Technical Business Development Strategist – Distribution

Electric Power Engineers • Austin, TX

2d • Remote

About The Position

We are designing the grid of the future! As a Technical Business Development Strategist – Distribution, you will bridge deep utility and engineering expertise with market strategy and business development to help EPE identify, shape, and pursue meaningful opportunities across Distribution Planning, Distribution Design, and Grid Modernization. This is not a traditional sales role. You will bring first-hand technical and utility experience to understand the challenges our clients face, identify where EPE can provide value, and engage utility leaders as a credible technical partner. You will work closely with EPE’s Distribution leaders and Business Development team to evaluate markets, research utilities, identify the right stakeholders, develop targeted account strategies, and translate client challenges into actionable opportunities and scopes of work. You will stay connected to engineering practices and industry developments while building relationships with utility managers, directors, engineers, and executives. Success in this role means helping EPE pursue the right clients, with the right services, at the right time, for the right reasons.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Power Systems Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
• 7+ years of experience within the electric utility industry, engineering consulting, or a closely related power systems environment.
• Significant hands-on experience in one or more areas of distribution engineering, including Distribution Planning, Distribution Design, Grid Modernization, DER integration, reliability, resiliency, asset management, distribution operations, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience working directly with electric utilities and an understanding of how utility engineering, operations, planning, regulatory, procurement, and leadership organizations interact.
• Experience developing technical scopes, proposals, study plans, engineering recommendations, or similar client deliverables.
• Demonstrated ability to establish credibility and communicate effectively with technical and non-technical utility stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of electric distribution systems and the technical, operational, and investment challenges facing utilities.
• Working knowledge of distribution planning methodologies, design practices, grid modernization initiatives, reliability and resiliency, DER integration, electrification, load growth, asset strategy, and emerging distribution technologies.
• Ability to understand regulatory filings, utility plans, capital programs, industry publications, and other sources of market intelligence and identify implications for EPE’s services.
• Ability to connect regulatory, technical, operational, and investment drivers to specific client needs and potential consulting opportunities.
• Ability to translate complex utility challenges into well-defined technical scopes of work.
• Strong research and analytical capabilities, with the ability to synthesize information from multiple sources into actionable client and market strategies.
• Strong consultative communication skills and the ability to engage naturally with utility engineers, managers, directors, and executives.
• Ability to independently research target accounts, identify appropriate stakeholders, develop engagement strategies, and advance opportunities.
• Strong technical writing skills with the ability to develop proposals, scopes of work, presentations, and client-facing materials.
• Ability to work collaboratively across Business Development and multiple technical Lines of Business while independently driving assigned strategies and initiatives.
• Demonstrated curiosity and ability to uncover client needs through thoughtful technical and strategic questioning.
• Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to develop trust through technical credibility rather than traditional sales techniques.
• Willingness and ability to travel to client meetings, conferences, industry events, and EPE offices as needed.

