Front End Development Manager, Climeworks
Carbon dioxide removal as a service
Job no longer available
Carbon dioxide removal as a service
201-500 employees
Job no longer available
201-500 employees
Company mission
To impact climate at scale and inspire 1 billion people to join them.
Role
Who you are
- You hold a Master’s degree in an Engineering discipline or similar
- You have 8+ years of work experience in project development or management of early-stage projects, of which 3 years must have been spent in the USA as Senior Project Manager or similar
- You have experience in managing Stakeholder & Community engagement for large-scale industrial projects, with demonstrated track record of constructively incorporating stakeholder priorities into project planning
- You have a strong network among US-based and international project development companies
- You enjoy collaborating cross-functional with different departments and are well-versed with PPA negotiations, Front End Loading (FEL) processes and with contracting and handling EPCs incl. claims management
- You consider yourself a team player, motivator, and decision maker
- You are willing to travel up to 60% and are fluent in English
- You like in Austin, TX or are willing to relocate there for this position
What the job involves
- Your mission as Project Development Manager at Climeworks is to lead the development of projects at suitable sites for our Direct Air Capture and Storage (DACS) projects in the USA
- You take ownership of this process by reviewing established selection criteria, creating a business case in close alignment with all internal and external stakeholders and developing that site towards readiness for project execution
- You lead the Climeworks project team through the early phases of a DACS project such as Pre-Feed and Feed
- You manage stakeholder engagement activities including community outreach and permitting activities for the selected site
- You establish contacts with partners, energy and service providers and lead relevant contract negotiations
Our take
In the global fight against climate change, it is not only necessary to reduce emissions but also to remove carbon dioxide already released into the atmosphere. Climeworks is a company doing just this, operating direct air capture (DAC) to remove unavoidable and historic CO₂ emissions.
The company's DAC technology works in a 3-step process. Air is drawn in to a "collector" where it passes through a filter which traps CO₂ particles. Then, when the filter is full the collector closes and heats up. This causes the release of the trapped carbon dioxide, at which point it can be collected.
Once carbon dioxide is collected, it is permanently and securely store underground by the company's partner Carbfix in Iceland. Importantly, the DAC process uses renewable energy, energy-from-waste, or other waste heat to run, meaning it does not contribute to CO₂ emissions itself.
By tackling a vital and global issue, Climeworks no doubt has a wealth of opportunity at its feet. It has made some prominent partnerships to accelerate carbon removal, such as with Great Carbon Valley in Kenya and Deep Sky in Canada, through which it will bring large-scale DAC operations to fruition.
Steph
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Insights
Company
Funding (last 2 of 12 rounds)
Jul 2025
$160.5m
LATE VC
Apr 2024
$2.7m
GRANT
Total funding: $1.2bn
Company benefits
- Employee Share Option Plan (ESOP)
- Team events
- Hybrid work environment
- Flexible hours
- Opportunity for sabbatical leave
- Weekly CrossFit & Yoga sessions
- Recurring mental-balance workshops
Company HQ
Oerlikon, Zürich, ZH
Leadership
Jan Wurzbacher
(Co-CEO)Doctor of Sciences, Mechanical and Process Engineering, who graduated from ETH Zürich.
Christoph Gebald
(Co-CEO)Member of the Board of Directors of Norsk e-Fuel. Earned a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from ETH Zürich.
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