Carbon Removal - Founding Technical Lead

IRAF is looking for its first Founding Technical Lead - Carbon Removal

Biochar CDR + ARR & Regenerative Agroforestry - Maharashtra, India/Global | Remote + Field

About IRAF:

Intentional Research Action Foundation (IRAF) is an India-based Section 8 not-for-profit organisation working to bridge the intentional gap between world-class research and grassroots impact through evidence-based action.

Mission: To drive lasting impact by translating world-class research into scalable, evidence-based interventions that address humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Vision: A sustainable and equitable world where every social intervention is guided by data, driven by empathy, and designed for intentional impact.

We work at the intersection of research, climate, communities, technology and implementation — developing practical projects designed to create measurable environmental and social impact.

We are now building IRAF’s long-term Carbon Removal portfolio in India and are looking for our first Founding Technical Lead to help build the technical foundation of this work.

Why this role matters:

IRAF is at an early but important stage. We have established relationships and early field partnerships with farmers, forest department officials, community leaders and FPOs in our target landscapes.

We are also exploring technical and strategic relationships with international carbon-removal developers, technology providers, researchers, investors and potential carbon buyers.

Our approach is simple: Build farmer-first carbon removal projects with strong technical foundations, measurable impact and high environmental integrity.

The immediate priority is to ensure that our project design, methodology selection, carbon accounting, MRV, field data, PDD development and implementation models are robust enough to withstand serious technical and commercial due diligence.

This is not a role for someone who only wants to prepare reports. We are looking for someone who wants to help build the large scale, long term projects.

The two priority projects:

1. Biochar Carbon Dioxide Removal — Southern Kolhapur, Maharashtra

IRAF is developing a farmer-first Biochar CDR opportunity across the Kolhapur sugarcane belt.

Our current assessment is exploring approximately:

• 10,000 hectares
• ~7,000 farming households
• Preliminary feedstock potential of ~30,000 tonnes/year

The long-term ambition is to develop a scalable industrial Biochar CDR platform, beginning with rigorous field validation, feedstock assessment and smaller pilots before larger deployment. The technical pathway is already being explored with international carbon-removal investors and technology partners.

2. ARR & Regenerative Agroforestry — Western Ghats, Maharashtra (30+ years project)

IRAF is developing an initial 1,000-hectare farmer-first ARR and regenerative agroforestry pilot in southern Maharashtra, with the ambition to scale toward: 5,000 → 20,000+ hectares subject to technical, ecological, social and financial validation.

The project is being designed around farmers, agroforestry, ecological restoration, biodiversity and long-term carbon removal.

The technical work will include:

• Land and farmer assessment
• Baseline development
• Species and planting-system design
• GIS and remote sensing
• Biomass/carbon estimation
• Field monitoring
• Farmer and land documentation
• MRV
• Carbon methodology assessment
• Long-term implementation and monitoring systems

Supports ARR activities and provides area-based and census-based approaches, including remote sensing, plot-based sampling and approaches relevant to dispersed planting activities.

The successful candidate will help assess and develop these project which are now in its critical stage.

What you will do:

As Founding Technical Lead — Carbon Removal, you will work across both projects and help build IRAF’s technical capability from the ground up.

Technical & project development:

• Lead technical research and feasibility studies.
• Design field assessments and technical validation processes.
• Build project datasets, assumptions, baselines and technical models.
• Assess biomass, land-use, farmer, ecological and operational data.
• Develop GIS/GPS and field-data systems.
• Evaluate carbon-removal methodologies and eligibility.
• Support carbon accounting, MRV and monitoring-system design.
• Contribute to PDDs, technical reports and project-development documents.
• Identify technical gaps, risks and additional studies required before scale-up.

Carbon markets & partnerships:

• Support PDD development and methodology interpretation.
• Coordinate with carbon standards, VVBs, technical consultants and scientific experts.
• Support validation/verification preparation.
• Participate in discussions with carbon-removal developers, investors and potential buyers.
• Translate complex technical information into clear project decisions.
• Continuously monitor developments in CDR technologies, methodologies, MRV and carbon markets.
• Help IRAF build repeatable technical systems that can support multiple projects and geographies.

Who we are looking for:

We are looking for a passionate hands-on technical project builder.

Strongly preferred

• 2-5+ years relevant experience preferred, with exceptional candidates with 10+ years of directly relevant experience considered.
• Demonstrated experience taking at least one relevant project from feasibility/design through implementation, validation or commercial deployment.
• Experience in Biochar, CDR, ARR, agroforestry, forestry, biomass, carbon MRV or related technical project development.
• Experience working with Verra/VCS, Puro.earth or comparable carbon-removal standards is a strong advantage.
• Experience with PDDs, additionality, baseline assessment, monitoring plans, validation/verification or carbon-credit issuance.
• Strong GIS/GPS and field-data capabilities.
• Strong quantitative research and technical writing skills.
• Ability to work directly with farmers, FPOs, government departments, researchers and technical partners.
• Willingness to travel to project sites in Maharashtra and spend meaningful time in the field.

Experience building or implementing projects involving hundreds to thousands of hectares, large farmer networks or commercial-scale biomass/biocarbon operations is particularly valuable.

Location & working model:

Based in India/Global | Remote + Field

The role can initially be remote, but field travel to Maharashtra project locations will be required.

The role may evolve into a full-time leadership position as the projects secure development funding and move toward implementation.

Compensation & commitment:

IRAF is currently an early-stage nonprofit organisation and does not yet have a fixed salary budget for this founding technical role. The initial engagement will therefore be part-time and project-linked, with compensation terms discussed transparently and agreed in writing.

Deferred Founding Contributor Model

1. Start

You join as a Founding Technical Lead — Carbon Removal.

All approved hours are logged monthly and countersigned by IRAF.

An agreed hourly/project rate will be documented before work begins.

2. First funding

Once project-development funding is secured, approved and documented hours will be paid according to the agreed terms, including eligible deferred compensation from the start of the engagement.

3. Full-time transition

As IRAF reaches financial stability and the projects move into funded development/implementation, the role can transition into a salaried full-time technical leadership position, subject to funding and a new written agreement.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about farmers and climate change, and wants to intentionally grow with IRAF over the long term.