Nice To Haves

• 10+ years of electric utility or power systems consulting experience.
• Prior employment with an electric utility in distribution engineering, planning, design, operations, grid modernization, or a related function.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license or advanced technical degree.
• Existing relationships within the electric utility industry and demonstrated ability to build new relationships across utility organizations.
• Experience with technical consulting, business development, account strategy, proposal development, or client advisory services.
• Experience interpreting utility regulatory filings, capital investment plans, distribution system plans, grid modernization filings, or similar strategic documents.
• Demonstrated understanding of how emerging technologies, regulatory requirements, load growth, DER adoption, reliability expectations, resiliency needs, and utility investment priorities are changing distribution systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop a strong understanding of the distribution utility market and identify where EPE’s Distribution Planning, Distribution Design, and Grid Modernization capabilities align with current and emerging utility needs.
• Conduct targeted research on utilities, including capital plans, regulatory filings, integrated and distribution system plans, rate cases, reliability and resiliency initiatives, grid modernization programs, DER and load growth, infrastructure investments, and other market signals.
• Monitor regulatory, policy, technology, and industry developments and translate them into potential business opportunities for EPE.
• Identify utilities facing challenges or investments that align with EPE’s capabilities and develop a clear rationale for why, when, and how EPE should engage.
• Develop data-informed target client lists and business development strategies in partnership with Distribution leadership and the broader Business Development organization.
• Help establish meaningful business development goals based on addressable market opportunities, client needs, historical performance, market intelligence, and anticipated utility investment.
• Identify emerging service opportunities and provide market feedback to Distribution leadership to help shape EPE’s future offerings and capabilities.
• Serve as a technically credible representative of EPE in conversations with utility engineers, managers, directors, and executives.
• Engage clients in meaningful technical discussions to understand their systems, priorities, operational challenges, planning needs, resource constraints, and future initiatives.
• Translate client challenges into potential EPE solutions across Distribution Planning, Distribution Design, and Grid Modernization.
• Ask informed technical and business questions that uncover needs beyond the immediate request and identify opportunities for broader or longer-term support.
• Communicate EPE’s technical capabilities in a way that connects engineering services directly to the client’s business, operational, regulatory, and reliability objectives.
• Build trusted relationships with utility stakeholders by demonstrating technical knowledge, industry awareness, curiosity, and an understanding of utility operations.
• Support early-stage technical discussions and help shape opportunities before they become formal procurements or RFPs.
• Research target utilities to identify key decision-makers, influencers, technical leaders, procurement stakeholders, and other individuals relevant to EPE’s services.
• Leverage industry experience, professional networks, EPE relationships, employee backgrounds, industry organizations, and other available resources to identify meaningful paths into target accounts.
• Partner with Business Development Managers and Account Managers to develop coordinated outreach and account strategies.
• Determine the appropriate stakeholders for specific EPE capabilities and help secure technically meaningful client conversations.
• Develop account-specific engagement plans that define target stakeholders, client challenges, relevant EPE services, market drivers, relationship gaps, and recommended next actions.
• Expand relationships beyond individual points of contact to establish broader connectivity across engineering, planning, operations, asset management, procurement, regulatory, and executive organizations where appropriate.
• Support both white-space client development and expansion of EPE’s capabilities within existing utility accounts.
• Work directly with Distribution leadership and technical subject matter experts to convert identified client needs into qualified business opportunities.
• Help define preliminary scopes of work, technical approaches, deliverables, assumptions, schedules, and resource requirements based on client discussions.
• Develop substantial portions of proposals and scopes of work independently, with technical leadership providing final validation, detailed engineering input, and approval as appropriate.
• Lead or support proposal strategy, positioning, differentiators, win themes, and technical messaging for strategic pursuits.
• Participate in RFP reviews and bid/no-bid discussions by evaluating client relationships, technical fit, competitive positioning, market intelligence, and likelihood of success.
• Maintain continuity from initial market signal through client engagement, opportunity development, proposal, and handoff to the delivery organization.
• Capture and communicate client and market feedback to improve future proposals, service offerings, and business development strategies.
• Maintain sufficient technical involvement to remain current on distribution engineering practices, utility challenges, technologies, and evolving industry standards.
• Periodically support or participate in Distribution Planning, Distribution Design, and Grid Modernization studies or strategic technical initiatives to maintain practical knowledge of EPE’s work and capabilities.
• Collaborate with technical leaders and subject matter experts to understand new methodologies, tools, services, and lessons learned from project execution.
• Represent EPE at targeted industry conferences, technical forums, utility working groups, summits, and other strategic events.
• Use industry events as a source of market intelligence, relationship development, technical learning, and opportunity identification rather than solely as networking activities.
• Share relevant market, regulatory, competitive, and technical intelligence with Business Development and Distribution leadership.

Benefits

• Comprehensive health and wellness benefits including medical, dental, and vision with 100% premium coverage for you
• Generous PTO and paid holidays
• MyShare Employee Ownership Program
• Work with industry leaders
• 401K, up to a 4% match (100% vested from day 1)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior