Innovation Research Lead

Hitachi Energy Ltd.; Kraków; Hybrid; PLN 260,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and incentives

Well-being and care

Paid and unpaid leave

Flexible work options

Job summary

Hitachi Energy Ltd. seeks an Innovation Research Lead to blend proactive research of digital technology trends with evaluating internal innovation needs.

You will conduct horizon scanning, technology foresight, and technology scouting, delivering structured, evidence-based outputs to support actionable recommendations. You will coordinate contributors, maintain knowledge bases, and adapt outputs to company needs.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years of professional experience in emerging digital technology research, technology scouting, technology foresight, innovation consulting, market intelligence, or applied AI research in an enterprise context.
• Strong research and analytical skills across AI, data, and digital technologies, with experience producing technology landscape comparisons, feasibility assessments, and vendor evaluations.
• Strong understanding of and passion for emerging technology trends, with a focus on artificial intelligence and familiarity with innovation lifecycle concepts (insights, validation, PoC, delivery).
• Experience working with ambiguous, early-stage innovation topics and producing structured outputs that support decisions in a complex corporate environment.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate input from multiple contributors and to guide and coordinate junior analysts.
• Excellent documentation practices and ability to prepare clear written materials for non-specialist audiences. Fluent English.

Responsibilities

• Conduct horizon scanning research, emerging technology scouting, technology foresight, and market option comparisons for innovation topics; produce concise landscape summaries.
• Support assessment of internal Innovation-as-a-Service needs by integrating external trends and translating ideas into evidence-based inputs for technology recommendations.
• Perform feasibility assessments with stakeholders; outline validation options for PoC or further investigation.
• Deliver outputs in suitable formats for different audiences (reports, matrices, knowledge-base entries, presentations).
• Produce structured evidence packages with technology landscape summaries, option comparisons, feasibility findings, and validation outlines.
• Proactively maintain technology trend overviews, reusable trend profiles, and documented insights; contribute to trend reports.
• Document completed assessments in a shared knowledge base and flag existing internal capabilities before starting new research.
• Oversee and collaborate with other Innovation-as-a-Service specialists to ensure aligned proactive research and consulting services.
• Support and oversee the solution architect and vendor ecosystem relationships as needed.
• Guide and coordinate junior analysts; review output quality and advise on research methodology.

Skills

Emerging tech

Technology scouting

AI research

Horizon scanning

Stakeholder coordination

Analytical skills

Fluent English

Job description

As an Innovation Research Lead within Hitachi Energy’s Innovation-as-a-Service function, you will combine proactive research and analysis of emerging digital technology trends, including artificial intelligence, with the assessment of internal innovation needs.

You will conduct emerging technology research, horizon scanning, and technology foresight, oversee technology and solution scouting, and lead the analytical outputs for innovation topics. You will also guide and coordinate analytical contributors within the team.

This role includes researching the emerging technology landscape and translating findings into concrete, easily digestible outputs, both through your own research and by coordinating contributions from others. You will deliver structured research on trends and technologies, assessed in the context of Hitachi Energy, producing evidence-based materials that support clear, actionable recommendations. Alongside this work, you will proactively maintain selected reusable innovation intelligence repositories, including a technology trend radar, trend profiles, trend reports, and other documented insights in a shared knowledge base, connecting existing knowledge with research outcomes. Over time, you will adapt the types of output to the company’s needs.

How you’ll make an impact

• Be at the forefront of emerging digital technologies. Conduct horizon scanning research, emerging technology scouting, technology foresight, and market option comparisons for innovation topics accepted for assessment, working within agreed scope boundaries. Produce lists of market options and concise technology landscape summaries.
• Support the assessment of internal Innovation-as-a-Service needs by bringing external trends into the company context and translating internal innovation ideas into evidence-based inputs for clear technology recommendations. Coordinate input from other contributors, including market and internal options, to help define a clear innovation path.
• Conduct feasibility assessments in cooperation with other stakeholders. Outline validation options where a proof of concept or further investigation is recommended, ensuring the outputs are technically grounded and appropriately scoped.
• Select the delivery format appropriate to the audience, including written reports, comparison matrices, shared knowledge-base entries, and presentation-ready summaries.
• Produce structured evidence packages containing technology landscape summaries, option comparisons, feasibility findings, and validation outlines. Ensure these are clear, concise, and ready for use in preparing recommendations.
• Proactively maintain selected technology trend overviews, reusable trend profiles, and documented insights. Maintain emerging technology deep dives and contribute to trend reports where relevant.
• Document completed innovation assessments in a shared knowledge base. Before initiating new research, proactively flag existing internal capabilities that may address an incoming topic.
• Oversee and collaborate with other Innovation-as-a-Service specialists to ensure comprehensive and well-aligned proactive research and innovation consulting services.
• Support and oversee the solution architect and the specialist responsible for vendor and ecosystem relationships, where needed.
• Guide and coordinate other analytical contributors, including junior analysts. Review output quality, provide direction on research methodology, and ensure consistent research and analysis within agreed scope boundaries.

Your background

• At least five years of professional experience in emerging digital technology research, technology scouting, technology foresight, innovation consulting, market intelligence, or applied AI research in an enterprise context.
• Strong research and analytical skills across AI, data, and digital technologies, with experience producing technology landscape comparisons, feasibility assessments, and vendor evaluations.
• Strong understanding of and passion for emerging technology trends, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence. Familiarity with innovation lifecycle concepts and frameworks, including insights, validation, proof of concept, and delivery.
• Experience working with ambiguous, early-stage innovation topics and producing structured outputs that support decisions in a complex corporate environment.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate input from multiple contributors and to guide and coordinate junior analysts.
• Excellent documentation practices and the ability to prepare clear written materials ready for use by non-specialist audiences. Fluent English
• Proactive and creative mindset: You anticipate and adapt to new challenges and topics, readily connecting the dots.
• Patience and persistence in research: You seek a deep understanding of a topic and conduct thorough scouting research that goes beyond a superficial assessment.

The final offer will be based on candidate location, skills and qualifications, experience, and aligned with internal pay structures.

This role may be open in multiple locations. If the salary information listed is not applicable for your current home location, salary details relevant to your location will be discussed with you at a later stage.

Our benefit offering is tailored based on your country of employment and generally includes:

• Competitive salary and incentives
• Well-being and care
• Paid and unpaid leave
• Flexible work options
• Benefits that support your financial security

You will receive more specific information during the recruitment process.

We are a global leader in electrification, powering the electricity era to meet the energy demands of today, and the next 25 years. As the energy arm of Hitachi Group, over three billion people depend on our pioneering, mission-critical technologies to power their daily lives.

With over a century of innovation, we are addressing the most urgent energy challenge of our time: driving the evolution of the world’s energy system to ensure abundant, secure, affordable, and sustainable power for today’s generation and the next.

With an unparalleled installed base in over 140 countries, we are the grid ecosystem partner across the utility, industry, data center, and transportation sectors. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ over 56,000 people in 60 countries and generate revenues of around $20 billion USD.