Expert Product Mgr – Remote Grid Operational Integration

Requisition ID # 158292 

Job Category: Project / Program Management; Business Operations / Strategy; Information Technology; Maintenance / Construction / Operations 

Job Level: Individual Contributor

Business Unit: Electric Engineering

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland

Team Summary

The Grid Innovation Delivery team is making the grid of the future a reality by scaling innovative technologies and piloted concepts into standard tools and programs that PG&E utilizes to deliver for our hometowns and serve our planet. The team is a bridge between early R&D innovation efforts and established operational organizations. Grid Innovation Delivery (GID) executes a comprehensive set of activities to successfully deploy and operate new technologies including solution strategy, identification and development of deployments, solution standardization, new process creation, IT system integration and post-deployment operations & maintenance. The team scales new technology programs into a well-documented, stable and mature state that can achieve long term success within PG&E’s existing lines of business and conducts that transition.

The Remote Grid Program demonstrates the GID team’s results. Remote Grids cost-effectively address wildfire risk by serving customers with fully islanded (24/7/365) microgrids of solar, batteries and fuel-powered generation and permanent removal of high-risk overhead power lines. Grid Innovation Delivery deployed and currently operates PG&E’s nine Remote Grids and the team will grow the fleet to more than two dozen in the next two years. See the Remote Grid Program page here, as well as media coverage from the PG&E newsroom here.

Position Summary

This Product Manager will play a central, driving role in operationalizing innovative utility grid assets that improve how PG&E serves its customers. This role owns the roadmap for operational features of Remote Grids and will focus in the near term on integration and transition of the Remote Grid projects’ O&M functions (people, process, and technology) to operational lines of business at PG&E. The Product Manager will work closely with leads throughout the Grid Innovation Delivery team and across various lines of business including Asset Strategy, Asset Knowledge Management, Electric Operations, Power Generation and Information Technology to drive effective execution and maintain alignment across all stakeholders. As GID builds a track record deploying the Remote Grid solution, this Product Manager will own roadmaps for operationalizing other new grid technology programs such as distribution connected Battery Energy Storage Systems that make PG&E’s assets cleaner, more reliable, faster to deploy, and more cost effective (i.e. Non-Wires Alternatives). A strong applicant will be passionate about working collaboratively to have a tangible impact. They will be highly organized and self-starting, with a track record of success in building consensus and managing many moving parts.

This position is hybrid, primarily working from your remote office and PG&E’s new Oakland General Office based on business need (generally 1-2 days per week). In-person activities focus on synchronous collaboration, affinity building, ideation, or planning activities. The role may require occasional travel to sites throughout the PG&E service territory.

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. We would not anticipate that the individual hired into this role would land at or near the top half of the range described below, but the decision will be dependent on the facts and circumstances of each case.

A reasonable salary range is:

• Minimum Base Salary (Bay Area) $122,000.00
• Mid Base Salary (Bay Area) $158,000.00
• Maximum Base Salary (Bay Area) $194,000.00

Core Responsibilities:

Lead execution and maturation of operations and maintenance (O&M) functions for Remote Grids and emerging asset classes

• Ensure performance of assets under Grid Innovation Delivery’s management – assess performance data, work with the team to uncover insights and identify opportunities for improvement, report monthly metrics, track incidents, and oversee operational improvements verifying their effectiveness
• Own the roadmap to scale up O&M functions for handoff to other PG&E teams
• Understand PG&E operational standards, procedures, processes and groups and develop a right-size approach for how Remote Grids or other new programs will scale up to meet all expectations for a stable and enduring program
• Clarify current and future users and use cases
• Analyze costs and benefits
• Partner to prioritize development of capabilities/process enhancement/features
• Dail in a balance between the short-term demands of operating projects in the field with the need to improve the program in the long-term
• Facilitate collaborative and effective workstream meetings that drive toward monthly and annual objectives
• Manage relationships with O&M vendors to achieve sustainable, high performing assets that deliver for PG&E’s customers
• Build relationships with GID’s key stakeholders (e.g. Asset Strategy, Asset Knowledge Management, Electric Operations, Power Generation)
• Manage execution of initiatives, collaborating with and motivating cross-functional team members
• Drive and defend strategic activitiessuch as technology development, changes in vendor/commercial procurement approach, benchmarking, and creation of new internal processes and tools

Own operationalization of new emerging asset classes through IT system integration and deployment of fleet management software

• Articulate the vision for the ecosystem to manage Remote Grids and emerging assets and programs
• Define the business outcomes and capabilities needed
• Document and communicate the IT delivery strategy
• Serve as Business Lead and engage with PG&E IT Sponsor and Project Manager to:
• Communicate the why behind the IT work, ensure that IT people stay focused on the problem/opportunity, and not only the technology solution
• Develop clear objectives that include agreed upon functionality and features, validate IT proposed solutions and delivered functionality
• Prioritize IT work according to value, balancing needs, benefits, team bandwidth, and schedule.
• Validate system integration plan and delivery

Drive enhancement of the Grid Innovation Delivery team’s internal operations

• Implement continuous improvement methods such as retrospectives to understand pain points and bottlenecks in the tools and processes GID uses to deliver our outcomes
• Collaborate to prioritize the identified improvement opportunities then drive initiatives to implement the enhancements
• Measure, document and share progress within the team’s knowledge curation and broader company-wide systems

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college in business, economics, engineering or equivalent experience
• 8 years of job-related experience

Desired Qualifications:

• Advanced Degree such as Master’s in Business Administration, Engineering or other related field
• Curious, passionate and collaborative team member who leverages empathy to maximize impact and efficiency
• Demonstrated experience leading cross cutting projects, products or programs
• Resourceful, organized and persistent executor
• Drives multiple projects simultaneously, engaging stakeholders to create shared understanding and galvanize support
• Problem solver that anticipates issues and develops innovative solutions to complex problems
• Converts ambiguity into structure, creating well-oiled machines of process from scrappy first iterations
• Rigorously defines and enforces prioritization, defeating scope creep and delivering the most impactful product improvements
• Biased toward efficient action with a strong sense of ownership and empathy
• Operational experience with equipment in the field or customer facing products/programs
• Data analysis to address operational issues
• Key Performance Indicator calculation, tracking and reporting
• Experience running procurement solicitations and managing contract vendor work
• Working technical knowledge of overall electric grid design and operations, solar PV, inverters, energy storage, conventional generation, microgrid controllers and/or off grid energy systems
• Familiarity with California utility regulations, regulatory processes and the utility policy context
• Familiarity with integration of controls software or enterprise IT software
• Clear, credible and concise communicator able to convey highly complex ideas to diverse audiences

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