Climate Scientist (Supply)

The Supercritical mission

Supercritical is the leading carbon removal marketplace: 1 in 5 corporate carbon removal buyers are customers. The company builds the commercial architecture that turns carbon removal pledges into delivered tonnes, sourcing, creating, and guaranteeing permanent supply for corporate buyers running multi-year procurement programs. It has facilitated nearly 2 million tonnes of carbon removal for 200+ buyers and tracks 600+ suppliers across roughly 80% of the global permanent CDR market.

Quality is the strategy. Supercritical’s independent science team vets every project across 118 data points and rejects 88% of what it assesses, and the same scientists help set the standards buyers will be measured against, including on SBTi’s Expert Working Group for carbon removals. When the right supply does not exist, Supercritical creates it: Liferaft was co-designed from the ground up for Microsoft’s 1-million-tonne offtake, the largest biochar offtake in US history, signed in under 18 months. Every contract carries three layers of delivery protection. More than 300,000 tonnes have already been delivered and retired, with zero missed retirements to date.

The mission has never been more explicit. The UN now says the world is set to overshoot 1.5°C, and that carbon removal, alongside deep emissions cuts, is essential to coming back. The requirement is roughly 10 billion tonnes a year by 2050; all the permanent removal ever delivered adds up to less than a single day of that. Supercritical exists to close the gap. Its mission: scale carbon removal to gigatonnes by building the connective infrastructure for the market. Founded in 2021 by Michelle You and Aaron Randall, the team behind Songkick, Supercritical is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, MMC Ventures, RTP Global, GreenCode Ventures, and LocalGlobe.

The Role

This is an opportunity to work at the cutting edge of carbon removal and to deeply understand the science and operations of the most innovative CDR projects on the planet. You will be responsible for assessing the quality and risk of projects in order to improve transparency and trust, ultimately helping to scale the market in a sustainable way.

What will you achieve in the next 12 months?

• Lead the delivery of the vetting and development processes for specific Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) projects to guarantee the highest quality of projects on the Supercritical platform. You'll receive training and support from our experienced Lead Climate Scientist and Director of Climate Science.
• Develop and refine our CDR quality standards and vetting frameworks, staying up-to-date with the latest advancements in climate science.
• Independently apply commercial vetting frameworks to assess project viability and long-term credit delivery.
• Cultivate relationships with our CDR project suppliers, offering feedback and sharing market insights.
• Become an in-house expert on the details of our CDR project suppliers and stay current with the latest scientific developments.
• Support the sales and marketing team by contributing to initiatives that promote climate thought leadership, educating potential CDR buyers.

Requirements

• MSc or higher in chemical engineering, environmental science, or a relevant natural science such as chemistry, or a BEng/BSc with 3–5 years of relevant work experience.
• In-depth expertise in biomass-based CDR pathways such as biochar or bioenergy.
• Previous experience working in the climate and sustainability field; academic, consulting, commercial, government, NGO etc.
• A lot of curiosity and a broad understanding of carbon, climate, and sustainability issues, and a genuine care about real climate impact.
• High attention to detail and a love of digging below the surface to understand what is really going on.
• Excellent communication skills and a passion for clear scientific communication. Your writing is punchy and impactful.
• Excellent analytical skills and good proficiency with Excel/spreadsheets.
• Passion for fast-paced environments with a high level of resilience and adaptability to ambiguity.
• Experience with one or more of the following would be a strong plus, particularly in a CDR or biochar context: LCA, carbon accounting, financial modelling, TEA, MRV plans, or environmental impact assessments.

What values can you expect from your colleagues?

We have set ourselves the mission of leading the carbon removal market to 14,000x its current size by 2050. In order to do that we need brave adventurers that think huge and deliver at speed. We call this the 14,000x mindset. The key components of the 14,000x mindset are:

• Ownership mentality: We relish autonomy and we create it for others. We are deeply curious and thrive on understanding the root cause of complex problems. We take ownership over our own and our team's development by giving and soliciting direct and actionable feedback.
• Move fast: We identify the most important problems to solve and cut everything else. We test ideas early so we don't waste time on dead ends. We default to action and deliver awesome results.
• Radiate positive energy: We come to problems with energy and passion. We nurture new ideas and engage positively in testing them. We inspire our colleagues to go further and are resilient to set backs. We recharge by taking time off. We are here for a great day, not a long day.
• Communicate proactively: We communicate simply and directly. We broadcast updates, insights and lessons learnt, especially when things haven't gone to plan. We give as much context as possible so our teammates can make great decisions.

Diversity and Inclusion

We've been committed to building an inclusive and diverse workplace since day one of the company. We're the only company we're aware of with a 50:50 gender balanced list of investors and our day to day processes are always defined with D&I in mind, for example our remote first policy and flexibility around working time.

We are excited to encourage applications and interest from individuals underrepresented in the climate and tech space. Climate change and climate justice is a social issue that cuts across race and gender. We welcome applicants with lived experience across these issues.

Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire!

UK Sponsorship & Applicants currently outside the UK

• UK Work Sponsorship: Unfortunately, at this stage of our growth, we are unable to offer UK sponsorship to applicants.
• Candidates who live outside the UK who are not looking to live and work in the UK, are within 3 hours of the GMT/BST timezone and are willing to travel to London quarterly are encouraged to apply. Please note we will use an Employer of Record arrangement in these circumstances.

Benefits

• Basic salary: £50,000–£62,500 per annum, dependent on experience
• Annual leave: unlimited
• One company-wide day off on the first Friday of every month
• Pension: 3% employer contribution when matched by 5% employee contribution
• Hybrid working: remote first with the option to work from our London co-working space 1-2 days per week
• Other benefits: £1000 annual wellbeing allowance and working-from-home equipment budget up to £500
• Monthly company socials in London
• Purchase high quality carbon removal offsets for your personal emissions from our inventory