VP of Deployment Operations
Operations
Austin, TX, USA
Company
The earth beneath our feet holds extraordinary, untapped capacity to accelerate the clean energy transition, with limitless geo-energy available under every real estate asset. Bedrock Energy is on a mission to transform the heating and cooling of buildings, using carbon-free, hyper-efficient, and ultra-safe geothermal energy to radically reduce costs for people and the environment. Incorporated in 2022, Bedrock has raised over $25M in capital and is gathering exceptional talent to scale up geothermal heating/cooling for real estate and infrastructure developers in any city in the world. We seek creative, collaborative, proactive team members who inspire us with their high standards of excellence, integrity, and commitment to our shared mission.
Role
As the architect of the Field Operations function, you own the engine that enables Bedrock to deliver professional, commercial-scale low-enthalpy geothermal construction projects while deploying a variety of Bedrock technology tools. Over the last two years, Bedrock has demonstrated the proof-of-concepts for its first-of-its-kind subsurface technologies for the direct-use geothermal heating & cooling industry. As we progress past our first several drilling projects, the company is now focused on systematizing our Field Operations function to grow towards larger-scale projects with ever-increasing operational efficiency and a growing fleet.
You will own end-to-end project delivery, providing leadership across Operations Engineering, Field Operations, Reliability Engineering, and Deployment Operations teams. You will serve as the executive accountable for project success and financial outcomes, while building the repeatable playbooks and teams to make success scalable across a rapidly expanding fleet. You will also collaborate closely with the technology development team led by the Head of Automation, closing the feedback loop to ensure R&D initiatives deliver value in the field. The ultimate operational goal is to build a sharply-honed delivery unit and replicate it many times over.
This role will also require strategic analysis, communication, and planning. You should expect to define and own specific KPIs (safety incident rate, cost-per-borehole, schedule adherence, uptime), team architectures, investment priorities, and risk matrices from scratch, and to help set the early foundation of the company’s culture and standards of excellence.
Responsibilities
Design an organization that can scale while executing professional, air-tight construction operations across multiple sites.
Design, test, and roll out robust processes for operationally efficient communication and collaboration across a diverse and geographically dispersed team.
Own the team recruiting, training, onboarding engine that supports fleet expansion while maintaining a high bar for quality.
Set and protect the execution quality bar. Build a culture of first-principles thinking, pushing the team to challenge inherited assumptions and practices.
Own team adherence with safety programs, regulatory compliance, engineering guidance, and company policies.
Lead the Operations Engineering team in drilling program design, project planning, issue resolution, and technical oversight of execution. Translate learnings into systematic playbooks and/or feedback for technology development.
Lead the Reliability Engineering team in fleet asset ownership: reliability-centered maintenance, failure analysis, spares strategy, capital planning.
Partner with the technology development team to test and deploy new digital, telemetry, and automation technologies. Provide field feedback and thought partnership while maintaining a highly collaborative spirit.
Oversee project P&Ls for high-quality, cost-effective drilling projects. Drive the operating rhythm for effective operational planning and execution.
Own drilling crew performance, including compliance with HSE policies, engineering guidance, and standards of professionalism.
Commit relentlessly to world-class safety culture and HSE incident prevention.
Oversee Deployment Operations to secure permitting & licenses, manage procurement & logistics, and fulfill regulatory & customer reporting. Build the systems that make these processes scalable.
Own project delivery feasibility assessment across technical and operational factors as input to Commercial project selection and bidding processes.
Execute field delivery within the technical architecture, safety guidance, and readiness standards set by the Chief Innovation Officer (CInO), escalating complex domain challenges and flagging execution trade-offs as they surface.
Partner with Product, Strategy, and Finance to identify and execute initiatives for continuous project margin improvement.
Collaborate with company leadership and other functional owners to understand, prioritize, and invest in new operational capabilities as Bedrock grows.
Provide input to the CInO on where technical/operational boundaries should evolve as the automation program and field organization scale, flagging friction points for review.
Team Building and Leadership
Engineering and Technical Oversight
Service Delivery and Project Oversight
Cross-Functional Strategic Planning
Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or other relevant technical discipline; graduate degree in management-related fields is a plus.
10+ years of demonstrated experience leading a high-performance team in drilling, subsurface construction, or related field operations (e.g., oil & gas, water well, mining, geotechnical).
Track record of zero-to-one operational builds, standing up playbooks, systems, and organizations with little prior scaffolding (e.g., for a new product, new market entry).
Enough relevant technical depth to credibly lead Operations Engineering and Reliability Engineering team, while leveraging the deep technical expertise of the CInO for highly complex domain challenges.
Roll-up-your-sleeves attitude suitable for a start-up environment with willingness to engage across high-level strategic ownership and operational details.
Strong project management and problem-solving skills, especially in changing environments with contending priorities and complex stakeholders.
Outstanding communication skills, particularly articulating industry jargon and technical topics to cross-functional laypersons.
Ability to create a positive work environment for diverse team members.
Passion for the energy transition.
Qualities
Proactivity: You take ownership, offer hypotheses, and hold yourself accountable.
Coachability: You welcome & react constructively to feedback and seek new skills with gusto.
Excellence: You hold yourself, and your team members, to high standards of performance.
Creativity: You enjoy finding resourceful, unconventional, flexible solutions to problems.
Integrity: You take pride in ethical, honest behavior, no matter who is around to see it.
Compassion: You remember empathy, respect, and care in your interactions with others.
Commitment to Diversity: You actively look to surround yourself & collaborate inclusively with people who are different from you in experience, background, worldview, and resources.
Bedrock Energy is building a strong culture based on our Organizational Values. In addition, we are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Bedrock Energy is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, protected veteran status, disability, age, or other legally protected status.