Building a Specialized Engineering Team for a Geothermal Energy Startup
- Kimberly Wilson
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Proven Results: Attracting PhD-Level Technical Talent from Oil & Gas to Energy Transition
TL;DR – High-Touch Search for Early-Stage Energy Transition Startup
In this case study, a private equity-backed geothermal startup needed to hire two highly specialized engineers with PhDs to support breakthrough well stimulation and fluid design initiatives. TLR Search helped attract entrepreneurial-minded candidates from oil and gas into this early-stage geothermal opportunity, successfully hiring both a Stimulation Design Engineer and a Fluid Design Engineer who are now thriving with the company.
Challenge: Attracting Rare, Entrepreneurial Technical Talent
The startup, still in its early stages with no active projects yet underway, was building its internal technical team to advance its proprietary geothermal technologies. Backed by private equity, the company needed highly credentialed and adaptable talent who could:
Operate in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial startup environment
Transition from large, established oil and gas companies to geothermal energy
Report directly to company leadership (COO and SVP of Technology)
Bring specialized expertise in subsurface, stimulation design, and complex fluid chemistry
The company was seeking:
A Stimulation Design Engineer with a PhD and experience in frac design, wellbore architecture, rock mechanics, reservoir modeling, and fluid dynamics
A Fluid Design Engineer with a PhD in chemical engineering and expertise in fluid design, rheology, materials science, and advanced well fluid systems.
Both roles required candidates who could design new technologies, run laboratory evaluations, integrate subsurface data, and innovate solutions for newer geothermal formations.
Because of the unique blend of skills, few candidates existed who met both the technical requirements and the entrepreneurial mindset necessary for this environment.
Solution: Targeted Energy Transition Executive Search for Geothermal Startup Engineering Talent
TLR Search was engaged after being vetted by the private equity firm backing the company and was introduced to the COO to lead the search. Our proprietary approach included:
Mapping talent pools across oil and gas, geothermal, and advanced materials science sectors
Targeting PhD-level candidates with deep technical expertise, field experience, and research-based innovation backgrounds
Engaging passive candidates who were not actively seeking new roles but were open to the mission and long-term opportunity
Positioning the geothermal startup’s cutting-edge work as a meaningful energy transition opportunity
Managing highly consultative conversations to help candidates visualize the shift from established oil and gas roles into an entrepreneurial startup setting
We worked directly with leadership, guiding technical evaluations, career alignment conversations, and support for candidates as they transitioned into a geothermal startup environment.
Result: Two Critical Hires Secured for Early-Stage Growth
Despite the narrow candidate pool, TLR Search successfully placed:
A Stimulation Design Engineer with deep experience in frac design, subsurface data integration, wellbore optimization, and rock-fluid interaction
A Fluid Design Engineer with advanced expertise in drilling and stimulation fluids, high-solids suspensions, fluid compatibility testing, and material science
Both candidates transitioned from established oil and gas service companies into the geothermal startup. They continue to thrive, contributing technical leadership as the company advances its geothermal projects and commercialization efforts.