Senior Principal, Entrepreneur-in-Residence (India)

Rocky Mountain Institute; New Delhi; On-site; INR 14,191,000 - 18,921,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocky Mountain Institute's Third Derivative program seeks a visionary entrepreneur-in-residence to lead a market-shaping platform for passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) technology. The role blends climate, public health, materials science, manufacturing, and policy to accelerate scale-up from pilots to global deployment.

The position is based in India with frequent travel; you will recruit and build a team, secure multi-million-dollar funding, forge coalitions, and drive a strategy that

Qualifications

• 12+ years' experience building and scaling new ventures in climate, public health, or global development.
• Proven fundraising ability: multi-million-dollar commitments from philanthropies, governments, or partners.
• Experience designing and closing large-scale market mechanisms (AMPs, pooled procurement, etc.).
• Ability to recruit and lead a team from zero, with governance and strategy setup.
• Fluency across blended finance and supply-side development, including capital layering.
• Senior external credibility with C-suite executives, ministers, and funders.

Responsibilities

• Create and lead a new market-shaping platform for PDRC technology.
• Define framework for rapid PDRC scale-up and appropriate market mechanisms.
• Identify key stakeholders to scale PDRC and secure commitments.
• Forge coalitions and solicit commitments for scale production.
• Develop deployment approaches with stakeholders to cross-subsidize deployments.
• Build and lead a world-class team and drive fundraising.

Skills

Fundraising ability

Senior external credibility

Blended finance fluency

Leadership from zero

Job description

Position Overview

RMI’s Third Derivative program is looking for a visionary entrepreneur-in-residence to lead a game-changing climate technology and public health program – accelerating passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) products from promising pilot projects to mass-scale deployment. This is a rare opportunity – at the intersection of public health, climate, materials science, manufacturing, supply chain development, and policy – to advance a technology that could fundamentally transform how communities, building owners, and governments manage heat stress. The entrepreneur-in-residence will have the opportunity to create and lead a new market-shaping platform and build a team to drive this global effort. The platform will coordinate global efforts to connect demand and supply for this new technology to facilitate significantly faster scale-up than if the market was left to its own devices. As such, this platform will serve as: a demand aggregation engine that pools buyers from government, corporates, philanthropy, etc., into a coordinated purchasing consortium a supply development framework that actively shapes supply chains, manufacturing scale-up, and de‑risks investment a blended finance stack that layers capital and risk appropriately to graduate projects from subsidized to commercial financing over time a backbone for standard and certification development, working with third parties for technical standard, performance benchmark, and verification establishment While initially housed as an initiative at RMI, this platform could spin-out into a new nonprofit, analogous to other “field-building” organizations like Arete, Carbon-to-Sea, or Cascade Climate. RMI would provide initial staff support as the entrepreneur-in-residence secures the funding for, recruits, and builds their team. If you have spent your career in market shaping and new venture building with a passion for scaling public health and/or climate solutions, are skilled at forging coalitions around a shared mission, are energized by the urgency of our climate and public health challenges rather than daunted by them, this role is for you. Note: This position is funded for an initial 12‑month term that could be converted to a permanent staff role if additional funding is secured. The significance of this effort Without concerted action, 8.3billion people globally – three-quarters of the projected global population – will be exposed to deadly heat conditions (more than 20days during the year in which ambient air temperatures and humidity cross survivability thresholds when body core temperatures exceed 37°C) by the end of the century, up from 30percent today. The vast majority will be in low‑income countries, with 1.1billion in India alone. Even with major emissions reductions, 48percent of the global population will be at risk. The health impacts of extreme heat are notoriously underreported, as heat stress manifests itself as organ dysfunction or failure and is therefore often misdiagnosed. In many of the world’s hottest countries, the majority live without air conditioning and the ability to escape life‑threatening heat. Many of these deaths will occur in informal or self‑built settlements, home to over 1billion people worldwide. Their dwellings make the problem worse; indoor air temperatures in these communities have been found to be a median of 3.6°C higher than outside. The corrugated tin and asbestos sheet roofs commonly used in these settlements have been associated with significantly longer and more severe periods of heat stress. PDRC products are like conventional “cool roof” paints that reflect sunlight – but they offer a major step up in performance. Like regular cool roofs, PDRC reflect incoming sunlight (short wavelength solar radiation) – but they also emit heat into deep space (in longer infrared wavelengths). This translates to life‑changing and potentially life‑saving reductions in indoor air temperatures. When deployed at scale, especially in high‑heat regions of the Global South, PDRC solutions could save up to 122,000 lives annually, reduce labor loss by 92billion hours (equating to $28billion in economic benefits), and lower cooling energy use by 156TWh, cutting CO₂ emissions by 122milliontCO₂e.

