Innovation Associate III

Duquesne Light Company, headquartered in downtown Pittsburgh, is a leader in providing electric energy and has been in the forefront of the electric energy market, with a history rooted in technological innovation and superior customer service. Today, the company continues its role as a leader in the transmission and distribution of electric energy, providing a secure supply of reliable power to more than half a million customers in southwestern Pennsylvania. 

Duquesne Light Company is committed to creating a culture of inclusion.  We value and respect the unique differences and experiences of our employees.   We believe that our differences lead to better collaboration, innovation and outcomes.  We want you to join our team!

Job Title: Innovation Associate III

Position Summary: The Innovation Associate III partners with all business functions to bring new processes, technologies, and ways of working to DLC to benefit our customers and employees. This position will execute innovation initiatives to address critical needs across the organization with a primary focus on leveraging emerging technologies, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence. The Innovation Associate will identify solutions and manage project lifecycles including piloting and scaling new opportunities. This position will help design and manage internal processes, including identifying organizational needs and project execution, to maximize the value of innovation. In addition, this role will inform the culture of the Innovation Center, focus area prioritization, governance, and continuous feedback and improvement. The Innovation Associate will also develop and manage external relationships to help our business grow and our employees stay safe. 

Location: Hybrid, downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (NOVA)

Job Duties and Responsibilities:

Manage innovation initiatives from inception to execution including piloting new technology or process:  

• Manage idea intake, including soliciting & defining innovation ideas that address organizational needs by partnering with internal stakeholders   

• Research & validate possible solutions with SMEs to meet user requirements with a clearly demonstrated value proposition.  

• Procure & prepare pilot plan with vendors and internal stakeholders to cost-effectively validate internal requirements, solution capabilities & use cases applications. 

• Execute pilot to defined test plan and within procured scope. Monitor, report & iterate as needed with DLC stakeholders,  

• Evaluate capability to implement with DLC stakeholders, develop and validate business case to operationalize solution.  

• Monitor and refine innovation metrics to drive accountability and measure success 

• Consult on new products and services, from concept development, validation, and go-to-market, to achieve revenue growth through innovation.   

Research & identify innovative solutions to address complex challenges:  

• Develop technology landscapes and roadmaps through market research, technology scouting, and peer benchmarking.  

• Track AI advancements, industry trends, and solution landscape to identify opportunities for continuous improvement, expansion, and broader AI use cases. 

• Define needs & requirements across company safety, system, operational, technical, and business challenges that might be addressed by innovation.  

• Facilitate ideation sessions leveraging Human Centered Design to identify organizational priorities and support breakthrough thinking.  

• Develop actionable analysis & business cases to support implementation of prioritized projects.  

• Provide thought leadership and valuable insights to business functions on competitive landscape, market trends, insights and themes.  

 Process: 

• Manage & prioritize innovation opportunities to maintain a high value project pipeline and backlog.  

• Produce clear reporting & documentation for innovation opportunities.  

• Engage external vendors and service providers to evaluate technology maturity, develop and manage pilot scopes to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery of services  

• Demonstrate excellent project management skills by ensuring projects are delivered on time, on budget, and with strategic impact 

Communicate & Engage: 

• Provide training & coaching to develop innovation capabilities across business units through workshops and championing employees. 

• Support change management initiatives, as appropriate, to foster a culture of acceptance, openness and collaboration  

• Engage senior leadership to review & govern scope and objectives of innovation-related work.  

• Maintain ecosystem of third-party, industry, academic & peer resources to leverage for research engagements and resourcing requirements with DLC stakeholders. 

• Contribute to an inclusive and supportive high-performance environment with an emphasis on excellence, team building, coaching, feedback and employee development 

Additional Responsibilities:

• Perform other job-related duties as assigned


• Storm role duties as assigned

Education and Experience Required:

• A Bachelor’s degree or equivalent degree required 

• Educational background in information technology or engineering preferred 

• Three years’ related work experience required  

• Exposure to emerging technology, product development, information technology preferred 

• Experience in leveraging or critically thinking about how to integrate AI into work processes, decision-making, or problem-solving. This may include using AI-powered tools, automating workflows, analyzing AI-driven insights, or exploring AI's potential impact on the function or industry 

• Knowledge of software applications and data analytics in the energy/utilities industry preferred  

• Ideal: Experience in operationally intense industry, experience with project or program management  

Skills/Abilities:

• Demonstrated ability to work with a range stakeholders and coordinate with cross-functional teams 

• Strong communicator with the ability to deliver presentations to diverse stakeholders 

• Analytical capabilities, including ability to identify and develop hypotheses and find/use/apply data  

• Project management abilities - highly organized, detailed oriented  

• Self-directed problem solver with ability to manage ambiguity  

• Technical proficiency in potential innovation areas (e.g., image analytics, distributed energy technologies, asset management, robotics, automation and AI, etc.) and approaches (e.g., design thinking, lean startup, etc.) 

Scope

Responsibilities are generally tactical and basic in nature, however work may vary in type and complexity requiring the incumbent to be flexible to adjust to the given situation.  Primary focus is on daily deliverables and outputs, while at the same time developing a knowledge of the broader context in which the work is being performed.

Decision Impact

Independent discretion or decision-making capability is mostly limited.  Employees at this level follow a general framework of established boundaries to help them perform their roles and make decisions.  Decisions in situations that require deviation from this general framework are typically not made alone.  The employee may recommend a solution however the recommendations are frequently presented to their manager or more senior level professionals for review and approval prior to the decision being made.

Hybrid Work

Position follows our hybrid work model, with a minimum of two days working in the office and the remaining days working remotely. Reporting location and frequency may be subject to change based on job role and department needs. 

Storm Roles

All Non-Union Employees will serve in storm roles as appropriate to their role and skillset. Please be sure to discuss storm roles with the hiring manager for this position, as duties can vary across the Company. Examples of storm roles could include but aren't limited to duties such as: working with operations for service center support or with the communications, customer service or government affairs teams to respond to public and customer requests for information, etc. 

Data Governance

Utilize data to make business decisions as appropriate for the position, support data stewardship activities and partner with IT on underlying data needs.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Duquesne Light Holdings is committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all people in all aspects of the employment relationship, without discrimination because of race, age, sex, color, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity or status as a Vietnam era or special disabled veteran or any other unlawful basis, as defined by applicable law, and fostering a workplace free of unlawful discrimination and retaliation. This policy affects decisions including, but not limited to, hiring, compensation, benefits, terms and conditions of employment, opportunities for promotion, transfer, layoffs, return from a layoff, training and development, and other privileges of employment. An integral part of Duquesne Light Holdings' commitment is to comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws concerning equal employment and affirmative action.

Duquesne Light Holdings is committed to offering an inclusive and accessible experience for all job seekers, including individuals with disabilities. Our goal is to foster an inclusive and accessible workplace where everyone has the opportunity to be successful.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening, apply for a position, or participate in the interview process, connect with us at [email protected] and describe the specific accommodation requested for a disability-related limitation.