Applied Research & Innovation - Advanced Materials

Tata Power Company; Mumbai; Hybrid; INR 4,000,000 - 7,000,000; Full time

Job summary

Tata Power Company in Mumbai seeks an Innovation Fellow to shape the long-term technology and innovation strategy for the energy transition. You will identify emerging technologies, conduct techno-commercial evaluations, and translate research into deployable solutions.

Lead collaborations with academia, startups, and partners, support PoCs, pilots, and large-scale deployments, and build technology roadmaps for business adoption.

Qualifications

• Experience leading applied research and technology development.
• Ability to evaluate tech from technical and commercial angles.
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Identify emerging technologies and trends in the energy sector.
• Conduct techno-commercial evaluations, landscaping, and business-case analyses.
• Develop technology roadmaps and assess adoption opportunities.
• Translate research outcomes into deployable scalable solutions.
• Lead collaborations with academia, startups, labs, partners, and gov agencies.

Skills

Tech scouting

Techno-commercial eval

Technology roadmapping

Prototyping

Academic collaboration

Technology commercialization

Feasibility assessment

Pilot deployment

Stakeholder management

Technical writing

Education

PhD in Engineering or related field

BE/B.Tech / M.E./ M.Tech with strong R&D

AI, data analytics or entrepreneurship qualification

Job description

Role & responsibilities

The Innovation Fellow will support Tata Power's long-term technology and innovation strategy by identifying, evaluating, developing, and commercializing next-generation technologies aligned with the Company's energy transition roadmap. The role will include:

Research, Technology Evaluation & Innovation

• Identify emerging technologies, disruptive innovations, and future technology trends relevant to the energy sector
• Conduct comprehensive techno-commercial evaluations, technology landscaping, market assessments, feasibility studies, and business case analyses for new technologies.
• Develop technology roadmaps and evaluate opportunities for business adoption, scaling, commercialization, and creation of new business models.
• Translate research outcomes into deployable scalable solutions.

Strategic Collaboration & Technology Development

• Establish and manage collaborations with academic institutions, startups, research laboratories, technology partners, OEMs, government agencies, and international organizations.
• Identify business challenges across Tata Power and develop collaborative research programmes to address them through applied research and innovation.
• Support development of prototypes, Proof-of-Concepts (PoCs), pilot demonstrations, technology validation, and large-scale deployment across business functions

Strategic Research & Innovation Areas

• Lead research, technology development, and innovation initiatives in one or more of the following strategic domains:

Advanced Solar Technologies

• Research and develop next-generation photovoltaic technologies beyond conventional polysilicon, including perovskite, tandem, thin-film, and other emerging solar cell architectures
• Evaluate innovative nano-coatings, advanced materials, manufacturing processes, EPC technologies, and circularity solutions to improve efficiency, reduce manufacturing costs, and enhance the sustainability of the solar value chain

Advanced Energy Storage Systems

• Investigate next-generation battery chemistries and long-duration energy storage technologies, including sodium-ion, flow batteries, pumped hydro, thermal storage and other emerging storage solutions for grid scale stationary storage and renewable Round-the-Clock (RTC) power applications

Decarbonization & Clean Energy Technologies

• Evaluate and develop technologies and business models supporting industrial decarbonization, including carbon capture and utilization (CCU), green hydrogen, advanced nuclear technologies, waste heat recovery, low-carbon fuels, and integrated energy systems

Smart Grids & Grid Optimization

• Develop innovative solutions for digital and intelligent power systems, including renewable energy integration, grid flexibility, DER orchestration, demand response, virtual power plants (VPPs), grid-forming inverters, advanced forecasting, and next-generation distribution management systems

Artificial Intelligence, Automation & Robotics

• Develop AI-enabled solutions leveraging Machine Learning, Digital Twins, Generative AI, Agentic AI, robotics, and predictive analytics to improve asset reliability, operational efficiency, predictive maintenance, decision support, and customer experience across the energy value chain

Next-Generation Transmission Technologies

• Research advanced technologies to improve transmission efficiency, increase network capacity, reduce Right-of-Way (RoW) constraints, enhance grid resilience, and lower lifecycle costs

Circular Economy & Sustainable Resource Utilization

• Develop technologies for recycling and recovery of critical materials from solar PV modules, and other energy assets, while identifying innovative pathways for utilization of fly ash, bottom ash, CO, industrial by-products, and other waste streams to support a circular and sustainable energy ecosystem

Capability Building & Knowledge Development

• Drive innovation across the organization through internal innovation programmes, technology workshops, capability-building initiatives, and knowledge-sharing platforms
• Contribute towards publications, patents, technology roadmaps, technical reports, and strategic innovation initiatives

Preferred candidate profile

• 24 years of experience in applied research, prototype development, pilot-scale validation, or technology commercialization in the identified strategic domains
• Demonstrated experience in technology scouting, techno-commercial evaluation, feasibility assessment, pilot implementation, technology validation, or commercialization of emerging technologies
• Experience in evaluating technologies across the energy value chain and translating research outcomes into scalable business solutions
• Good understanding of the power sector across Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Renewables, Manufacturing, and Consumer Energy Solutions
• Experience in collaborating with academic institutions, startups, technology partners, government agencies, or international organizations will be preferred
• Publications, patents, technology transfers, product development, or successful pilot deployments will be considered an added advantage

Educational Qualification

• Ph.D. in Engineering, Energy Systems, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, or a related scientific discipline is preferred
• Exceptional candidates with B.E/B.Tech/M.E./M.Tech. /M.S. having strong industrial R&D, applied research, or deep-tech innovation experience may also be considered
• Advanced qualifications in applied research, innovation, technology management, AI, data analytics, or entrepreneurship will be an added advantage

Core Competencies

• Strong analytical, research, and problem-solving capabilities
• Ability to evaluate technologies from both technical and commercial perspectives
• Excellent understanding of innovation management, technology assessment, and commercialization
• Strong communication, stakeholder management, and technical writing skills
• Ability to work across multidisciplinary teams involving engineering, business, academia, startups, and external partners
• High degree of scientific curiosity, creativity, and systems thinking with the ability to translate emerging technologies into business value