Manager, Emporia VPP Project Delivery

Reporting to: Justin Bliffen, Chief Operating Officer

Location: Hybrid / Remote - Ideally Colorado home state, Multi-state travel required to CT, MA, ME, and CO initially; additional markets as the program expands

Employment: Full-time, Exempt

Start Target: As soon as possible; no later than April 30, 2026 (urgent, tasks already in motion)

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About Emporia

Mission and Vision

Emporia was founded in 2018 with a clear purpose to revolutionize home energy, generate tangible customer savings, and accelerate the transition to a lower carbon future. We are striving to become the world's leading home energy management platform and build the largest virtual power plant.

Values:

• Customers First: We deliver exceptional service with empathy and responsiveness, building lasting trust in every interaction.
• Own the Outcome: We think like owners, taking responsibility for results and holding ourselves and each other accountable.
• Win Together: We succeed together through honesty, humility and humanity.
• Grit Gets it Done: We work hard, stay passionate, and persevere through challenges.
• Better Every Day: We challenge the status quo, take smart risks and aim to improve 1% every day.

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About the Role

You are the Grid Navigator. A battery on a wall is a liability. A battery with Permission to Operate (PTO) is a revenue-generating asset generating meaningful revenue per year in VPP grid services revenue. Your job is to close that gap as fast as possible, in four states simultaneously.

You will own the end-to-end permitting and utility interconnection process for Emporia’s battery deployment program — from documenting AHJ requirements and engaging fire marshals to submitting interconnection applications and relentlessly following up with utilities until PTO is in hand. You will do this for Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and Colorado simultaneously, against aggressive deadlines, with no slack in the schedule.

This role requires someone who has done this before — who has navigated Connecticut’s fire code environment, who knows the difference between Eversource and National Grid interconnection processes in Massachusetts, and who understands that the relationship with an AHJ inspector is worth as much as the paperwork. You bring the expertise. AI amplifies your reach.

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Key Responsibilities

Permitting & AHJ Management

• Research, document, and maintain permitting requirements for residential battery storage installations across all target jurisdictions in CT, MA, ME, and CO initially and likely other markets soon
• Proactively initiate and manage AHJ pre-approval relationships in each market — building personal connections with inspectors and fire marshals before the first application is submitted
• Own and actively manage Connecticut fire code risk (DR-001), working with the engaged consultant to ensure Emporia’s E60 battery meets local fire marshal requirements and that pre-approval is obtained before June launch
• Identify and respond to AHJ-specific requirements — fire setbacks, spacing rules, emergency access provisions, equipment placement restrictions — and integrate these into the installation playbook
• Track permit application status across all active installations and drive resolution of outstanding items before they become deployment blockers

Utility Interconnection

• Confirm technical and procedural interconnection requirements for each target utility: Eversource (CT/MA), United Illuminating (CT), National Grid (MA), Central Maine Power / Versant (ME), and Xcel Energy (CO), and others
• Assess interconnection processing timelines per utility and produce a risk-adjusted deployment schedule that flags where 30–90 day processing windows threaten the June 1 or other near term launches
• Prepare and submit interconnection application packages for all target installations, ensuring packages meet each utility’s technical specifications
• Actively manage Colorado’s Xcel eligibility tool dependency — maintaining direct contact with Xcel to obtain tool access and escalating when delivery commitments are blocked
• Build and maintain relationships with utility DER and interconnection staff who can compress timelines, surface informal guidance early, and escalate stuck applications
• Track all submitted applications through utility review and flag risks to the deployment readiness gate timeline

VPP Program Enrollment

• Coordinate enrollment in state and utility VPP / demand response programs as a prerequisite for each market launch:
  • Massachusetts: ConnectedSolutions (ConnSol) and Clean Peak Energy Standard
  • Maine: Efficiency Maine storage incentive and demand response programs
  • Colorado: Xcel Energy VPP / demand response program (contingent on eligibility tool)
  • Connecticut: Eversource and UI demand response program requirements
  • Others to follow
• Document enrollment requirements, eligibility criteria, and processing timelines for each program, and ensure enrollment is confirmed before the deployment readiness gate for each market

Permitting Infrastructure & Documentation

• Build and maintain a state-by-state regulatory database: AHJ contacts, permit fees, application templates, fire code references, and utility interconnection requirements — structured so agents and future team members can execute against it
• Develop standardized permit application packages and single-line diagram templates for each target state that can be adapted for individual home installations with minimal manual effort
• Own the permitting and interconnection section of the deployment readiness gate checklist for each market
• Build a follow-up and status tracking system that surfaces overdue applications and prompts action before timelines slip

AI-Native Operations Expectations

Emporia is transitioning to an AI-engineer model. This role is expected to build and supervise AI-assisted agent workflows — not just execute tasks.

