Environmental Planning Engineer

Company: Confidential - Seed-stage climate and infrastructure AI startup
Location: San Francisco, CA (hybrid, Tuesday-Thursday in the Jackson Square office)
Compensation: $120,000 - $200,000 + competitive equity
Employment Type: Full-time
Visa Sponsorship: Visa transfers and new sponsorship (H-1B, TN)

About the Company

A seed-stage company building a regulatory intelligence layer for American infrastructure, combining AI and geospatial data so energy and infrastructure developers can assess permits and risk in hours instead of weeks.

The Role

Our client is hiring an Environmental Planning Engineer (2-5 years) to join its regulatory and environmental team and help build the AI-native future of environmental planning. You will sit between subject-matter expertise and product: QA-ing deliverables for real energy and infrastructure projects, researching regulatory and permitting questions, and feeding what you learn back into the platform. It is a hands-on production role for an ambitious environmental professional who wants to move beyond the traditional consulting path.

What You Will Do

• QA and review environmental analyses, permit assessments and critical issues screens before they reach customers.
• Research unresolved environmental and permitting questions using authoritative local, state and federal sources.
• Review AI-generated findings closely and correct unsupported, incomplete or misleading conclusions.
• Contribute expertise to the regulatory database and product logic: writing prompts, updating rules and scoping improvements with engineering.
• Evaluate real energy and infrastructure sites for environmental, land-use and permitting risk as part of due diligence packages.

What You Bring

• 2-5 years in environmental planning, permitting or regulatory research for energy or infrastructure projects
• Hands-on permitting or site due diligence: desk research on regulations, constraints, permits and schedules
• Ability to interpret local, state and federal regulations and produce clear, accurately cited written analysis (writing sample required)
• Breadth across permit types and jurisdictions, typically from a small or mid-size firm or a developer siting/permitting team
• Fluent, discerning use of AI tools
• Ability to work in the San Francisco office Tuesday-Thursday (local or relocating)

Nice to Have

• Worked at or with energy developers or environmental consulting firms
• Degree in environmental science, planning, law or a related analytical field
• NEPA/CEQA, critical issues analyses, permit matrices or GIS literacy

Interview Process

Initial screen with the COO (30 min), writing sample review, on-site (three back-to-back 30-minute sessions).

Tech Stack

GIS, AI tools, Excel, geospatial data platforms, environmental regulatory databases