Commercialization Manager

The Opportunity We're hiring a VPP Commercialization Manager to own the economic and financial engine behind Rhythm's residential battery-based VPP and future DER programs. This is a rare, high-impact role at the intersection of energy systems modeling, project finance, and product commercialization. You will take work that our Head of VPP has been doing personally—modeling how batteries and distributed assets create value, designing investor-ready capital structures, and translating those into real products—and turn it into a dedicated, institutional-grade capability that scales with hundreds of millions in capital deployment. This role doesn't fit neatly into "finance," "analytics," or "product"—it's all three. You'll build complex models from scratch, work with Portfolio and Product teams to shape VPP economics, and represent Rhythm in discussions with investors committing $100–$500M into our programs. If you're the type who can start from first principles, synthesize inputs from engineers and traders, build a model others trust as fact, and then explain it clearly to a CFO or institutional investor—this role was designed for you. What You'll Do Own the VPP Economic Engine (40%) Build and maintain institutional-grade financial and operational models for Rhythm's residential battery VPP programs Model how batteries and solar behave in the real world: asset performance, customer load, dispatch decisions, degradation, and portfolio-level cash flows Run scenario analysis across multiple future paths: wholesale price volatility, customer enrollment, incentive changes, grid program evolution Work with Portfolio/Risk & Supply Management to translate raw data into assumptions, sensitivities, and stress tests Bridge the gap between idealized spreadsheet models and messy real-world performance Design Scalable, Bankable Business Models (30%) Translate VPP value streams into capital structures that attract third-party investors: tax equity, debt, sponsor equity, lease structures Model investor return profiles (IRR, cash yield, downside scenarios) for deals in the $100–$500M range Quantify how value is shared between Rhythm, customers, and capital providers across different structures Ensure models are investor-ready: support diligence, capital raises, and IC decisions with clear, defensible analysis Identify key drivers of portfolio performance and risk; make clear recommendations on go/no-go economics Shape VPP Pricing and Product Economics (20%) Partner with Portfolio, Product, and Marketing to design customer offers that reflect wholesale, retail, and grid-service value streams Incorporate regional incentives, tax credits (ITC/PTC), tariffs, and market-specific constraints into pricing strategy Run sensitivities on market prices, customer behavior, asset utilization—translate findings into actionable pricing guidance Help evaluate new markets and programs: "If we launch in New York instead of Texas, here's how the economics change" Support Investor Engagement and Cross-Functional Launches (10%) Prepare analysis, materials, and answers for investor and capital-provider diligence processes Serve as credible counterpart once introductions are made: explain economics, risks, mechanics in detail Collaborate with Marketing, Sales, Operations, Engineering, and external partners on new offering launches Refine program elements as regulations, incentives, and markets evolve What You Bring Required Experience & Domain Knowledge 7–12 years in energy, distributed energy resources, infrastructure finance, or closely related fields Proven track record of building complex financial/operational models from scratch that drive real decisions (investment, product, portfolio) Hands-on experience with DERs: batteries, solar, VPPs, demand response, or similar energy systems—you understand how these assets actually behave, not just how they look in a spreadsheet Wholesale electricity market fluency: strong preference for ERCOT; experience with other ISOs/RTOs (PJM, CAISO, MISO, SPP) acceptable if you can learn ERCOT quickly Commercial or capital-markets orientation: you've translated technical analysis into business cases, pricing strategies, or investment recommendations Required Skills Expert-level financial modeling: institutional-grade Excel skills for project and portfolio models, scenario analysis, sensitivities, and cash-flow waterfalls Structured problem-solving: you start from first principles, build iteratively, and deliver analysis others rely on as the single source of truth Data fluency: comfortable extracting, cleaning, analyzing data; working knowledge of SQL, Python/R, or BI tools to support core models Investor-grade communication: ability to explain assumptions, risks, and economics clearly to leadership, investors, and capital providers Required Mindset Intrapreneurial: comfortable building new processes and structures from scratch in ambiguous, fast-moving environments Systems thinker: enjoys working with engineers, traders, product managers, and executives to assemble the full picture High ownership and reliability: leaders feel they can trust your work as fact because of the rigor and care you bring Nice-to-Have (Strongly Preferred) Prior experience at VPP operators, battery/storage OEMs, DER aggregators, or advanced retailers in roles like VPP innovation, market development, or grid services Exposure to tax equity structures (ITC/PTC), project finance, or DER lease portfolios Engineering, physics, or industrial engineering background with subsequent move into commercial/finance roles Success in the First 6 Months You'll know you're winning when: Your VPP economic model becomes the reference point for investment decisions, pricing, and product design—trusted by portfolio teams, leadership, and investors Investors express confidence in Rhythm's economics and are willing to commit capital based on your analysis You surface clear insights on portfolio performance drivers and risks that lead to concrete product, pricing, or capital-structure decisions Leadership sees you as the go-to expert on VPP economics: "We can trust what they say as fact"