About the Position:
The Sales Engineering & Energy Markets Manager position is within the Fluence Digital business unit, formed following Fluence’s acquisition of San Francisco-based start-up Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS). Fluence Digital’s Mosaic™ software is an algorithmic BESS optimization and auto-bidding system that uses machine learning techniques, advanced price forecasting, operations research principles, and portfolio optimization to algorithmically trade energy storage assets within wholesale electricity markets. Following the successful commercialization of the Mosaic software in the US and Australian wholesale electricity markets, Fluence has localized its Mosaic software for entry into the Japanese markets.
The Fluence Digital Sales Engineering & Energy Markets team operates at the nexus of business development, technology development, and the deployment of Fluence Digital’s technology to operational assets. The Sales Engineering & Energy Markets Manager will play a central role in commercializing Fluence’s Mosaic software and service offering for the Japanese market by supporting the sales process with data-driven analysis, electricity market expertise, and a solutions-oriented attitude.
The position will report to the APAC Director of Sales Engineering & Energy Markets and will work closely alongside and in support of the Japan-based Business Development team. This position will also collaborate closely with cross-functional stakeholders in Fluence Digital’s Business Development, Product Management, Data Science, Marketing, and Account Management teams.
Key Responsibilities:
The Sales Engineering & Energy Markets Manager will support the commercialization of the Mosaic software in Japan by:
• Developing sales collateral that communicates Mosaic’s value proposition in Japan.
• Giving demos of the Mosaic software and explaining how it works, and the role it would play in helping to trade a customer’s BESS.
• Running back-casts, processing the results, and using them to create insights and proof points for use in the sales process.
• Providing potential customers with expertise and guidance on the techniques and approaches used to trade and operate BESS in the Japanese wholesale markets.
• Leading the generation of proposal templates for the Business Development team to leverage and leading any custom responses to tenders or RFPs.
• Engage with potential customers on issue / pain point clarification, root cause identification, and solution formulation.
• Identify unmet needs and customer pain points and work with the Product and Data Science team to develop new modules and functionalities.
• Assist with integration scoping and implementation to effectively deploy the Mosaic software to customer’s energy storage assets. This will involve an interest in and familiarity with the types of IT systems that BESS traders and aggregators use to interface with the wholesale markets in Japan. The Sales Engineering & Energy Markets Manager is not responsible for executing the technical development or establishment of systems integrations (the Fluence Engineering team will lead technical work) but the Sales Engineering & Energy Markets Manager will need to identify and agree the method for integration and the data to be exchanged, in close consultation with the customer and the Fluence Engineering team.
• Act as subject matter expert on electricity market operations with thorough understanding of market rules, market systems, and bidding and dispatch procedures.
• Supporting the establishment of operational teams and capabilities while providing a seamless customer experience when handing new customers over to operational teams.
Business travel may be up to 25%, to provide in-person support with field sales initiatives regionally and on occasion, globally.
This position will be based in Japan and will require fluency in the Japanese language and proficiency in English, a willingness to wear multiple hats in a start-up environment, and the desire to help shape the commercialization of an innovative new product that supports Japan’s energy transition.
What will our ideal candidate bring to Fluence?
• 8+ years of experience working in the Japanese wholesale electricity markets, ideally in a market-operations role at an aggregator, generator, or BESS operator, with hands-on experience trading and operating physical assets in the wholesale markets.
• Familiarity with BESS, how they operate on the power system, and how they interface with the Japanese wholesale markets.
• Familiarity with physical electricity trading in Japan, and the role that traders play in the operation of the wholesale markets and the power system.
• Strong understanding of Japanese electricity market structures & regulatory frameworks.
• Intimate understanding of electricity market design and market operations, including concepts such as bidding, frequency control, gate closures, and participation of use-limited resources.
• Strong communication skills, ability to distill complex and nuanced information into clear summaries for collaborators (e.g., influencing product requirements).
• Business proficiency in both English and Japanese.
• A problem-solving attitude, willingness to wear multiple hats, ability to work dynamically with a diverse set of internal and external stakeholders, and ability and thrive amidst the opportunities and uncertainties at the start-up phase of a business with high growth potential.
• An interest in BESS trading and operations, in contributing to the growth of the BESS industry in Japan, and advancing the role BESS will play in supporting Japan’s energy transition.
