Vice President of Business Development
Watt Fuel Cell
New York
Company Description
Watt Fuel Cell (WATT) is a leading Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) technology developer that produces quiet
and efficient energy solutions for applications that range from portable power (e.g. RVs and boats) to
commercial power (e.g. remote oil & gas) to distributed generation. The company’s fuel cells can operate
on common, readily available fuels such as propane, natural gas, and biogas, as well as hydrogen.
WATT’s mission is to provide portable, quiet, light, efficient, affordable and environmentally responsible
energy solutions to a range of power markets with its superior hybrid power products and advanced
manufacturing capabilities. It has recently obtained additional expansion funding and has added Travis
Bradford as the Chairman of the Board to support management, external engagement, and business
development efforts for the company.
Role Description
Watt Fuel Cell is hiring for a Vice President of Business Development (VP of BD) to join its leadership
team. Given the organization’s stage, the VP of BD is expected to lead go-to-market efforts beginning
with ground-level pilot customer acquisition and extending to large-scale channel partner sales. The VP of
BD is expected to sign 10-12 new pilot channel agreements in the first year and convert those clients into
major accounts. Beyond the pilot/demonstration phase, the VP of BD is expected to develop and execute
the company’s go-to-market strategy to play a disruptive role in the energy industry.
Given the company’s early commercial stage, the VP of BD’s responsibilities will be broad. Initial
responsibilities will include:
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Lead generation: leverage existing relationships and build new relationships with key accounts in
target segments.
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Channel development and consultative demonstrations: build relationships with pilot channel
partners (OEMs, resellers, distributors, and direct customers) to understand needs, outline a clear
value proposition, and build the foundation for a long-term strategic partnership.
Solutions engineering: collaborate closely with customers to test and validate load shapes and
product requirements against WATT’s product capabilities.
Product management: collaborate with WATT engineering team to ensure customer feedback is
incorporated back into product design.
Product marketing: develop compelling collateral and define a structured sales process to support
a larger sales team as the company matures. Understand competitive and customer landscape to
inform customer segmentation, targeting, and positioning.
Account management: serve as primary relationship manager for channel partners and
customers.
Compensation will be a mix of base salary and equity in a well-funded fuel cell technology player
positioned for fuel cell and energy industry leadership.
The role will be based in New York City, working closely with both the CEO and the Chairman.
Requirements
DNA
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Instinctively entrepreneurial with a transformational leadership mindset
Consultative, not transactional seller. Understands customer needs before presenting solutions.
Working fluency in engineering and technology to collaborate productively with the engineering
team on future product development WHILE ALSO experienced in communicating in the
customer’s language rather than internal jargon.
Understands client organizations’ buying processes and decision authorities.
Identifies, builds, and collaborates with champions throughout the buying process.
Process-oriented and able to formalize the sales process for future replication.
Executive presence with credibility to speak at the board and investor level, not just on sales
strategy but on company strategy.
Natural entrepreneur. Capable of making order out of chaos to build something new.
Experience
• 10+ years’ experience in an entrepreneurial context AND as part of a large, high-performing
organization, i.e. knows what “good” looks like at scale.
• Entrepreneurial business development experience.
• Energy experience required. Fluency in off-grid, mobile, residential, and commercial distributedscale applications preferred. Relevant areas of energy expertise might include a combination of
fuel cells, solar + storage systems, inverter technology, battery technology, and small distributed
generation.
• Existing relationships at potential target accounts would be beneficial.
Motivation
• Entrepreneurial desire to take from an organization from pilot phase to full-scale
commercialization.
• Must be interested in working across the sales funnel, from lead gen to close in a resource-light
start-up environment.
• Interested in broader go-to-market and product leadership beyond transactional selling.
• Looking to wear many hats on a lean commercial team.
Please apply at https://app.talentresponse.com/jobs/vp-of-business-development---fuel-celltechnology/191. Please submit your resume in the “Basic Profile” section. You are encouraged to submit
video or written responses to the questions in the job post, “VP of Business Development - Fuel Cell
Technology.”
For access to a 15-minute video highlighting WATT’s value proposition and the attributes it seeks in a VP
of BD, please email [email protected].
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