Emerging Technology Product Manager, Water Heating

Portland, OR, United States

About NEEA

Catalyzing the most efficient use of energy for a thriving Northwest.

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is an alliance of more than 140 utilities and energy efficiency organizations working on behalf of more than 13 million energy consumers. NEEA is dedicated to accelerating both electric and gas energy efficiency, leveraging its regional partnerships to advance the adoption of energy-efficient products, services and practices.

Since 1997, NEEA and its partners have saved energy equivalent to powering more than 640,000 homes each year. As the second-largest resource in the Northwest, energy efficiency can help offset most of the region’s new demand for energy, saving money and keeping the Northwest a healthy and vibrant place to live.

NEEA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  This position is based in the Portland, OR metro area with a minimum of 2-days work onsite at NEEA’s office location.  Finalists must have eligibility to work in the US as NEEA is not able to provide VISA sponsorship or have remote work outside of the US.

Summary

The Emerging Technology Product Manager contributes to NEEA’s strategic goal of filling the energy efficiency “pipeline” with new energy efficient products, practices, and services in collaboration with both internal and external stakeholders.  Product Managers apply product management skills to change the world by working with manufacturers and other organizations within the extended supply chain to increase the energy efficiency of their products while providing equal or better benefits to all customers. This position requires effective planning for the evolution of products through the full lifecycle stages of identification, assessment, confirmation and product readiness for deployment in a full-scale market transformation effort.

NEEA’s Product Managers serve as product experts on assigned energy efficient product lines, as well as conduct research on emerging technologies that could bring energy savings for Northwest consumers.  Working across a wide range of products that use electric power and / or natural gas allows Product Managers to be able to influence test methods and specifications to identify the most efficient energy consuming products like heat pumps, refrigerators, commercial lighting, pumps, motors, and water heaters.  This position will initially focus on water heating products such as residential heat pump water heaters and commercial water heating solutions but may also support other product lines, such as building envelope, to help fulfill NEEA’s strategic objectives.

The incumbent will share our deep commitment to diversity and inclusion and advancing practices, strategies and policies that achieve equitable outcomes for all.

Salary Range: $120,000 - $130,000, exempt

Salary is based on the applicants Experience, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

Could This Be Your Dream Job?

Are you curious about how to solve complex market and product problems using new technologies and by creatively nudging the market to move in new directions?  Do you enjoy mentoring people of all skills and backgrounds so that they gain new perspectives about their businesses and markets?  Are you practical and patient, but still able to maintain an inspiring vision of what could be?  Are you interested in working for a respected organization that enables access to corporate leaders around the country but is still small enough to see the direct impacts of your contributions?  Are you interested in working for an organization where employees really do believe in the mission of the organization and help each other to achieve it?

If you answered yes to these questions, please read on to learn more:

The Typical Day May Include…

Reviewing research on lab studies about new technologies that might be useful for helping improve the efficiency of natural gas and electric products in homes and commercial buildings.

Collaborating with national and international standards and ratings organizations to improve product testing and labeling methods to accurately prove product performance and efficiency levels.

Partnering with utility managers to share insights on the market and products that could help them meet their goals.

Coordinating with NEEA program teams to develop and implement with limited resources strategic actions that change the market.

Developing product plans and managing the contractors doing the work.

Fostering and maintaining business relationships with manufacturers, distributors, and other market actors to increase NEEA’s market influence.

What Are You Good At?

Developing long lasting business relationships.

Cocreating inspiring concrete visions in highly ambiguous circumstances.

Communicating and collaborating to share your knowledge and co-generate solutions to complex problems.

Conducting research on emerging technologies and becoming a technical subject matter expert.

Ability to recognize market barriers and turn those into opportunities.

Understanding how markets work and how to identify market needs and leverage points.

Tracking products as they evolve through their lifecycles.

Applying science and engineering principles to understand how products work and if they have the potential to meet their performance claims.

You Likely Have The Following:

Exceptional communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally both internally with other work teams, as well as externally with stakeholders and market partners.

Balanced experience with hardware markets and technology, and curiosity to continuously learn and apply new knowledge.

Desire to share and work for a common purpose that has economic and societal benefits.

Curiosity and flexibility to explore product and process options that others might not consider.

Your Education, Experience, and Skills:

BA or BS degree in Engineering, Marketing, Business, Building Sciences, or related field required. MBA or Masters of Science/Engineering preferred.

3+ years of experience with increasing responsibility, preferably in new product development/introduction, and/or strategic product market management required.

Demonstrated experience working with emerging technology, innovation or new product development, specifically identifying and developing strategies to overcome specific market barriers in the early stages of product lifecycle.

Strong experience in market strategy development, including an understanding of market assessment, short and long-range forecasting, risk-assessment and management strategy.

Demonstrated complex project management experience required.

Some supervisory or management experience preferred.

Demonstrated experience with team leadership and facilitation preferred.

Knowledge of energy efficiency, electric or gas utility business and operations, and/or Northwest energy markets preferred.

Knowledge of process for creating Federal and voluntary standards preferred.

Preference for candidates with experience or familiarity with water heating technologies.

An equivalent combination of education, experience and training that would provide the knowledge, skills and abilities required for the successful performance of the essential job duties will also be considered.

NEEA’s benefits highlights:

90% of medical/dental premiums paid by NEEA, employer funded Health Savings Account, automatic 6% retirement contribution with 2% matching, 17-days PTO, flexible work schedule options, professional development.

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