Forward Deployed Operator

About Terranova
Backed by leading climate and American dynamism investors, Terranova builds intelligent
robotic systems to terraform the Earth itself - lifting land, restoring wetlands, and protecting
critical infrastructure from floods and sea-level rise. Our mission is to preserve the built
environment, create new habitats, and usher in an era of abundance. Our work supports climate
resilience, disaster recovery, and defense across the United States and beyond.
We’re assembling a world-class team that wants to work on something real, physical, and civilization-scale. If you want your work to reshape the world (literally), this is the place to do it.
Forward Deployed Operator
Terranova is hiring a Forward Deployed Operator to help deploy, operate, and improve our robotic land elevation systems in the field. This is a hands-on, field-heavy role for someone who can run machines, fix equipment, work outside, and solve weird, difficult problems in real time.
You will work either a Thursday-Monday or Friday-Tuesday schedule. Weekend work is part of the job. A sixth day will be required in rare weeks where you were not deployed to the field for most of the week.
Most days, you will be on site preparing for injections, operating robots, running support equipment, troubleshooting failures, and helping the team execute field work safely and quickly. The role will include moving heavy materials and equipment, some manual labor, and operating or supporting traditional field machinery such as loaders, forklifts, skid steers, trailers, pumps, generators, and other site equipment.
You will work closely with mechanical engineers, embedded systems engineers, and senior forward deployed engineers to test new hardware, improve field procedures, suggest changes to robots, and make the system more reliable every week. You will also help improve our autopilot system by giving strong field feedback on robot behavior, sensors, controls, operator workflows, failure modes, and what needs to change for real deployments.
A lot of the job involves tricky physical and mechanical work where the right answer is not obvious, the equipment is heavy, the environment is imperfect, and mistakes can damage equipment or create safety risks. We need someone who can think clearly, communicate well, and do hard things safely while still moving fast.
Responsibilities
- Deploy and operate Terranova’s field robots, injection systems, pumps, sensors, and support equipment
- Operate or support traditional field equipment and heavy machinery
- Prepare field sites for injection work, including setup, staging, surveying support, material handling, and cleanup
- Move heavy equipment, materials, hoses, tools, and parts safely and efficiently
- Diagnose and repair mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, controls, and field equipment issues
- Test new hardware, tools, procedures, robot upgrades, and autonomy features with the engineering team
- Help improve Terranova’s autopilot system by identifying field gaps, testing changes, and giving clear feedback to senior forward deployed engineers and embedded systems engineers
- Support drilling, pumping, sensing, injection sequencing, and field data collection
- Document work clearly, including equipment issues, repairs, test results, site conditions, field procedures, and lessons learned
- Identify failure modes and suggest practical changes to robots, equipment, software, and field processes
- Work through hard, ambiguous problems using first-principles thinking, including underground flow, pressure, injection behavior, soil response, and equipment performance
- Maintain a high standard for safety, urgency, and quality in the field
What we’re looking for
We are looking for someone who is mechanically sharp, reliable, physically capable, and calm under pressure. You should like fixing things, operating equipment, working outside, and figuring out problems where there is no manual.
You do not need a college degree, but you should have strong technical judgment and a track record of building, repairing, operating, or improving real systems. Experience with robotics, controls, mechanical systems, electrical systems, pumps, hydraulics, engines, construction equipment, vehicles, heavy machinery, field operations, or industrial equipment is valuable. A background in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, embedded systems, robotics, or controls is a strong plus.
This is a great fit for someone who wants to operate real machines, solve hard field problems, and help turn a new robotic construction technology into a reliable deployed system.
Requirements
- U.S. permanent residency.

Employment type
FullTime

Work arrangement
No