Seismology Intern in Houston, Texas at Fervo Energy Company

Internship Overview

You won't be running coffee orders or shuffling paperwork this summer. At Fervo, interns are handed something real: a project of your own, scoped with your manager on day one and yours to drive for the full 12 weeks. You'll work side-by-side with the teams building the next generation of geothermal energy, tackling problems that genuinely move the business forward. At the end of the summer, you'll present your work to our executive leadership team, department leads, and fellow interns, sharing real results with a real audience. This is a real seat at the table — and a real shot at what comes next.

Position Description

Geothermal projects begin with site selection – a key aspect of which is risk analysis. As one of the major risks from geothermal operations are manmade earthquakes, a promising site may require a more careful operating strategy if, for example, it risks exposing a large population to an earthquake. During geothermal operations themselves, a steady stream of data helps us to quantify evolving risks in real time.

The team at Fervo has developed several tools to analyze risk both before geothermal operations, during the site selection phase, and during the operations themselves. As Seismology Intern, you’ll be thoroughly testing these tools, processing data to input into these tools, and finding ways to improve their predictive power.

Responsibilities

• Analyze Fervo’s historic datasets, as well as geologic and geographic data to improve the site-specificness of risk assessments
• Analyze operational data to improve real-time risk forecasting

Required Qualifications

• Advanced undergraduate, masters, or early PhD student in a STEM field
• Strong background in math, statistics, and data analysis
• Strong programming skills (Python preferred)
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including comfort presenting to stakeholders and leadership
• Eagerness to learn, take initiative, and adapt quickly to new challenges

Preferred Qualifications

• GIS
• Any prior experience with earthquake data, such as OpenQuake