NRG is hiring a Director, Venture Design & Product Innovation Delivery to serve as the internal execution owner and orchestrator for our Enterprise Innovation team. You will be accountable for translating validated ideas into ventures, offerings, platforms, services, and new business models by coordinating cross-functional teams and external partners, owning end-to-end execution from design sprint through to transition for scaling.
What You'll Do
- Serve as the single point of accountability for concept-to-pilot execution across the Enterprise Innovation portfolio.
- Orchestrate internal contributors and external partners to deliver outcomes efficiently and with high quality.
- Define execution strategies, delivery models, roles, and decision rights for each initiative.
- Ensure clarity of scope, success metrics, risks, dependencies, and governance alignment.
- Step in directly when needed to unblock progress, validate assumptions, or accelerate delivery.
- Apply Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design methodologies to understand user needs and business contexts.
- Lead structured design sprints, customer discovery, ethnographic research synthesis, journey mapping, and rapid experimentation.
- Own translation of opportunity theses into testable venture, solution, and operating model hypotheses.
- Establish disciplined experimentation practices, learning agendas, and insight capture.
- Own the roadmap from prototype to MVP, defining execution strategies with external build partners and internal technology teams.
- Lead development of venture and solution requirements, experience flows, technical scopes, and delivery plans.
- Lead vendor selection, onboarding, performance management, and financial stewardship.
- Design and lead pilots in partnership with business and operational leaders.
- Ensure pilots are instrumented with measurable outcomes, operational readiness criteria, and adoption plans.
- Develop transition plans for successful concepts into operational ownership.
- Support handoff into scale organizations and governance forums.
- Partner on portfolio prioritization, sequencing, investment decisions, and capacity planning.
- Maintain transparent reporting on execution progress, risks, financials, learnings, and value realization.
- Continuously improve playbooks, templates, and operating rhythms for repeatable innovation execution.
- Build trusted partnerships across the enterprise and external ecosystem.
- Represent initiatives in executive reviews, steering committees, and governance forums.
What We're Looking For
- 10+ years’ experience in product leadership, venture development, innovation delivery, or related fields.
- Bachelor’s degree in IT, Business, Finance, Engineering, Innovation Management, or a related field.
- Demonstrated ownership of initiatives from discovery through MVP, pilot, and operational transition.
- Demonstrated experience leading human-centered design and design thinking processes as part of broader venture or business development efforts.
- Demonstrated success navigating ambiguity, managing dynamic priorities, and delivering results in fast-paced environments.
- A passion for innovation and a proactive approach to identifying and developing new opportunities for the business.
- Strong experience leading cross-functional teams and external partners in complex environments.
- Strong product, service, or venture strategy capability; ability to define and test business models and value propositions.
- Financial acumen to manage budgets, vendor spending, and investment trade-offs.
- Exceptional communication, executive presence, and influence skills.
Nice to Have
- Advanced degree a plus.
- Experience working within large enterprises or regulated environments preferred.
Team & Environment
This role reports into the Product & Enterprise Innovation team within the Technology organization at NRG.
Work Mode
This position operates on a hybrid work model and is based in Houston, TX.
NRG Energy is committed to a drug and alcohol-free workplace. To the extent permitted by law and any applicable collective bargaining agreement, employees are subject to periodic random drug testing, and post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing. EOE AA M/F/Protected Veteran Status/Disability.
