Entrepreneur In Residence, Principal

Requisition ID# 163520

Job Category: Information Technology

Job Level: Manager/Principal

Business Unit: Engineering, Planning & Strategy

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland

Department Overview

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE: PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric companies in the United States. Based in Oakland, our 25,000 employees work throughout our Northern and Central California service area, stretching from Eureka to Bakersfield and from the Pacific Ocean to the Sierra Nevada. We're ranked among the nation's cleanest utilities and we're driving change in the utility industry to support the transition to a cleaner energy economy.

In 2022, PG&E articulated its True North Strategy (TNS), a bold, breakthrough vision that charts a course over the next 10 years toward achieving our purpose and climate commitments. The Grid Research Innovation and Development (GRID) department is focused on bringing technologies and solutions that support the implementation of TNS from conception to reality.

The PG&E Innovation Accelerator, a core function within GRID, leverages customer-centric start-up methodologies to ideate, incubate, and accelerate new internal initiatives to market that are optimized for impact.

Position Summary

PG&E Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Are you a past founder, entrepreneurial operations leader, or product visionary with a proven track record of turning innovative ideas into impactful initiatives? Do you thrive at the intersection of creativity, strategy, and execution while staying educated on what is now possible with new technology, particularly AI? Are you passionate about driving climate solutions and advancing sustainability through innovation? If so, PG&E's Innovation Accelerator invites you to help shape the future of energy solutions.

We are looking for unique individuals with deep innovation experience to guide our PG&E innovation teams through complex journeys of turning ideas into successful initiatives. As an Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR), you will work at the cutting edge of entrepreneurship within a large organization by guiding teams through key phases of Ideation and Incubation of strategic initiatives. Acting as a mentor, strategist, and hands-on collaborator, you'll work closely with these teams from the initial concept and customer validation stages through to devising and testing product solutions, and developing business and operational models. Your role, which reports to the Innovation Accelerator Director, will be instrumental in translating bold ideas into actionable solutions for millions of Californians.

You are a great fit if you can demonstrate expertise in customer-centered innovation, product ideation, and market analysis. You bring a playbook of knowledge from methods such as Lean Customer Development and Design Thinking, but are eager to learn and use PG&E's adopted innovation methodology. You will also be able to demonstrate how you've explored or mastered GenAI to aid in various stages of creating and launching strategic initiatives.

This position is hybrid, working from your remote office and your assigned work location based on business need. The preferred work location is Oakland, CA.

PG&E is providing the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might pay for this position at the time of the job posting. This compensation range is specific to the locality of the job. The actual salary paid to an individual will be based on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, specific skills, education, licenses or certifications, experience, market value, geographic location, and internal equity. Although we estimate the successful candidate hired into this role will be placed between the entry point and the middle of the range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis related to these factors. This job is also eligible to participate in PG&E's discretionary incentive compensation programs.

A reasonable salary range is:

Bay Area Minimum: $147,000.00

Bay Area Midpoint: $199,000.00

Bay Area Maximum: $251,000.00

Job Responsibilities

• Identifies the developmental needs of others, and coaches and mentors' others to improve their knowledge or skills.
• Mentorship and Strategic Guidance by providing hands-on expert advice and mentorship to PG&E initiative teams, helping them develop and execute their business strategies through the early phases of innovation initiatives.
  • Ideate Phase :
    • Participate actively in the ideation process, helping teams brainstorm and validate innovative ideas.
    • Facilitate workshops and brainstorming sessions to help teams uncover creative solutions and viable opportunities.
  • Incubate Phase:
    • Collaborate with Customer Development (CD) Researcher in the planning and execution of customer-centered research to uncover actionable insights.
    • Participate actively in customer-centered research activities including collaborating on stimulus materials and interview scripts, conducting interviews, synthesizing feedback, and validating or refining solutions.
    • Help teams identify winning product/solution concepts, iterating on product prototypes based on customer insights.
    • Mentor teams through early stages of product development and customer acquisition.
    • Assist teams in developing robust business models, operational plans, and go-to-market strategies.
    • Guide teams to create effective check-in and pitch decks to present to PG&E leadership and executive sponsors.
    • Leverage GenAI tools to enhance the team, accelerate the speed and quality of thinking and work processes, and deliver superior outcomes.
• Act as a hands-on contributor to address operational needs in product development, customer acquisition, and hypothesis testing.
• Take on interim leadership roles or specific functional responsibilities as needed to ensure forward momentum.
• Collaborate on recruiting, onboarding, and developing high-performing innovation team members.
• Conduct workshops and sessions on lean startup methodologies, solution design best practices, and PG&E's innovation methodology.
• Mentor teams in building analytical and strategic thinking capabilities to ensure self-sufficiency over time.
• Creatively further PG&E's innovation methodology with thoughtful adoption of GenAI tools and approaches.
• Collaborate with PG&E's internal teams and stakeholders to align on initiative progress and strategic goals.
• Provide regular updates and reports on the status of initiatives, highlighting key milestones and areas for improvement.

Qualifications

Minimum:

• High School or GED-General Educational Development-GED Diploma
• 7 years job-related experience

Desired:

• Bachelor's Degree or MBA preferred
• 6+ years of experience in an entrepreneurial Operations Lead, Product Management, or Technical Lead role, at either a startup or an internal innovation team within a larger company.
• Knowledge of energy sector-specific trends and challenges relevant to PG&E's portfolio direction preferred.
• Deep understanding of the entrepreneurial process, from ideation to market entry and scaling.
• Familiarity with design thinking, lean startup methodologies, and agile development practices.
• Experience with qualitative Market Research, Customer Development, or customer-led innovation.
• Passionate about learning and utilizing GenAI technology to advance the quality and outcomes of innovation work.
• Strong leadership and mentorship skills, with experience guiding teams through complex challenges.
• Proven ability to work across corporate stakeholders to proactively build, design, negotiate, launch, and scale new initiatives.
• Excellent communication and networking abilities, with a robust personal and professional network.
• Strong background in forming and coaching high-performance, cross-functional teams.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a pragmatic approach to overcoming obstacles.
• Excellent presentation skills, including strong verbal and writing capabilities.
• Outstanding listening skills and ability to manage through influence.
• Self-initiative and an ability to work well independently.

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