Commercial Co-founder, Grid flexibility and virtual power plants

About this role

Join us to build a venture that makes grid flexibility and virtual power plants (VPPs) operate at scale, unlocking the full value of distributed renewable energy for the grid, for markets and for the planet. We are seeking applications from experienced industry or startup professionals, ideally with deep commercial domain expertise in energy markets, grid flexibility or VPP operations, and a keen interest in founding and scaling an impact-driven, high-growth company from the ground up. The Opportunity Deep Science Ventures is building a new climate tech venture to solve the coordination bottleneck that prevents virtual power plants from scaling across markets, asset types and time-horizons. Virtual power plants aggregate distributed energy resources (batteries, solar, EVs, heat pumps, flexible loads) and coordinate them to participate in energy markets and provide grid services. Today, the industry relies on optimisation methods (MPC, rule-based dispatch) that: Break down at scale (~500+ DERs) due to combinatorial computational growth; Rely on imperfect forecasts over short time-horizons and must be resolved daily; Require centralised pooling of sensitive operational data from every resource; Leave significant revenue on the table through poor cross-device and cross-market coordination. We are building a fundamentally new approach to VPP coordination using multi-agent reinforcement learning, operated over a distributed network of grid-aware compute nodes. Each device in the fleet learns its own optimal dispatch strategy while sharing coordination knowledge across the portfolio to deliver better economics, faster onboarding and privacy-preserving operation at scales that current methods cannot reach. Near-instant model inference allows operators to extract far more information from their operational data, allowing them to model increasingly complex "what if" scenarios and adapt to increasingly volatile grid conditions. The technology is validated through PhD research and outperforms industry-standard MILP/MPC optimization in simulation. The opportunity is global: rapid DER growth across the US, UK, and Europe is creating wholesale, balancing, ancillary service, and flexibility markets with layered revenue opportunities for coordinated dispatch. Every major market faces the same scaling bottleneck. We are now seeking a Commercial Co-Founder to partner with our technical founder and take this venture from formation through Series A and beyond. This is a ground-floor opportunity to build a company at the centre of the energy transition, creating the software and compute infrastructure that will underpin how distributed energy participates in markets as the grid decentralises.

The Role As Commercial Co-Founder, you will own the venture's commercial strategy and execution from day one. Working hand-in-hand with the technical founder, you will: Validate market demand and define target customer segments across VPP operators, aggregators and flexibility providers; Build early customer, supplier and strategic partnerships with operators scaling their DER portfolios; Secure commercial proof points (LOIs, MOUs, pilot agreements) with VPP operators facing scaling or onboarding challenges; Lead fundraising from pre-seed through Series A, targeting climate tech and energy-focused investors; Shape pricing, go-to-market strategy, and long-term commercial positioning across SaaS, performance-based and professional services revenue streams; Navigate energy market regulation and grid code compliance in target geographies (US ISO/RTO markets, UK Ofgem/G99, European ACER frameworks or similar); This is a deeply hands-on role. You will personally develop customer relationships, negotiate early agreements and help build financial and techno-economic models. As the company grows, you will recruit and lead the commercial function.

Location: Hybrid (US, UK, or Europe) Commitment: Part-time initially → Full-time post venture incorporation and spin-out (target Q3 2026) Equity: Meaningful founder equity + competitive salary post-incorporation Requirements Must-Have Experience: Previous experience in either a startup/early-stage company environment or leading commercial scale-up in energy, grid, and/or flexibility markets; A track record in fundraising from VC, grant writing, grant management and building commercial partnerships; Exposure to energy market regulation and grid code compliance processes in at least one major market (US ISO/RTO, UK, or European); A strong network across relevant industries such as VPP operators, aggregators, energy traders, utilities, DNOs/DSOs, ISO/RTOs or DER equipment manufacturers. Essential Capabilities: Lead customer discovery to identify and prioritise target markets. From initial outreach with target customers through to binding pilot agreements, you will refine and deliver upon value propositions based on market feedback; Identify and secure strategic partnerships with VPP operators, flexibility providers, utilities, DNOs/DSOs, and DER equipment vendors (battery manufacturers, EV charger companies, heat pump installers); Co-develop and maintain techno-economic models, pricing strategy and financial models with the founding team, and lead commercial negotiations and contract structuring; Lead fundraising efforts with commercial due diligence materials, building investor relationships and communicating commercial progress; Demonstrated B2B sales and business development experience, ideally in energy, grid services or flexibility markets, with a track record from cold outreach to signed agreements; Willingness to operate across strategic and administrative tasks, with resilience, strong self-direction and ability to thrive in uncertain environments; Excellent communication skills with the ability to build credibility across diverse stakeholders (VPP operators, utilities, grid operators, energy traders, investors) and work collaboratively with a technical co-founder; Ability to…