Product Manager Battery Customer Strategy Lead

Product Manager Battery Customer Strategy Lead

Location: Oakland, CA

Onsite Flexibility: Hybrid approximately once per month onsite at the Oakland General Office

Contract Details

• Position Type: Contract Individual Contributor
• Contract Duration: 4 months (with potential for extension if the project advances)
• Pay Rate: $100.00$125.00 / Hour (USD)
• Travel Requirements: Travel is approved in advance; expenses (airfare/hotel) are reimbursed via expense report.
• Work Authorization: Applicants must be authorized to work for ANY employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment Visa at this time.

Job Summary

Project Foxtrot is a new venture being developed within the client's Innovation Accelerator. The project is exploring how various customer-sited battery configurations can create measurable value for customers, the electric grid, and the organization. During Phase 1, the team evaluated more than 40 potential battery-related value streams to determine which value streams are most profitable. Phase 2 (Incubate) will focus on identifying and validating target customers, generating and refining solution concepts that achieve problemmarket fit through iterative testing, further economic analysis, and developing an operating model for a new business that can deploy flexible capacity solutions at scale. At the conclusion of the approximately 4-month Incubation Phase (concluding at the end of 2026), the venture will be assessed by its governing executive board in order to move forward. If the project advances, there is expected to be an opportunity to extend the role on a longer-term basis.

The Foxtrot team is seeking an experienced contractor with deep expertise in retail battery energy storage solutions, distributed energy resources, and utility markets. This individual will serve as a strategic and technical advisor to the venture team, helping identify customer opportunities, evaluate solution concepts, understand market dynamics, and translate battery capabilities into utility and customer value. The ideal candidate has experience working across battery vendors, developers, aggregators, utilities, virtual power plants (VPPs), DER programs, energy markets, or customer-sited energy solutions. They should be equally comfortable sharing early-stage solutions for feedback with potential target customers via customer interview.

Key Responsibilities

Customer & Market Discovery

• Conduct interviews with a range of utility stakeholders, residential customers, vendors, developers, aggregators, and industry experts
• Evaluate customer pain points and willingness to adopt battery-enabled solutions
• Identify emerging market opportunities in DERs, VPPs, microgrids, and flexible capacity services

Product & Business Model Development

• Develop and refine battery-related product/program concepts
• Assess ownership, operational, and financing structures
• Explore utility-owned, third-party-owned, and customer-owned deployment models
• Support development of commercialization and scaling strategies

Technical & Market Analysis

• Analyze battery capabilities, performance constraints, and deployment considerations
• Evaluate battery participation opportunities in CAISO, resource adequacy, demand flexibility, and other DER markets
• Assess opportunities for value stacking across utility and customer use cases

Strategy & Executive Support

• Prepare materials for governing executive board members
• Support development of business cases and investment recommendations
• Identify risks, dependencies, and scaling considerations

Required Experience

• 5 years of experience in BESS, DERs, distributed grid solutions, or related energy markets
• Demonstrated experience with customer-sited or distributed battery solutions
• Strong understanding of battery economics, value stacking, and deployment models
• Experience working with electric utilities, utility customers, energy developers, aggregators, or DER service providers
• Familiarity with wholesale and retail electricity markets
• Experience conducting market research, customer discovery, or product strategy work
• Strong analytical, presentation, and stakeholder engagement skills
• Proven ability to work in highly ambiguous, early-stage environments
• Ability to work within a consensus-driven environment

Nice-to-Have Experience

• Experience with California energy markets and regulatory environments
• Familiarity with CAISO, resource adequacy, demand response, and virtual power plant programs
• Experience working with large commercial and industrial energy customers
• Understanding of distribution planning, grid modernization, interconnection, or non-wires alternatives
• Experience in venture building, product management, management consulting, innovation programs, or startup environments
• Experience developing utility-scale or behind-the-meter battery products

Required Skills

• Adept at customer discovery and identifying customer needs through interviews
• Familiarity with batteries and other distributed energy resources
• Nimble and comfortable operating in an ambiguous and fast-paced environment

Benefits

• Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance Plans
• 401k Retirement Fund

Important Notes

• Only a client laptop will be provided; no monitors are included. Candidates may start on a personal device or vendor-provided device if the client laptop is delayed.
• Open to both local and non-local (including out-of-state) candidates.

About the Client

This client is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric energy utilities in the United States, delivering energy to approximately 16 million people across a 70,000-square-mile service area spanning northern and central California. With roughly 25,000 employees, the organization operates some of the most complex energy infrastructure in the country transmission lines, pipelines, substations, and generation facilities that keep homes, businesses, and communities powered every day. As the energy sector undergoes rapid transformation, this organization is at the center of it, managing the intersection of traditional infrastructure and emerging clean energy solutions creating genuine opportunities for engineers, technologists, tradespeople, product managers, business analysts, and data professionals alike.

About GTT

GTT is a minority-owned staffing firm and a subsidiary of Chenega Corporation, a Native American-owned company in Alaska. We highly value diverse and inclusive workplaces and support Fortune 500 organizations across banking, financial services, technology, life sciences, biotech, utilities, and retail sectors throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Job Number: 26-12460

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