Associate Intern - Founder's Office

Associate – Founder's Office (Internship) at CarbonGuru

Climate–Agri Tech | Carbon Removal Markets

About the job

Role: Associate – Founder's Office (Internship)

Location: Mumbai, India (on-site), with periodic field visits to cotton-growing regions in Maharashtra and Telangana

Industry: Climate–Agri Tech / Carbon Removal Markets

Duration: 6 months, full-time internship

Compensation: Paid internship — monthly stipend up to ₹25,000, based on candidate experience and skill level

Qualification: Open to candidates currently pursuing or who have completed a bachelor's degree; engineering background strongly preferred

Open Positions: 1

About Us

CarbonGuru is a climate-tech venture building agriculture-based carbon removal projects at scale, with India's smallholder farmers as the stewards of the movement. We operate at the intersection of carbon and cotton — turning cotton-stalk biomass and cotton-belt farming systems into high-integrity carbon removal that pays farmers, buyers, and the planet.

We work end-to-end: project design, field execution, MRV, and the sale of carbon credits to international buyers. We are a voice for marginalized smallholder farmers, working alongside a national federation of Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) and a network of 100,000+ cotton growers.

Role Summary

This is a generalist, high-ownership role for someone who wants to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the founder on the problems that matter most — strategy, growth, field execution, and the people and systems that make it all run.

You will move fluidly between a cotton field in Yavatmal and a boardroom conversation with a carbon buyer, and your job is to make both conversations sharper. You will drive end-to-end execution across strategy, operations, communications, field work, and hiring.

This role is for someone who thrives in ambiguity, finds joy in problem-solving, and is willing to shoulder real responsibility on real-world problems from day one. Above all, we are looking for someone who is dynamic in communication — able to adapt their register from farmer to founder to funder, and who can write, present, and persuade with clarity.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategy & Growth Initiatives

• Work directly with the founder on strategy, growth, and new initiatives across the business

• Structure problems, build research-backed recommendations, and drive decisions forward

• Support business planning, OKR-setting, and quarterly reviews

• Identify and pursue commercial and partnership opportunities across the carbon, climate, and cotton ecosystem

2. Research & Analysis

• Conduct primary and secondary research across carbon markets, cotton value chains, farmer economics, MRV methodologies, and policy landscape

• Synthesize complex information into clear, actionable briefs for founder-level and leadership decision-making

• Build models, market maps, and competitive intelligence on the fly

3. Project Management & Operations

• Run project management for cross-functional initiatives — from pilot design to partner rollout

• Build trackers, dashboards, and operating cadences that keep the team aligned and moving

• Translate strategy into week-by-week execution plans and follow through to closure

• Document learnings, SOPs, and playbooks so nothing gets rebuilt twice

4. Hiring & HR Systems

• Support end-to-end hiring for CarbonGuru — sourcing, screening, interviewing, and onboarding high-agency talent

• Help design and roll out HR systems: onboarding kits, performance reviews, knowledge management, and policy frameworks

• Build the people-systems foundation as CarbonGuru scales from founding team to operating organization

5. Field Work & Farmer Engagement

• Spend time in the field with smallholder farmers, FPOs, and implementation partners to understand the reality on the ground

• Lead discovery trips, partner validations, and pilot check-ins in Maharashtra and Telangana cotton belts

• Bring field insights back into strategy, product, and operating decisions — closing the loop between ground truth and leadership

What We're Looking For

Education

• Open to candidates currently pursuing or who have completed a bachelor's degree

• Engineering background (B.Tech / B.E.) strongly preferred; exceptional candidates from agriculture, economics, policy, or design are welcome to apply

• Strong academic record preferred

• Past internship or project experience in climate, agri-tech, sustainability, consulting, or startups is a plus

Core Skills

• Dynamic communicator — able to write, present, and hold a room, and adjust register fluidly across farmers, founders, partners, and buyers. This is the single most important skill for this role.

• High agency — defaults to action, finishes what they start, and closes loops without being chased

• Thrives in ambiguity — comfortable when the path isn't drawn, and finds joy in figuring it out

• Structured problem-solver with strong analytical horsepower and an ability to go from messy inputs to a clear recommendation

• Willing to shoulder responsibility on real-world, high-stakes problems

• Comfortable moving between a spreadsheet, a field visit, and a stakeholder conversation in the same day

• Deep, demonstrable interest in climate, agriculture, and smallholder farmer welfare — this is non-negotiable

Language

• Working proficiency in English and Hindi required

• Marathi and/or Telugu is a strong plus for field work

What We Offer

• Paid internship with a monthly stipend up to ₹25,000, based on candidate experience and skill level

• Work directly with the founder on the problems that matter most — strategy, execution, field, and people

• Front-row exposure to carbon markets, climate-smart agriculture, and how a young climate venture actually gets built from the ground up

• Real field time with smallholder farmers in India's cotton belt — the classroom where the real learning happens

• Access to a global ecosystem of buyers, funders, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners

• A fast, mission-driven culture that values rigor, purpose, and heart in equal measure

• Mentorship from experienced operators in climate, carbon, and agriculture

How to Apply

Please fill out the Google Form linked in the job post to submit your application. In your responses, please write in the first person and share specific stories — we care more about what you've actually done than what you say you can do.

If you need help submitting your application, please email us at careers@carbonguru.earth with your CV and a short note on why this role interests you.

Additional Information

This job description provides a broad outline of the role but is not exhaustive. Responsibilities and expectations may evolve based on organizational needs and business priorities. CarbonGuru reserves the right to modify duties or reassign responsibilities at any time, with or without notice.

CarbonGuru is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Hiring, promotions, and personnel practices are conducted without regard to race, gender, religion, disability, age, or any other status protected by applicable law.