---
title: 'Computational Scientist [Senior - Staff] at Terra AI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/computational-scientist-senior-staff-terra-ai-sunnyvale-2y4y6sqj7ftq'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-14'
---

# Computational Scientist [Senior - Staff] at Terra AI

- **Company:** Terra AI
- **Location:** Sunnyvale, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2024-01-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-14
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/terraai-earth/am9icG9zdDql3zkOFlr94DHHkeBoKMsj

## Job description

## About Terra AI

We are building the state-of-the-art AI platform for the discovery and development of clean energy and mineral resources. We bring the most advanced techniques in generative AI, foundation modeling, and autonomous decision optimization to tackle the most important problems in the geosciences. These systems can help more reliably identify critical resource deposits, more rapidly measure and characterize them, and design more efficient and sustainable production plans. We are backed by Khosla Ventures and other leading venture investors. We are now looking to grow our small team to continue to mature our technology and support deployment with our world-class mineral and clean energy partners.

## About the Role

We are looking for a Computational Scientist to lead the development and integration of geophysical simulations, aquifer flow simulations, and other numerical solvers critical in collaboration with Terra’s AI/ML and software engineering teams.

Key responsibilities include:

- Working with our founding team to define the technical roadmap for prioritizing and developing key physical simulation capabilities.
- Integrate and augment existing simulations of various physical processes including reservoir dynamics, seismic response, and geological processes.
- Working with AI/ML engineers to integrate simulations into various Monte Carlo sampling and validation tools.
- Building automated model generation and simulation tools to support training data set generation for deep generative model training.
- Collaborate with the software engineering team members to integrate simulations into the product backend.
- Play a critical role in hiring and building up our technical team.

We are looking for someone who

- Is excited about our mission to improve the speed and adoption of critical technologies to drive to net zero by 2050.
- Can drive forward in ambiguous environments
- Has start up experience in building deep learning systems from the ground up including gathering and labeling data, making architecture decisions, and training large models.
- Can balance trade-offs and decisions around model complexity, amount of data, model accuracy and the business needs
- Is curious to learn about our customers, their workflows and applications of our product.
- Is an excellent communicator and team player

## Requirements

- B.S in computer science, geosciences, or related field.
- 5 years in engineering or research roles
- Experience working with multidisciplinary teams (across UI/UX design, product, AI, ML)
- Ability to come to our coworking location in Palo Alto, CA 3 days per week.

Why should you join us? This is an incredible opportunity to be part of the foundation of a company and product. You will get to work with a fun team to deliver an incredibly valuable end to end product. You will receive a significant equity stake in the company. Additionally we offer a suite of benefits and perks, including

- Company-subsidized medical, dental, & vision insurance plans.
- Mental health support (if not covered by medical insurance plans)
- 401k plan with company matching
- Flexible PTO plus company holidays
- Annual company-wide winter break (December 24 - January 1)
- Professional development budget to attend conferences or other events
- One time home-office set up stipend
- Paid parental leave

Terra AI is an equal opportunity employer. At Terra AI, we are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace, because inclusion and diversity are essential to achieving our mission. We encourage you to apply if you are excited about Terra and this role even if your past experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description.

## About Terra AI

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Terra AI builds frontier artificial intelligence to accelerate subsurface resource development for a clean energy future, helping mining and energy companies model uncertainty and optimize drilling decisions.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: John Mern (CEO), Anthony Corso (CTO), Markus Zechner (General Manager of Reservoirs)

## Core Business
- Primary industry/industries: Geoscience AI, Mining & Mineral Exploration, Geothermal Energy, Carbon Storage
- Target customers: Mining companies, reservoir/energy companies, geothermal developers, carbon storage project operators (B2B, Enterprise)
- Mission or purpose statement: To turn subsurface uncertainty into better decisions, bringing critical resources to markets faster to meet energy transition needs.

