At Fervo, Leslie Maldonado works to find new and innovative technologies that could be applied to stimulation operations in geothermal wells as a Completions Engineer on the Operations team. With an educational and professional background in petroleum engineering, Leslie uses her oil and gas knowledge to help spur the clean energy transition through geothermal.

What made you want to join the Fervo team?

I came across Fervo when I was searching for an operations-based opportunity. Fervo’s focus on applying oil and gas practices to the geothermal industry drew me to the company. Working with an innovative team in which I could apply my learnings as a petroleum engineer was a great opportunity to transition from oil and gas to the clean energy sector.

How has your experience to date prepared you for your role at Fervo?

I have had multiple opportunities and experiences that have provided me with knowledge that I utilize in my current position. Out of college, I had the opportunity to go to the Permian Basin and complete a field rotation in which I assisted a Completions team for some time. My time as a Drilling Engineer provided me with field experience that I apply to my current role and use in conjunction with my previous Completions Engineer experience. Being able to communicate with my operations team is essential not only for successfully completing procedures, but also for building a team that trusts each other and works well together.

How does your current position differ from other roles you’ve held previously?

This role has given me the opportunity to lead operations in stimulation, a practice that is relatively new to the geothermal industry. Additionally, working at a relatively small (but continually growing) company allows for each team member not only to focus on their role, but also to provide assistance when available and where needed.

Favorite part of the job?

Being hands-on and seeing the processes and procedures being applied in the field is an accomplishment on its own, and being able to assist in creating the processes is exhilarating – that being said, I enjoy developing the processes themselves. In oil and gas, drilling and completions are both well-known practices; however, in geothermal, it is a fairly new application of the process. Acting as R&D (research and development) and working to develop new tools that could help lead innovation in the geothermal industry is exciting.