Landman

Vaulted is a waste management company that removes carbon by safely injecting organic waste ultra-deep underground, permanently removing carbon from the atmosphere while protecting local land, air, and water. Based in Houston, San Francisco, and Kansas, Vaulted has a growing team of 70+ people and signed the second-largest carbon removal offtake ever with Microsoft in July 2025.

About the role

The Landman secures the surface and subsurface land rights every project depends on: well-pad sites, pipeline rights-of-way, pore space, and the water and disposal rights tied to injection operations. This role runs land title, negotiates and closes the agreements that give the company control of a site, and delivers clean, defensible land positions to Development and Legal. This is a negotiation and land-rights role, not a records-only or title-clerk function. The Landman is accountable for site control—ensuring agreements underpinning a project are signed, enforceable, and free of defects that surface at Final Investment Decision.

Why This Role Matters

Site control is a gating condition at every capital approval. A project cannot advance past Concept Select without land access and cannot reach Final Investment Decision without clear title and secured rights-of-way. This role retires that risk across a growing, multi-project pipeline: 10+ opportunities in origination, 3 in active development, targeting three-plus projects under construction within two years. Pore-space, produced-water, and waste-injection rights are less standardized than conventional oil & gas leasehold. Getting them right early determines whether a site is developable and at what cost.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate and close land agreements—surface leases and purchases, pore-space agreements, pipeline and utility rights-of-way, and access easements
• Secure well-pad sites and the associated subsurface rights required for injection operations
• Run and clear land title; identify and resolve encumbrances, gaps, and competing claims before FID
• Structure and negotiate water-sourcing and produced-water / disposal rights where applicable
• Build and maintain the land position of record for each project, in partnership with Legal
• Provide land inputs to commercial term sheets and to project economics
• Coordinate third-party landmen, title companies, and outside counsel; own QA/QC of their work
• Maintain landowner relationships through negotiation, execution, and ongoing operations

Leadership Responsibilities

Individual-contributor role reporting to the Director of Commercial. Directs contract landmen, title agents, and outside land counsel on a project-by-project basis. Works closely with Legal on title and agreement structure, with Geoscience and Engineering on siting and rights-of-way, and with Commercial on term-sheet land inputs. Presents land-position readiness at stage-gate and Final Investment Decision reviews.

Requirements

• 10–15 years of land experience, including direct negotiation and closing of land agreements. Oil & gas land experience preferred; oil & gas production experience is not required.
• Demonstrated experience securing well pads, pipeline rights-of-way, and related surface, subsurface, and access rights
• Track record running and clearing land title on capital or development projects
• Experience negotiating with landowners, counterparties, and counsel from first contact through signed, enforceable agreement
• Bachelor's degree, or equivalent land experience

Preferred Experience

• Experience securing pore space, produced-water, waste-injection, or similar subsurface rights
• AAPL affiliation or Registered Professional Landman (RPL / RL) credentials
• Experience across multiple states and regulatory regimes
• Familiarity with UIC-permitted or disposal-well land requirements

Skills

Technical Competencies

• Land title examination, curative work, and chain-of-title analysis
• Pore-space, mineral, and surface-estate rights and their interactions
• Pipeline and utility right-of-way routing, width, and easement terms
• Water-sourcing and produced-water rights relevant to injection operations
• Recording, regulatory, and county-level land requirements

Commercial & Business Competencies

• Negotiates land agreements start to finish, not from fixed templates
• Translates land terms into cost, schedule, and risk impact for project economics
• Structures option, lease, and purchase terms that preserve project optionality
• Coordinates land inputs to commercial term sheets alongside Commercial & Land