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At Absolute Climate, we’re building independent climate technology standards and quality assurance tools. Our mission is to create scalable, reliable systems that ensure that credit claims always match atmospheric impacts.

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Why We Exist

Today, climate certificates' quality varies widely, with differing technologies and market incentives driving registries to prioritize quantity over impact. Without a universal standard, buyers and developers are left to determine quality themselves, complicating the purchasing process and creating conflicts of interest that slow down and undermine real climate progress.

Absolute Climate addresses this with the Absolute Carbon Standard, the first standard that applies a universal assessment for all projects across the full industry. Designed to quantify climate projects based on their true impact on the carbon cycle, this framework enables consistent and direct project comparisons for the first time. As an independent entity, Absolute Climate partners with registries to implement this standard, removing conflicts of interest and providing a reliable crediting framework for buyers and developers. This reduces buyer risk, ensures credits reflect real-world outcomes, and helps developers distinguish their projects based on demonstrated quality, all in service of scaling meaningful technologies to mitigate climate change.

The Role and Responsibilities

For the Head of Science at Absolute Climate, we’re looking for a driven individual who can be a key contributor in ensuring that the carbon removal industry delivers on its climate promises.

You’ll play a central role in developing and maintaining the project impact quantification methodologies that are the backbone of our work as a company. You will report directly to Peter Minor, the CEO and Founder, and will lead the development of the project-specific quantification and assessment components that layer on top of the Absolute Carbon Standard. You’ll work broadly across all carbon removal pathways, and collaborate closely with our Certification team, developing and vetting different scientifically-rigorous quantification approaches that are consistent between pathways and between projects for all suppliers.

You’ll lead teams of technical experts to ensure our approaches are informed by best science, and to maintain rapid development timelines. You will also drive internal science strategy, including research and development roadmapping, and influence Absolute Climate’s expansion into new product areas.

You’ll be the scientific ambassador for Absolute Climate. This will be a high-profile role, where your duties will include representing the company at academic and industry conferences, speaking to reporters on technical matters, building strong relationships with academics and project developers, and setting the strategy for how we can continue to improve our quality assurance product set. Your contributions will ensure that our certifications are considered to be the best in the industry.

What You’ll Do

• Module development: Lead the creation of the modules needed to broadly support the climate technology projects aligned with the Absolute Carbon Standard. In addition, continue to iterate on the process for developing modules to improve efficiency and consistency.
• Quantification implementation: With support from our Standards Lead, translate the requirements of the Absolute Carbon Standard into acceptable quantification approaches that are aligned with our customers' project designs. Help clarify any deviations and whether they’re acceptable given the current state of science.
• Project certification: Support our Certification team by contributing scientific expertise to guide the implementation of module requirements on real-world projects.
• Collaboration with scientific experts: Build our relationships in the academic community, and drive support for our approach. Lead our scientific collaborations with academics or NGOs. Build and maintain a network of technical experts who can support our certification activities.
• Continuous improvement: Identify, document, and implement improvements to existing modules and tools, ensuring they continue to reflect best science.
• Understand our customers: Engage with both existing and potential customers in order to clearly understand their challenges, and where they see opportunity. Help integrate boots-on-the-ground knowledge into our products, ensuring that the real world implications of our technical decisions are always well understood and accounted for.

Who You Are

• Builder mindset: Enjoys designing and iterating systems from the ground up, with a strong bias towards creating consistent and rigorous processes
• Startup scale: Focuses on building the right tools for the right scale, staying focused on the current needs within a quickly evolving startup environment
• Strong scientific fundamentals: Expert-level experience in the scientific underpinnings of carbon removal projects, demonstrated by an advanced degree or equivalent practical experience. Has strong capabilities for learning quickly as new pathways emerge, and science continues to evolve.