Commercial Associate

Commercial Associate

Role Overview

Title: Commercial Associate

Hours: Full-time; Salaried

Location: Salt Lake City, UT

Benefits Eligible: Yes

Manager: Director of Commercial Strategy

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.

This role helps Zanskar decide where to build, how to price, and which commercial structures make sense, so that geothermal projects reach customers faster and on stronger economics. The Commercial Analyst turns open-ended market questions into clear recommendations that shape our development and deal strategy.

Outcomes - Problems you’ll solve

Within six months, you will be the person the Director of Commercial Strategy turns to when a new, unclear question lands and no model or template exists. You will have taken at least one open-ended problem, such as whether we should enter a particular market, and turned it into a work plan, a first-version model, expert input, and a CEO-ready memo with a clear recommendation and its key uncertainties. Success looks like sharper deal decisions, made faster, with less reliance on others to build the underlying analysis.

• Assess power price, congestion, basis, and curtailment risk for prospective projects and translate them into project economics and a recommended price to underwrite
• Compare candidate power markets and recommend where Zanskar should focus, with a clear rationale and the key uncertainties behind the call
• Build on existing financial models to create investment cases that test whether proposed deal terms and structures make sense
• Analyze pricing, underlying costs, and customer economics to help shape deals quickly and pressure-test commercial terms
• Research behind-the-meter geothermal development, including the regulatory questions, customer needs, and how to tell the story, and work with counsel to reach legal conclusions
• Turn vague, open-ended questions into structured work plans, then build the first version of the model, process, or template where none exists
• Consult market experts and synthesize their input into practical views on market rules, products, and risks
• Write concise memos for senior leadership, including the CEO, that make a recommendation, state the assumptions, and flag what could change the answer
• Flag issues independently, challenge assumptions on the team's working views, and investigate them without waiting to be asked
• Partner with the finance team on shared models while owning day-to-day commercial analysis

Competencies - What we’re looking for

• Applied power market knowledge: You understand how power markets work and can explain how congestion, basis, curtailment, and ancillary services affect what a project earns. You have worked with nodal markets or are clearly able to get up to speed quickly, and you are willing to go deep on the details of a market you haven't seen before.
• Financial and commercial modeling: You are comfortable building on an existing financial model, adjusting it to new situations, and building an investment case from it. You can connect price, cost, and deal-term assumptions to project returns and explain what drives the result.
• Structuring ambiguous problems: Give you a loose question like 'should we enter this market?' and you can frame it, decide what to look at first, make reasonable assumptions, and build a first version without a template. You enjoy this kind of work and don't need it to be tightly defined.
• Broad commercial judgment and willingness to speak up: You connect market details back to the business decision and land on a recommendation, not just an analysis. You take on work outside a narrow job description, and you challenge assumptions respectfully, including the manager's, when the evidence points elsewhere.
• Clear written communication: You can write a crisp memo for senior leaders that states the recommendation, the reasoning, and the main uncertainties. You are equally comfortable talking through the same material with a market expert or the finance team.

Experience

• Experience analyzing power markets, energy commercial strategy, or a closely related field, with the depth of experience less important than demonstrated sharp, independent work
• Hands-on experience building or extending financial models in Excel or similar tools
• Track record of producing written recommendations or analyses that informed a business decision

Preferred

• Familiarity with nodal markets, congestion and basis, or ancillary services
• Experience building or critiquing power price forecasts
• Exposure to PPAs, hedging, or capacity markets

Location and Benefits

• The position is based out of our headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah
• Paid holidays
• 18 days PTO + PTO accrual increase based on tenure
• Medical, Dental & Vision Coverage
• Short and Long Term Disability and Group Life Insurance
• Paid Parental Leave
• 401k
• Stock options
• Growth opportunities at a company with a direct impact in displacing carbon emissions