Biomass Utilization Operations Manager

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
• Vendor Management – developing contracts, overseeing the vendor and directing contract execution
  
  • Working with feedstock processing, transport, and scaling
  • 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
• Entrepreneurial experience, with demonstrated ability to identify and follow critical-path roles and solve open-ended problems efficiently
• Excellent communicator who is able to create effective presentations and basic marketing materials 
• BS or BA - prefer a candidate with mixed background in business, engineering, and/or science
• Systems-thinker - able to understand and interpret the assumptions, inputs, and outputs of environmental models and their implications for our business
• Willingness to travel up to 30% for extended field deployments to the Eastern Sierra, near the towns of Benton, Bishop and Mammoth Lakes, CA

Bonus Point Qualifications:

• Experience working in a land-based industry (e.g. forestry, mining, etc.) with boots-on-the-ground experience
• Experience working in carbon dioxide removal markets
• Experience working with the US Forest Service or environmental stewardship nonprofits contracted with the USFS
• MS in engineering or science (physics, chemistry, geology, etc.) or MBA