• Experienced and/or willing to adapt AI skills in everyday workflow
• Build AI-assisted workflows for installer candidate research, vetting, and scorecard generation across target markets
• Use AI tooling to draft playbook content, training materials, market-specific adaptations, and contract templates — then own the review and finalization
• Implement agent-assisted job dispatch and quality monitoring that allows one person to manage volume that would traditionally require two or three operations coordinators
• Design the workflows you build today to scale with AI assistance, so the operational model does not require proportional headcount growth as installation volume increases

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Required Skills & Experience

• 4–8 years in residential or light commercial solar or battery storage permitting and interconnection, with direct, hands-on experience submitting and managing applications
• Direct experience in at least two of the four target states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, or Colorado — with working knowledge of local AHJ processes, utility interconnection procedures, and relevant electrical codes
• Personal relationships or demonstrated ability to build relationships with AHJ inspectors, fire marshals, and utility interconnection personnel
• Direct knowledge of Connecticut’s residential battery storage permitting environment, including fire code requirements — this is the highest-risk market and the first launch state
• Experience with utility interconnection processes at Eversource, National Grid, or Xcel Energy specifically
• Strong organizational discipline: you manage multiple open applications across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously without anything slipping
• Genuine comfort with AI productivity tools and documented adoption of technology to extend individual capacity

Strongly Preferred

• Experience with EG4, Tesla Powerwall, Enphase, or comparable battery storage product permitting — including knowledge of UL 9540 and UL 9540A fire safety documentation used in AHJ submissions
• Familiarity with VPP or demand response program enrollment processes in New England or Colorado utility territories
• Experience working alongside an installer network where permitting responsibilities are shared between Emporia and third-party electrical contractors
• Working knowledge of single-line diagram preparation for residential battery storage interconnection packages
• ConnSol, Clean Peak, or Efficiency Maine program experience

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The Urgency

This role has an immediate start requirement. AHJ engagement in Connecticut (fire code risk DR-001) and interconnection timeline assessments in all four markets are already past their planned start dates. Utility processing windows run 30–90 days, and applications that are not submitted by mid-May cannot be approved in time for a June 1 launch. The first task on your calendar is a call with a fire marshal. The second is a Xcel Energy interconnection inquiry. If you are the right person for this role, that does not intimidate you — it is why you want it.

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What We Offer

💰 Compensation:  The expected base salary range is $100,000 - $150,000, plus stock options. The offered salary will depend on numerous factors, including but not limited to work experience, skills, location and internal equity considerations. The base salary does not include benefits or other incentives.

🏥 Benefits: medical/dental/vision insurance, 401(k), employee stock option program, paid holidays plus unlimited PTO, discounts on Emporia products and partner offerings.

📈 Career Growth: Be part of a fast-growing company at the forefront of home energy innovation.

Emporia Energy is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, service in the military, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state or local laws. We will make reasonable accommodations for any qualified applicant with a disability, provided that the individual is otherwise qualified to safely perform the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation and that the accommodation would not impose an undue hardship on the operation of our business. Please let us know if you believe you require reasonable accommodation, or if you would like assistance to complete an application or to participate in an interview at the company.

New employees will be required to successfully complete a background check.

Any communication to applicants relating to the Emporia Energy hiring process will only come from email addresses with the domains emporiaenergy.com or no-reply@us.greenhouse-mail.io. If in the course of the application or hiring process with Emporia Energy you are contacted through another domain, are requested to provide banking or other sensitive information, or you note any other suspicious activity, please contact cybersecurity@emporiaenergy.com.