The Role: We are looking for an experienced Operations professional to join our Biomass Team at Kodama. As a key member of the Biomass Team, you will play a vital role in advancing a core tenant of our mission – utilizing biomass to mitigate the risk of catastrophic wildfires. The Biomass team is responsible for developing and executing Kodama’s Carbon Vaults.
Ideal candidates have at least 5 years of experience in industrial operations roles in land-based or waste-disposal industries (e.g. forestry, mining, landfills, etc.) and have managed an infrastructure project end-to-end. As an early member of Kodama's Biomass Team, you will have significant responsibility and ownership.
What You Will Do:
Project Management – Responsible for our first Carbon Vault project execution, including:
Writing and submitting permit documents and modifications
Coordination with regulators
Project timeline management
End-to-end cost management
Site health, safety, and environment plan creation and implementation
Vendor Management – developing contracts, overseeing the vendor and directing contract execution
Working with feedstock processing, transport, and scaling contractors
Developing feedstock storage plans
Coordinating with excavation, construction, and drilling contractors
Coordinating monitoring system installation and maintenance (gas flux monitoring, soil sampling)
Finances and budgeting – Communicating with Business Development team to refine pro forma business models for Kodama’s biomass business
Basic Qualifications:
5+ years experience as an operations professional
Excellent communicator
Entrepreneurial experience, with demonstrated ability to identify and follow critical-path roles and solve open-ended problems efficiently
Health and safety-focused, with basic experience creating and implementing health and safety plans, including standard operating procedures, site controls, and risk management
Have a BS or BA, candidates with mixed background in business, engineering, and/or science will be more strongly considered
Willingness to travel up to 30% for extended field deployments to the Eastern Sierra, near the towns of Benton, Bishop and Mammoth Lakes, CA
At times, this may be a physically demanding role requiring:
Spending several hours at a time walking around outdoors, possibly in inclement weather
Ability to lift 50 lbs
Experience working with MS Office Suite and project management tools (e.g. Asana, Notion, etc.)
Bonus Point Qualifications:
Experience working in a land-based industry (e.g. forestry, mining, etc.) with boots-on-the-ground experience
Experience in construction management or similar
OSHA or MSHA certifications
Experience working in carbon dioxide removal markets
Experience working with the US Forest Service or environmental stewardship nonprofits contracted with the USFS
Systems-thinker, able to understand and interpret the assumptions, inputs, and outputs of environmental models and their implications for our business
MS in engineering or science (physics, chemistry, geology, etc.) or MBA
Compensation is dependent upon experience.
Perks:
Generous stock options. We're an early-stage company and we want you to benefit from being an early contributor.
Flexible time off. Work hard and take time off when you need it.
Stay healthy. Full health insurance benefits for you and your family.
Learn on the job. Annual conference budget including airfare and accommodations.
Spend time in nature. In this role, you'll spend time on treasured public lands and Kodama's pilot site in the beautiful Eastern Sierra.