Operations Training Manager

Description

The Operations Training Manager builds and leads Fervo’s training function for field and facility operations. This role owns the design, delivery, and continuous improvement of technical, safety, and competency-based training programs for wellsite operators, technicians, and operations staff, and scales that training capacity to support new capital projects as Fervo brings additional geothermal facilities online. The Manager takes direct ownership of the Fervo training matrix — the equipment training, SOPs, job aids, SMPs, procedures & processes, and qualification-card tracking system already established for the Operations team — and is responsible for maturing it and replicating it as the standard training framework for every future Fervo site. The Manager will eventually lead a small team of training coordinators and partners closely with Operations, HSE, and Engineering leadership to ensure every person working at a Fervo site has the skills, certifications, and judgment to work safely in a complex industrial environment.

Requirements

Responsibilities

Training Strategy & Program Development

• Design and continuously improve a structured curriculum for field operations roles (wellsite operators, technicians, power plant operations staff) covering onboarding, technical skills, equipment-specific procedures, and competency progression.
• Partner with Operations leadership and subject matter experts to translate standard operating procedures (SOPs), engineering specifications, and lessons learned into effective training content and job aids.
• Establish learning and training objectives tied to business operations, safety performance, and individual development goals.

Field & Technical Operations Training

• Deliver and oversee hands-on, classroom, and e-learning training for wellsite, drilling-adjacent, and power plant operations personnel.
• Ensure training reflects the mechanical, electrical, and process systems unique to Fervo’s geothermal wellsite and surface facility operations.
• Coordinate emergency response drills and exercises in partnership with HSE.

Safety & Regulatory Compliance

• Own the training and competency assurance program that ensures personnel meet OSHA, DOT, and other applicable regulatory and permit requirements before working independently.
• Maintain training records, certifications, and audit-ready documentation within Fervo’s learning management system (LMS).
• Partner with HSE to build and deliver HSE-focused training (LOTO, confined space, Work Authorization, PPE, etc.) appropriate to geothermal field operations.

GeoBlock & New-Site Ramp-Up Support

• Scale training capacity to support workforce ramp-up for new capital projects — building training plans, schedules, and onboarding pipelines ahead of new facility startup and commissioning.
• Coordinate with construction, commissioning, and project leadership to ensure operations personnel are trained and certified in time for handover and startup.
• Stand up site-specific training infrastructure (training rooms, simulators, documentation) at new locations as needed.
• Replicate the Cape Station training matrix and qualification-card framework at each new, adapting equipment- and procedure-specific content while preserving a consistent tracking structure across the fleet.

Training Matrix & Qualification Tracking

• Own and maintain the Fervo combined training matrix — equipment training (OJT, vendor-led, commissioning/engineer-led, and classroom instruction), SOPs, job aids, SMPs, and procedures & processes — keeping it current as new equipment and systems are added.
• Administer the Operations qualification card (Qual Card) tracker, including individual training completion records, retraining/recertification schedules, and audit-ready status reporting by person and by equipment or system.
• Partner with Production Engineering, Maintenance, and Commissioning to close open training-status gaps identified in the matrix, assigning responsible parties and target completion dates.
• Evolve the matrix and qualification-card model into the standardized template Fervo reuses at every future site.

Learning Management & Program Administration

• Administer and continuously improve Fervo’s LMS, including course assignment, tracking, and reporting on training completion and compliance.
• Select, manage, and evaluate third-party training vendors and course content.
• Own the training budget for the Operations function, monitoring cost and return on training investment.

Team Leadership & Stakeholder Partnership

• Hire, coach, and lead a team of training coordinators; set priorities, review instructional quality, and develop their skills as trainers.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between Operations and the People team on workforce development, onboarding, and career-pathing initiatives.
• Report training program effectiveness, compliance status, and workforce readiness metrics to Operations leadership.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in education, human resources, engineering, industrial technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 7+ years of experience in training, learning & development, or workforce development within complex industrial operations (oil & gas, LNG, power generation, petrochemical, utilities, or geothermal).
• 2+ years leading or mentoring a training team, or demonstrated experience building a training function from the ground up.
• Experience supporting workforce ramp-up for a capital project, plant startup, or commissioning effort strongly preferred.

Technical & Industry Knowledge

• Working knowledge of wellsite  or power plant operations and the mechanical, electrical, and process systems involved.
• Familiarity with OSHA and other applicable safety and regulatory training requirements for industrial field operations.
• Experience with a Learning Management System (LMS) and instructional design principles for adult learners.
• Experience building or administering a qualification-matrix or qual-card system that ties equipment, procedures, and individual training records together with retraining/recertification schedules.

Skills

• Strong program and project management skills; able to run multiple training workstreams across locations at once.
• Excellent communication and facilitation skills, with the ability to translate technical procedures into clear, effective training.
• Comfortable working cross-functionally with Operations, HSE, Engineering, and People leadership.
• Willingness and ability to travel regularly to field sites, including active construction and commissioning sites.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience in geothermal, ORC/binary-cycle power generation, or steam-cycle plant operations.
• Experience standing up training programs during greenfield facility commissioning and startup, including coordinating operator readiness milestones
• Professional training or safety credentials, authorized trainer status
• Experience implementing or migrating an LMS, or selecting an LMS platform for a growing organization.
• Familiarity with competency assurance frameworks common to high-hazard industries
• Experience developing training for multi-craft technician roles spanning mechanical, electrical, and I&C disciplines.
• Bilingual English/Spanish facilitation ability.
• Experience with operator training simulators or building hands-on training rigs/mock-ups for field equipment.

Location

Fervo Energy is headquartered in Houston, TX, with growing offices in Golden, CO, Reno, NV, and Oakland, CA, and Salt Lake City, UT. This position will be eligible for some hybrid work flexibility, but regular in-office presence at the Reno, Milford, SLC, or Houston office will be required.