Innovation Business Development Lead

Hitachi Energy operates in the energy sector within the Transformers Business Unit. The role is part of the Global Innovation Organization focusing on creating, validating, and scaling technology solutions to enhance products and digital innovation.

• Degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Computer Science Engineering, or a related technical field.
• MSc or MBA in Business, Engineering, Innovation, Technology Management, or related field is a plus.
• 7+ years of experience in innovation, strategy, business development, product management, venture building, management consulting, or corporate innovation.
• Experience in industrial, energy, technology, engineering, or other B2B sectors.
• Proven experience working with startups, scale-ups, research institutions, and innovation ecosystems.
• Strong financial and analytical skills including business case development, ROI analysis, portfolio management, KPI definition and tracking, and data-driven decision-making.
• Experience in developing strategic partnerships, negotiating commercial agreements, and managing complex stakeholder networks.
• Solid understanding of open innovation, venture clienting, technology commercialization, and innovation governance frameworks.
• Strong market intelligence and customer discovery capabilities.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and relationship-building skills.
• Strategic thinker with strong problem-solving skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with ability to operate in fast-paced and ambiguous environments.
• Willingness to travel internationally to meet R&D and Engineering teams and stakeholders.

Nice to have:

• Experience with R
• Knowledge of Use cases
• Familiarity with Design Thinking
• Experience in Audit

• Identify and evaluate emerging business opportunities, market trends, customer needs, and disruptive technologies.
• Translate market intelligence, competitor analysis, and ecosystem assessments into innovation initiatives and growth opportunities.
• Develop business cases and recommendations for investment decisions.
• Support innovation portfolio prioritization and roadmap development.
• Lead customer discovery activities and voice-of-customer programs.
• Validate use cases, value propositions, and market attractiveness.
• Identify, evaluate, and engage startups, scale-ups, universities, research institutes, and strategic partners.
• Provide strategic direction and leadership to global technology pilot projects and proof-of-concept initiatives.
• Support due diligence and partnership evaluations.
• Transform innovation concepts into scalable business opportunities.
• Develop go-to-market strategies for validated solutions.
• Support business models, value proposition, and market entry strategies.
• Build internal support for scaling successful pilots.
• Negotiate and manage collaboration opportunities with Legal and Procurement.
• Support co-development, licensing, venture clienting, and partnership agreements.
• Develop and maintain strategic external relationships.
• Coordinate activities across R&D, product management, engineering, sales, marketing, sourcing, finance, and legal.
• Facilitate innovation workshops and business validation sessions.
• Cultivate strategic partnerships with global research institutions and industry stakeholders.