Innovation Associate III

Duquesne Light Company•Pittsburgh, PA

13d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Innovation Associate III partners with all business functions to bring new processes, technologies, and ways of working to DLC to benefit our customers and employees. This position will execute innovation initiatives to address critical needs across the organization with a primary focus on leveraging emerging technologies, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence. The Innovation Associate will identify solutions and manage project lifecycles including piloting and scaling new opportunities. This position will help design and manage internal processes, including identifying organizational needs and project execution, to maximize the value of innovation. In addition, this role will inform the culture of the Innovation Center, focus area prioritization, governance, and continuous feedback and improvement. The Innovation Associate will also develop and manage external relationships to help our business grow and our employees stay safe.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent degree required
Three years’ related work experience required
Experience in leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision-making, or problem-solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI's potential impact on the function or industry
Demonstrated ability to work with a vast array of stakeholders and coordinate with cross-functional teams
Strong communicator with the ability to deliver presentations to diverse stakeholders
Analytical capabilities, including ability to identify and develop hypotheses and find/use/apply data
Project management abilities - highly organized, detailed oriented
Self-directed problem solver with ability to manage ambiguity
Technical proficiency in potential innovation areas (e.g., image analytics, distributed energy technologies, asset management, robotics, automation and AI, etc.) and approaches (e.g., design thinking, lean startup, etc.)

Nice To Haves

Educational background in information technology or engineering preferred
Exposure to emerging technology, product development, information technology preferred
Knowledge of software applications and data analytics in the energy/utilities industry preferred
Ideal: Experience in operationally intense industry, experience with project or program management

Responsibilities

Manage innovation initiatives from inception to execution including piloting new technology or process: Manage idea intake , including soliciting & defining innovation ideas that address organizational needs by partnering with internal stakeholders
Research & validate possible solutions with SMEs to meet user requirements with a clearly demonstrated value proposition.
Procure & prepare pilot plan with vendors and internal stakeholders to cost-effectively validate internal requirements, solution capabilities & use cases applications.
Execute pilot to defined test plan and within procured scope.
Monitor, report & iterate as needed with DLC stakeholders, Evaluate capability to implement with DLC stakeholders, develop and validate business case to operationalize solution.
Monitor and refine innovation metrics to drive accountability and measure success
Consult on new products and services, from concept development, validation, and go-to-market, to achieve revenue growth through innovation.
Research & identify innovative solutions to address complex challenges: Develop technology landscapes and roadmaps through market research, technology scouting, and peer benchmarking.
Track AI advancements, industry trends, and solution landscape to identify opportunities for continuous improvement, expansion, and broader AI use cases.
Define needs & requirements across company safety, system, operational, technical, and business challenges that might be addressed by innovation.
Facilitate ideation sessions leveraging Human Centered Design to identify organizational priorities and support breakthrough thinking.
Develop actionable analysis & business cases to support implementation of prioritized projects.
Provide thought leadership and valuable insights to business functions on competitive landscape, market trends, insights and themes.
Manage & prioritize innovation opportunities to maintain a high value project pipeline and backlog.
Produce clear reporting & documentation for innovation opportunities.
Engage external vendors and service providers to evaluate technology maturity, develop and manage pilot scopes to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery of services
Demonstrate excellent project management skills by ensuring projects are delivered on time, on budget, and with strategic impact
Provide training & coaching to develop innovation capabilities across business units through workshops and championing employees.
Support change management initiatives, as appropriate, to foster a culture of acceptance, openness and collaboration
Engage senior leadership to review & govern scope and objectives of innovation-related work.
Maintain ecosystem of third-party, industry, academic & peer resources to leverage for research engagements and resourcing requirements with DLC stakeholders.
Contribute to an inclusive and supportive high-performance environment with an emphasis on excellence, team building, coaching, feedback and employee development
Perform other job-related duties as assigned
Storm role duties as assigned
Utilize data to make business decisions as appropriate for the position, support data stewardship activities and partner with IT on underlying data needs.