Job description
We are looking for a strategic and technical Business Development Director to own and grow Gridware's commercial presence across the Central Region of the US. You will be the primary point of contact for all utilities from the Upper Midwest to the Gulf Coast, with a focus on investor-owned utilities, leading full-cycle enterprise sales efforts with a heavy technical emphasis. This is a high-impact individual contributor role - you will work cross-functionally with teams including customer success, sales engineering, regulatory affairs, revenue operations, and field operations to land and expand key accounts.
Responsibilities
Territory Ownership
- Own and manage a defined territory of investor-owned utilities across the Central U.S., including Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas, and neighboring states.
- Build and maintain a robust pipeline of qualified opportunities.
- Develop multi-threaded relationships across utility organizations - field, engineering, operations, asset management, grid modernization, and C-suite stakeholders.
Enterprise Sales Execution
- Drive complex, technical, multi-stakeholder sales cycles from initial outreach through contract execution, typically ~18 months in length.
- Lead discovery, technical presentations, pilot structuring, and commercial negotiations with support from revenue leadership.
- Develop account strategies and territory plans; bring a disciplined, process-driven approach to forecasting and pipeline management.
- Partner with sales engineering and regulatory teams to define pilots that ensure prospects experience clear, measurable value.
Market Development
- Represent Gridware at utility industry events and conferences (e.g., EEI, DistribuTECH) to build brand presence in the Central Region.
- Gather and synthesize market intelligence - customer needs, competitive dynamics, regulatory drivers - to inform product roadmap and GTM strategy.
- Work closely with marketing and product to develop region-specific messaging and materials.
Required Skills
- 7+ years of technical sales or consulting experience directly with electric utilities.
- Demonstrated ability to convey and respond to technical engineering questions without additional internal support.
- Deep familiarity with the investor-owned utility landscape - procurement processes, regulatory environments, and key stakeholders.
- Strong executive presence and ability to build trust with both senior leaders (VP/C-suite) as well as frontline individual contributors.
- Experience managing long-cycle, technically complex sales processes involving multiple stakeholders.
- Self-directed and resourceful; comfortable creating structure in an early-stage, fast-moving environment.
- Willingness to travel 40-50% within the Central Region.
Bonus Skills
- An engineering degree with 2+ years industry experience working with/for electric utilities on T&D planning/engineering projects.
- Professional engineering licensure.
- Experience selling hardware/software platform solutions (sensors, IoT, SaaS) into utilities or critical infrastructure.
- Knowledge of distribution grid operations, engineering, protection, asset management, or wildfire mitigation programs.
- Networked into several major Central Region IOUs.
This describes the ideal candidate; many of us have picked up this expertise along the way. Even if you meet only part of this list, we encourage you to apply!
Gridware Technologies Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.
Benefits
- Health, Dental & Vision (Gold and Platinum with some providers plans fully covered)
- Paid parental leave
- Alternating day off (every other Monday)
- "Off the Grid", a two week per year paid break for all employees.
- Commuter allowance
- Company-paid training
Pay & benefits
About this role
About Gridware
Company Overview
Gridware
HeadquartersCalifornia, United States
Founded2020
SizeApproximately 30 employees (source: businessinsider.com).
What They Do
Gridware is a pioneering startup focused on enhancing grid resilience through innovative technology. Their core offering, Active Grid Response (AGR), utilizes pole-mounted Gridscope sensors that monitor various conditions on distribution power lines in real-time. These sensors are powered by solar energy and communicate through device-to-device, cellular, and satellite networks, ensuring continuous operation regardless of grid voltage (source: gridware.io). The technology is designed to detect a range of issues, including vegetation contact, downed lines, and equipment failures, enabling utilities to perform predictive maintenance and dynamic de-energization to prevent wildfires and outages (source: cbsnews.com). Target markets include U.S. electric utilities, particularly in wildfire-prone areas like California and the Midwest, with plans for international expansion in the future (source: promptloop.com). Their products integrate seamlessly with utility operations management systems, covering over 90 million field hours and serving 40% of U.S. customers through partnerships (source: gridware.io).
Projects & Track Record
Gridware has successfully deployed approximately 13,000 sensors across eight states, particularly in California's high-risk wildfire areas, covering around 1,000 miles of power lines. Their technology has been credited with preventing wildfires, as evidenced by reports of alerts that stopped smoldering vegetation from igniting (source: cbsnews.com). Notable integrations include partnerships with PG&E for high impedance fault detection and a pilot project with Puget Sound Energy aimed at improving storm and wildfire repair prioritization. In one instance, a Northern California circuit experienced a 70% reduction in outage patrol times, while a Midwest utility saved 400,000 outage minutes across four circuits (source: gridware.io). Ongoing projects include a 2024 pilot with NorthWestern Energy in Montana City, focusing on real-time asset monitoring to mitigate wildfire risks (source: northwesternenergy.com).
Recent Developments
In the past two years, Gridware has raised significant funding to support its growth and expansion efforts. In 2024, they announced a $26.4 million Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital, following a $10.5 million seed extension in 2023 co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Fifty Years (source: gridware.io). This funding is aimed at enhancing their U.S. operations and preparing for international deployments. Additionally, Gridware has received recognition for its innovative technology, including being named one of Time magazine's Best Inventions in 2022 for their Gridscope sensors and having founders featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2023 (source: engineering.berkeley.edu). The company continues to deepen its partnerships with utilities, including a pilot program with NorthWestern Energy set for late 2024 (source: northwesternenergy.com).
Working There
Gridware offers a variety of engineering-focused roles, including positions in software engineering, electrical design engineering, data engineering, and technical recruiting. The company is built by linemen and engineers, reflecting a culture that emphasizes collaboration with field workers and a mission-driven approach to wildfire prevention (source: climatepeople.com). Hiring is concentrated at their Bay Area headquarters, where they are rapidly expanding their team to support sensor production and deployment efforts. The culture at Gridware is described as rigorous and mission-oriented, with a strong focus on achieving real-world results, such as the significant field hours logged by their technology (source: gridware.io). While specific employee benefits are not detailed in the sources, the venture-backed nature of the company suggests competitive startup perks may be available (source: cbsnews.com).
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