edge of developing tools to pinpoint and characterize geothermal resources with higher precision than ever before. To achieve this capability, we rely on both geological, physical and machine learning modeling. We need a scientist with expertise in integrating geological and geophysical data, as well as analyzing the value of geoscientific information. This key player on our team will help us unlock the next leap in geothermal exploration technology by leveraging diverse datasets, algorithms and computational power.
Outcomes - Problems you’ll solve Success in this role will look like patentable workflows and tools that our team will deploy in the field in the next year to find and de-risk an unprecedented number of geothermal resources that can be developed into commercial power plants before 2030. The workflows would automatically assimilate diverse datatypes, analyze the value of the datasets, and optimize field development decisions.
Competencies – What we’re looking for Computer programming: this position is a software development role. Several years of programming experience are necessary.
Experience in one of the following: - Geoscientific data assimilation/inversion: writing code for stochastic inversion of any type of geophysical or geological data, such as potential fields (gravity, magnetic, magnetotelluric), seismic (active/passive), production/tracer data, or well log / well test data. - Reservoir optimization: optimizing reservoir development choices based on data analysis. - Uncertainty quantification, or value of information analyses: assessing the value of different geoscientific data. - Machine learning for the geosciences: developing and deploying machine learning models for aid in reservoir characterization or development workflows.
Earth sciences: preferably, the candidate will have experience in modeling geothermal systems, or faulted subsurface areas.
Effective communication skills: Collaborate with cross-functional teams including exploration geologists, data science, and business leaders. This includes communicating on results, roadblocks, clarifications, and recommendations for next steps and road maps.
This is a Senior or Staff level position. To be competitive, a candidate will most likely need a Master’s & 3yrs+ experience or a PhD & 1yr+ experience in quantitative earth sciences.
Location, Salary, and Benefits - The position is located in Salt Lake City, but we are open to remote work (also outside the US) for exceptional cases. Remote work would only be feasible for a contractor role. - Full-time - Paid holidays - 15 days PTO + Accrual increase based on tenure - Paid Sick Leave - Medical and dental coverage - 401k - A direct impact in displacing carbon emissions, and growth opportunities in a growing startup environmentEqual Opportunity Employer Zanskar is an equal opportunity employer (EOE) and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local employment practice laws.