Carbon180 · 12 hours ago
Senior Research Lead, Carbon Removal
Washington, DC
Full-time
Onsite
Senior Level
$141K/yr - $162K/yr
5+ years expCarbon180 is a climate NGO focused on removing carbon emissions from the atmosphere and creating a livable climate. The Senior Research Lead will drive scientific rigor and strategic foresight in carbon removal, leading complex projects and collaborating across teams to ensure accountability and equity in the sector.
Environmental Services
Responsibilities
Lead complex, cross-functional projects that require scientific depth, strategic synthesis, and coordination across teams. In the first 6 months of this role, you will lead early work on financial mechanisms for carbon removal as a core initial project, applying systems thinking to assess barriers, incentives, and policy levers
Build and steward coalitions with technical experts, researchers, industry partners, community stakeholders, and standards bodies
Translate highly technical concepts into clear, compelling guidance for nontechnical audiences, including policymakers and external partners
Analyze system-level drivers (policy, markets, economics, technology maturity) that shape the trajectory of carbon removal
Dissect complex CDR concepts, technologies, and scientific claims to surface risks, opportunities, and policy implications
Serve as a senior technical voice, providing leadership, clarity, and structure amid ambiguity
Share critical scientific developments and field intelligence across Carbon180 to strengthen organization-wide decision-making
Support the creation of and advocacy around best practices for a just, equitable, and highly accountable carbon removal industry
Work closely with the communications team to support thought leadership on topics related to science and innovation through blogs, media engagement, white papers, and other products
Represent Carbon180's technical perspective in external engagements, working groups, and stakeholder convenings
Qualification
Required
5 -10 years of scientific or technical experience, with at least some exposure to carbon removal or closely related fields (e.g., carbon management, energy systems, materials science, bioprocess engineering, Earth sciences)
A multidisciplinary mindset and willingness to get up to speed quickly on a wide range of technical topics
A track record of producing rigorous, high-quality work in environments that value depth, clarity, and thoughtful analysis
Either prior experience working on science policy or a strong belief that government can contribute to solving societal-scale problems like climate change
A healthy dose of climate urgency - and the determination to channel it into meaningful, systems-level change
Deep technical fluency in carbon removal
Strong systems thinking
Leadership across complex, cross-functional projects
Ability to translate highly technical concepts into clear, compelling guidance for nontechnical audiences
Ability to analyze system-level drivers (policy, markets, economics, technology maturity) that shape the trajectory of carbon removal
Ability to dissect complex CDR concepts, technologies, and scientific claims to surface risks, opportunities, and policy implications
Ability to share critical scientific developments and field intelligence across Carbon180 to strengthen organization-wide decision-making
Ability to support the creation of and advocacy around best practices for a just, equitable, and highly accountable carbon removal industry
Ability to represent Carbon180's technical perspective in external engagements, working groups, and stakeholder convenings
Excellent and fluid communication skills
Ability to navigate complexity with steadiness and flexibility
Ability to thrive in a collaborative team environment
High-impact, low ego, and values aligned
Benefits
36-hour workweeks (we close at 1 pm every Friday) and dedicated no-meeting time each week
Flexible work culture
4 weeks of PTO, 2 weeks of sick leave, and 5 floating holidays/personal days
Paying 100% of medical/dental/vision insurance premiums for you and your dependents
Company
Carbon180
Carbon180 is a new breed of climate-focused NGO on a mission to fundamentally rethink carbon
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageRecent News
MIT Technology Review
2025-10-25
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