How to apply for Climate Scientist (Supply)

About Supercritical

Supercritical is a carbon removal marketplace that has facilitated nearly 2 million tonnes of removal for 200+ buyers and tracks 600+ suppliers across about 80% of the global permanent CDR market. Its science team vets every project across 118 data points and rejects 88% of what it assesses, and it co-created Liferaft for Microsoft's 1-million-tonne biochar offtake. Working here means shaping the supply side of a market that must scale to roughly 10 billion tonnes a year by 2050.

About the role

As a Climate Scientist (Supply), you will assess carbon removal suppliers and projects against Supercritical's 118-point vetting framework. You will help decide which projects reach corporate buyers, and you will contribute to the standards buyers are measured against, including work connected to SBTi's Expert Working Group. The role sits at the point where science turns into delivered, permanent tonnes.

A typical day

You might review a batch of supplier submissions against the 118-point framework, flag projects that fail on permanence or MRV, and write up assessment notes for the commercial team. You could join a call with a supplier to clarify delivery-protection details, then spend time on a standards working group or methodology question. The exact rhythm is not described in the job details, so ask about team structure and how assessments are split between pathways.

Who Supercritical is looking for

• Has hands-on experience evaluating carbon removal projects or technologies, ideally across multiple CDR pathways such as biochar, enhanced weathering, or DAC.
• Can work with large datasets and supply pipelines, since the company tracks 600+ suppliers and needs consistent, comparable assessments.
• Understands carbon removal standards, registries, and MRV requirements well enough to judge permanence, additionality, and delivery risk.
• Is comfortable making reject-or-approve calls at scale, given that 88% of assessed projects are rejected.
• Can communicate scientific findings to commercial teams and buyers without oversimplifying the uncertainty.

Tips for this application

• Read Supercritical's public writing on its 118-point vetting framework and reference specific data points or criteria in your application.
• Name the CDR pathways you have assessed before and describe the scale of the pipelines you have handled, since the role is supply-focused.
• Look at the Liferaft case study and explain how you would approach vetting a similar bespoke supply creation project.
• Check Supercritical's published positions or submissions related to SBTi and carbon removal standards, and connect your experience to that work.
• Since the role is remote in the UK, state your UK work eligibility and any experience working with distributed science or commercial teams.

What to cover in your cover letter

['Your track record assessing carbon removal projects, including which pathways and how many projects you have reviewed.', 'How you handle the reject-or-approve decision when the majority of projects do not meet quality thresholds.', 'Any experience contributing to carbon removal standards, registries, or MRV methodologies.', 'How you would work with a commercial team that needs to turn scientific assessments into multi-year offtake contracts.']

Research before applying

• Supercritical's 118-point vetting framework and any published detail on how it is applied.
• The Liferaft project with Microsoft, including how it was co-designed and what supply challenges it addressed.
• Supercritical's role on SBTi's Expert Working Group for carbon removals and any public submissions.
• The company's supply pipeline and which CDR pathways it currently tracks across the 600+ suppliers.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Walk through a carbon removal project you assessed and explain how you judged permanence and additionality.
• How would you apply a 118-point vetting framework consistently across 600+ suppliers?
• What are the main MRV gaps in biochar, enhanced weathering, or DAC, and how would you address them in a supply assessment?
• How would you handle a supplier that passes most criteria but fails on one critical delivery-protection point?
• What is your view on how SBTi and similar bodies should treat permanent carbon removal in corporate targets?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Speaking only about climate passion without naming specific CDR pathways, standards, or assessment methods you have worked with.
• Treating the role as a general research position and ignoring the supply and commercial context of vetting projects for offtake.
• Claiming expertise across all CDR pathways instead of being precise about which ones you have actually assessed.