Senior Computational Geophysicist
(Electromagnetic and/or potential fields
methods)
Role Overview
Title: Senior Computational Geophysicist
Hours: Full-Time, Salaried
Location: Salt Lake City, UT, Hybrid (3 days in office, 2 days can be remote)
Benefits Eligible: Yes
Manager: Head of Reservoir R&D
Mission — Why We Exist and Why We Need You
Geothermal energy is the most abundant renewable energy source on Earth—containing ~2,300× more
energy than all fossil fuels combined. Yet despite this enormous potential, geothermal has historically
been difficult, slow, and expensive to discover and develop.
At Zanskar, we are transforming geothermal exploration by combining geophysics, geology, and AI-driven
modeling to dramatically increase discovery rates and reduce development risk. We operate at scale and
at speed, setting new industry standards for how geothermal prospects are identified and de-risked.
To support this mission, we are hiring a Senior Computational Geophysicist with deep, hands-on
experience in electromagnetic and/or potential fields methods who can take real field data from active
geothermal sites and turn it into defensible subsurface interpretations. This role is fundamentally about
streamlining and automating inversion workflows that incorporate structural, lithological, and hydrothermal
constraints: ensuring models reflect geological reality, not just a mathematical best-fit.
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Core Responsibilities
- Lead and execute stochastic and traditional inversions on active geothermal sites, producing subsurface models that materially de-risk drilling and development decisions
Work extensively with electromagnetic and/or potential fields data, including:
- heliTEM
- Magnetotellurics (MT)
- Gravity
- Magnetic data
- Quantify uncertainty and assess model robustness in decision-critical settings
- Integrate inversion results with geological models, structural interpretations, well data, and drilling outcomes
- Develop and maintain Python-based tools and pipelines that automate inversion workflows, reduce manual overhead, and enable consistent, repeatable results across many sites
- Collaborate closely with geologists and ML researchers
- Communicate results clearly, including uncertainties, assumptions, and recommended next steps
- Contribute to patentable methods and tools that advance geothermal exploration
Required Experience
- Multiple years of hands-on inversion experience on real-world geothermal or subsurface projects,across multiple sites and datasets
- Direct experience with EM and/or potential fields methods (heliTEM, MT, gravity, and/or magnetics) from raw field data through to full inversion workflows
- Strong programming skills in Python, including experience building reproducible, maintainable scientific software; familiarity with inversion frameworks, numerical optimization, or HPC environments is a strong plus
- Experience implementing or modifying inversion algorithms, and comfort with stochastic, Bayesian, and regularization-based approaches
- Solid physical intuition for geophysical observables and the ability to reconcile inversion results
- with geological, structural, and operational constraints
- Comfort operating under imperfect data, time pressure, and evolving site understanding
- Proven ability to collaborate across disciplines: geologists, field teams, ML researchers, and
- business leaders, and communicate clearly about what the data supports, what it doesn't, and
- where uncertainty matters
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Equal Opportunity Employer
Zanskar is an equal-opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local
fair employment practice laws.