## Products & Services
- **Terra AI Platform**: A patented, purpose-built AI system that models subsurface uncertainty, characterizes deposits, and optimizes drill planning. It goes beyond data collection to answer critical questions like "Where should we drill to reduce the most resource uncertainty?" and "How many drills do we need to characterize this deposit?" The platform claims to reduce drilling meters by 50-60% and deliver 2-3x more precise resource estimates.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding of $26.8 million across multiple rounds
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Khosla Ventures (lead investor in Series A), Founders Factory (lead in Convertible Note), and other undisclosed investors. The company works with mining and reservoir companies globally.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of 25 employees with a monthly growth rate of +20.8%. LinkedIn followers at 2,649 with +32.9% monthly growth. Active job postings on both [terraai.com](https://www.terraai.com/careers) and [jobs.gem.com](https://jobs.gem.com/terraai-earth). The company was founded in 2023 and has already raised a Series A, indicating strong investor confidence.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Patented, purpose-built AI** specifically designed for subsurface uncertainty quantification, a notoriously difficult problem in geoscience.
- **Founding team with deep domain expertise**: The CEO and CTO hold PhDs from Stanford's Intelligent Systems Lab (SISL), and the General Manager of Reservoirs is a Stanford adjunct professor with 20+ years in industry.
- **Proven metrics**: Claims of 50-60% fewer drilling meters and 2-3x more precise resource estimates provide a strong value proposition to cost-conscious mining and energy clients.
- **Focus on the energy transition**: Directly addresses the growing demand for critical minerals, geothermal energy, and carbon storage, positioning the company in a high-growth, mission-critical sector.

## Strategic Focus
- **Accelerating exploration for energy transition**: The company is explicitly focused on meeting the rapidly growing demand for subsurface resources needed for clean energy.
- **Expanding commercial operations**: The active hiring for a Head of Commercial, Business Development Manager, and Business Development Representative signals a push to scale sales and client acquisition.
- **Deepening AI capabilities**: Continued hiring for Senior/Staff Machine Learning Researchers and Engineers indicates a commitment to advancing their core AI technology.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven work**: Employees directly contribute to solving critical challenges in clean energy, mineral discovery, and carbon storage, making a tangible impact on the energy transition.
- **World-class team**: Work alongside PhD-level AI researchers and geoscientists from top institutions like Stanford, NASA JPL, and Amazon.
- **Strong benefits package**: Includes company-subsidized medical, dental & vision insurance, mental health support, 401k with company matching, flexible PTO, an annual company-wide winter break (Dec 24 – Jan 1), a professional development budget, a one-time home-office setup stipend, and paid parental leave.
- **Flexible work environment**: Some roles (e.g., Full Stack Engineer) are listed as remote, while others (e.g., Head of Commercial, Senior Geologist) are based in Redwood City, CA. The company appears to offer a hybrid or remote-friendly culture depending on the role.
- **Fast-growing startup**: With 25 employees and rapid headcount growth (+20.8% monthly), new hires can expect significant ownership, impact, and career growth opportunities.

## Sources
1. [terraai.com - Company Homepage](https://www.terraai.com/)
2. [terraai.com - About Page](https://www.terraai.com/about)
3. [terraai.com - Careers Page](https://www.terraai.com/careers)
4. [LinkedIn - Terra AI Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/terra-ai-sys)
5. [CB Insights - Terra AI Profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/terra-ai)

## Other roles at Terra AI

- [AI/ML Infrastructure Engineer [Senior - Principal]](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-ml-infrastructure-engineer-senior-principal-terra-ai-palo-alto-fy8tnspeweah) — Palo Alto, CA
- [Chief of Staff](https://feeny.ai/job/chief-of-staff-terra-ai-sunnyvale-cabnkjw1yemv) — Sunnyvale, CA
- [AI/ML Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-ml-engineer-terra-ai-sunnyvale-37d0sdhdt922) — Sunnyvale, CA
- [Software Engineer [Senior - Principal]](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-senior-principal-terra-ai-palo-alto-1eas2x92rksj) — Palo Alto, CA