Strategic Partnerships, Commercial Strategy, Ecosystem Development

Qnetic; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Qnetic is seeking a VP of Partnerships and Commercial Strategy to lead the global partner and ecosystem strategy for long-duration flywheel energy storage. You will own the end-to-end partner motion—from voice-of-customer discovery through pilot frameworks, commercial agreements, and scalable deployments.

You will collaborate with product, engineering, finance, legal, operations, and marketing to translate market pull into executable programs and scalable revenue, driving pilots and a repeatable

Qualifications

• 10+ years in energy storage, grid infrastructure, utility BD, strategic partnerships, or commercial strategy.
• Proven ability to convert pilots into scaled deployments.
• Strong understanding of utility procurement processes and interconnection, safety, and operationalization requirements.
• Experience in structuring commercial agreements, including milestones, performance acceptance, data rights, and risk allocation.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with engineering, product, finance, legal, and operations in high-ambiguity environments.
• Executive presence, strong writing skills, and the ability to build trust with senior utility and developer stakeholders.
• Global partnering experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Define partner segmentation and prioritization byusecase, geography, and partner archetype.
• Build andmaintaina partnership pipeline with clear qualification criteria, stage definitions, and executive reporting.
• Identifyand operationalize ecosystem partnersrequiredto scale deployments, including EPCs, controls integrators, and service partners.
• Build senior relationships with utilities and public power to capture requirements, decision criteria, andbuyingmotivations.
• Develop partnerships with targeted developers and IPPs to enable multi-site replication andscaledprocurement.
• Create executable partnering frameworks and agreements that translate into early sales and builds sales pipeline
• Translate VOC into use case definitions, performance targets, and test plans that align with utility procurement expectations.
• Structure utility-hosted pilots and demonstrations, including success criteria, operating responsibilities, data rights, and conversion pathways.
• Manage relationships with national labs, research organizations, and industry bodies that accelerate credibility and bankability.
• Ensure learnings feed back into product requirements, warranty roadmap, service strategy, and commercialization materials.
• Drive internal alignment on what can be committed externally, ensuring commitments are deliverable on schedule and within budget.
• Lead negotiations for strategic partnerships and pilot agreements, coordinating legal and executive stakeholders as needed.

Skills

Energy storage

Grid infrastructure

Utility BD

Strategic partnerships

Commercial strategy

Executive presence

Stakeholder management

Cross-functional leadership

Negotiation & deals

Global partnering

Job description

About the role

The Partnerships and Commercial Strategy will build and leadQnetic’sglobal partner and ecosystem strategy to accelerate adoption of long-duration flywheel energy storage. This role owns the end-to-end partner motion, from voice-of-customer discovery and use case definition through pilot frameworks, commercial agreements, and conversion to repeatable deployments. The VP will collaborate closely with product, engineering, finance, legal, operations, and marketing to translate market pull into executable programs and scalable revenue.

What you’ll do

Partnership and Ecosystem Strategy

• Define partner segmentation and prioritization byusecase, geography, and partner archetype.

• Build andmaintaina partnership pipeline with clear qualification criteria, stage definitions, and executive reporting.

• Identifyand operationalize ecosystem partnersrequiredto scale deployments, including EPCs, controls integrators, and service partners.

• Build senior relationships with utilities and public power to capture requirements, decision criteria, andbuyingmotivations.

• Develop partnerships with targeted developers and IPPs to enable multi-site replication andscaledprocurement.

• Create executable partnering frameworks and agreements that translate into early sales and builds sales pipeline

• Translate VOC into use case definitions, performance targets, and test plans that align with utility procurement expectations.

• Structure utility-hosted pilots and demonstrations, including success criteria, operating responsibilities, data rights, and conversion pathways.

• Manage relationships with national labs, research organizations, and industry bodies that accelerate credibility and bankability.

• Ensure learnings feed back into product requirements, warranty roadmap, service strategy, and commercialization materials.

• Drive internal alignment on what can be committed externally, ensuring commitments are deliverable on schedule and within budget.

• Lead negotiations for strategic partnerships and pilot agreements, coordinating legal and executive stakeholders as needed.

Cross-Functional Leadership and Team Building

• Serve as the commercial integrator across product, engineering, finance, and operations to ensure partner commitments map to internal delivery.

• Create a repeatable operating cadence for partnerships, including deal stage-gates, executive reviews, documented decisions, and proactive risk management.

• Build and lead a high-performing partnerships teamasthe business scales.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in energy storage, grid infrastructure, utility BD, strategic partnerships, or commercial strategy, witha track recordof converting pilots into scaled deployments.

• Strong understanding of utility procurement processes and interconnection, safety, and operationalization requirements.

• Experience in structuring commercial agreements, including milestones, performance acceptance, data rights, and risk allocation.

• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with engineering, product, finance, legal, and operations in high-ambiguity environments.

• Executive presence, strong writing skills, and the ability to build trust with senior utility and developer stakeholders.

• Global partnering experience is a plus.

Personal Attributes

• Systems thinking, ability to design repeatable motions, not one-off deals.

• Customer empathy paired with operationalrigor,VOC translated into executable requirements.

• Comfort with ambiguity and iterative development, whilemaintainingdisciplined governance and metrics.

• Negotiation and influence, aligning multiple stakeholders without sacrificing velocity or quality.

• High integrity and accountability, clear ownershipofoutcomesand follow-through.

Success Metrics

• Strategic partnerships are signed with clear value exchange and scalable deployment intent.

• Number of pilots launched on time, with decision-grade data that advancesprocurementreadiness and bankability.

• Pilot-to-commercial conversion rate, pipeline value created, and time-to-conversion improvements.

• Adoption of standardized partnership templates, playbooks, and governance cadence across the organization.

• Ecosystem completeness, coverage of EPC, controls, validation, and service partners for priority use cases.