Chief Energy Transition Engineer
The job description
Tech stack. Enterprise portfolio models, scenario planning frameworks, technology assessment methodologies, regulatory and policy analysis, board-level reporting
About the role
You will serve as the company-wide technical authority on the energy transition for an organization with a multi-decade decarbonization mandate. The CEO, board, and business unit leaders rely on your judgment for the highest-stakes calls: portfolio strategy, technology bets, and capital allocation across the transition. This role matters because the transition rewards the bold and punishes the wrong, and your technical authority is what keeps billion-dollar commitments pointed at the future that actually arrives. As the company's chief technical authority on the energy transition, you will set the technology roadmap that determines which markets, technologies, and business models the company bets on. The role includes advising the executive team and board on technology risk, testifying in regulatory proceedings, and representing the company with policymakers and industry coalitions. Your public credibility, built over a career of delivered projects, becomes a company asset that opens doors to partnerships and marquee clients. You will also build the next generation of technical leaders, since the roadmap only matters if the organization can execute it.
What you will achieve
- Define the enterprise energy transition strategy: technology portfolio, sequencing, and capital allocation across a 10 to 20 year horizon
- Approve or redirect major technology bets, preventing nine-figure investments in approaches that will not scale or will be stranded, reviewed annually against technology cost curves and policy developments
- Establish company-wide engineering standards for emerging technologies: hydrogen, long-duration storage, advanced nuclear, and carbon management
- Drive the organization's external technical credibility with regulators, policymakers, investors, and standards bodies, with technical positions backed by analysis the policy team can defend
- Build and mentor the senior technical bench that carries transition engineering after you, institutionalizing judgment into process
What you will bring
Must-haves
- 15+ years of experience in energy engineering with leadership across multiple technologies and market cycles
- Recognized industry authority on energy transition technologies, economics, and system integration
- Track record of strategic technical decisions that created measurable enterprise value or avoided major losses
- Deep understanding of energy policy, markets, and regulation and how they interact with technology choice
- Experience advising C-suite and boards with technical strategy that survives contact with commercial reality
- History of building technical organizations and developing senior engineering leaders
- Public credibility: keynote-level conference presence, standards leadership, or widely cited technical work
Nice-to-haves
- Advanced degree (MS or PhD) in engineering, energy systems, or related field
- Experience across utility, developer, and technology company perspectives
- Government advisory or regulatory proceeding testimony experience
- Direct experience with project finance at portfolio scale
- Recognized industry leadership such as standards committee roles or advisory board seats
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