Responsibilities

• Create and lead a new market‑shaping platform.
• Create a framework for rapid PDRC tech scale‑up and defining the most appropriate market mechanism(s) to scale PDRC and achieve low costs (e.g., IP acquisition, supporting direct procurement, designing and implementing an advance market commitment).
• Identify key stakeholders necessary to scale PDRC solutions, including investors, philanthropies, incumbent paint producers, commercial customers, government agencies, and grassroots deployment partners.
• Forge a coalition of key stakeholders and solicit commitments needed to stimulate PDRC production at scale and low‑cost.
• Create a deployment approach with key stakeholders such that commercial deployments (warehouses, data centers, housing developments, cold chains, etc.) effectively cross‑subsidize deployment in vulnerable communities.
• Build and lead a world‑class team driving these efforts.
• Successfully fundraise to support program.

Minimum Qualifications

• 12+ year's experience building and scaling new ventures, market‑shaping initiatives, or field‑building organizations in climate, public health, or global development, with demonstrated outcomes at scale (e.g., capital mobilized, markets created, or programs taken from pilot to multi‑country deployment).
• Proven fundraising ability: a record of securing multi‑million‑dollar commitments from philanthropies, governments, development finance institutions, or corporate partners to launch or scale a new initiative or organization.
• Experience designing and closing large‑scale market mechanisms, such as advanced market commitments, pooled or aggregated procurement, volume guarantees, or technology transfer and IP agreements, with direct accountability for structure, negotiation, and execution.
• Demonstrated ability to build and lead a team from zero: recruiting talent, setting strategy, and standing up governance, ideally including a spin‑out or independent organization.
• Fluency across blended finance and supply‑side development, including how to layer concessional and commercial capital and de‑risk manufacturing scale‑up.
• Senior external credibility: a network and reputation that opens doors with C‑suite executives, ministers, and funders, and the ability to represent the initiative publicly.

Preferred Qualifications

• Technical literacy in materials science, paints and coatings, or manufacturing scale‑up.
• Background in cooling, building materials, or the built environment.
• Experience in India or other high‑heat Global South markets.
• Comfort leading in ambiguity: a self‑starter who can define the strategy and operating model for a category that doesn’t yet exist.

Location

While the position may be based anywhere globally, the ideal candidate will be based in India or be able to travel to India frequently.

Compensation

The annual base compensation range for this position is $150,000 – 200,000 USD. In addition, this position will be eligible for a performance‑based bonus.

Diversity

We know that the diversity of our teams makes us stronger as an organization, and RMI is dedicated to the principles of equal employment opportunity as outlined in U.S. federal law. We prohibit discrimination against applicants, interns, and employees on the basis of any legally recognized basis, including but not limited to: age (40 and over), race, color, sex, pregnancy (including lactation, childbirth, or related medical conditions), religion, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), sexual orientation, gender expression/identity, uniformed service member status, veteran status, citizenship status, or any other applicable status protected by applicable law. RMI is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

About RMI

RMI is an independent nonprofit, founded in 1982 as Rocky Mountain Institute, that transforms global energy systems through market‑driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero‑carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut climate pollution at least 50percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; Abuja, Nigeria; and Beijing.