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. They also support building customer relations and negotiations to close deals.

Outcomes – Problems you’ll solve

Within six months, you'll work with the Director of Commercial Strategy to evaluate new markets and increase the pipeline of contracted projects. This includes increasing market intelligence where 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. It will also include successful application and shortlisting in key RFPs for customers in those markets.

• Compare candidate power markets and recommend where Zanskar should focus, with a clear rationale and the key uncertainties behind the call
• Analyze pricing, underlying costs, and customer economics to help shape deals quickly and pressure-test commercial terms. May need to assess power price, congestion, basis, and curtailment risk for prospective projects and translate them into project economics and a recommended price to underwrite.
• 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
• Support customer negotiations and deals
• Consult market experts and synthesize their input into practical views on market rules, products, and risks
• Write concise memos for senior leadership

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.
• Structured problem solver: 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.
• Analytical thinker: You are comfortable working with a financial model and connecting price, cost, and deal-term assumptions to project returns and explain what drives the result. You ground research in numbers where possible.
• 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, especially in WECC.