VP of Utility Solutions

About Mercury

Mercury is a seed-stage software startup that enables utilities and data centers to exchange power capacity for load flexibility — unlocking additional power capacity for data centers while helping utilities better utilize their existing infrastructure and capture load growth, without impacting affordability or reliability for existing ratepayers.

Our solution brings additional power capacity to existing and new-build datacenters, available in months instead of 5+ years for a typical interconnection. Mercury unlocks this power capacity via utility data center flexible capacity programs, including data center evaluation, technical integration, and ongoing dispatch and compliance monitoring. The platform is agnostic to, and integrates across, data center flexibility solutions, including workload orchestration/GPU optimization, behind-the-meter storage and/or generation, and bring-your-own capacity solutions.

We are actively piloting Mercury with Duke Energy in the Carolinas, where we have enabled the first flexible data center capacity expansion project with real-world AI workloads. We're establishing several other pilot programs with many of the largest US utilities, spanning a range of data center partners — from neoclouds and colocation providers to hyperscale facilities — several of which are in the design phase and slated to launch over the next year.

Mercury is funded by Banyan Ventures, international energy conglomerates, AI and crypto specialists, as well as Powerhouse Ventures, the leading utility-backed VC. We're partnered with Joules Accelerator at Duke Energy, the Energy Innovation Center at Dominion Energy, and Google's AI for Energy Accelerator.

The Role

Mercury is hiring a VP of Utility Solutions to lead our utility partnership strategy as we grow from our first partnerships with Duke Energy and Dominion Energy into a broader portfolio — this is a one-to-ten role, building on proven ground but requiring creativity and scrappiness. Utilities are not primarily a revenue line for Mercury — our long-term business is built on data center revenue — but they are the essential partners who make that business possible. Your core mandate has three parts: land new pilot programs with utilities, expand our existing programs into full-scale deployments, and work hand-in-hand with our data center sales team to help them enroll as many sites as possible within each utility's territory. That means getting utilities to adopt and scale Mercury's platform for flexible data center capacity programs, so they can unlock non-firm capacity on their existing grid and capture load growth without costly infrastructure buildout, and securing the utility relationships and capacity access that back Mercury's ability to buy and re-sell power capacity to data center customers.

No two utilities have the same problem, regulatory structure, or internal politics — one may be focused on a specific large-load tariff proceeding, another on a generation cap, another on proving out flexibility to a skeptical commission. You'll need to be genuinely curious and adaptable, willing to go deep on each utility's unique situation, tailor your pitch and pilot design accordingly, and find the creative path that gets a specific utility to yes rather than running a one-size-fits-all playbook.

You'll own the full partnership cycle — from prospecting and qualifying utility accounts, through technical and regulatory discovery, to designing and closing pilot programs with utility planning teams, demand management and operations teams, regulatory affairs leaders, and C-suite stakeholders. You'll partner closely with our VP of Data Center Solutions to make sure every utility pilot you land is backed by real, committed data center demand, and with our product dev team to translate what you're hearing from utilities into a roadmap that helps you land the next one.

As a member of Mercury's executive leadership, you'll also be an outward-facing thought leader, requiring deep knowledge of the utility industry, interconnection processes, and grid regulatory dynamics. Approximately 25 percent of your time will be spent traveling to industry conferences, on-site customer meetings, and in-person planning sessions with the team at our headquarters in Boulder, CO.

This is a unique opportunity to build out Mercury's utility partnership function on top of an already-proven foundation. The ideal candidate is a relationship builder and problem solver first — someone who has personally navigated complex, technical, long-cycle relationships with utilities or in adjacent regulated infrastructure/energy markets, and who is energized by learning a new regulatory landscape with every partner rather than running the same playbook twice.

What You'll Do

Own utility market traction — build and manage the pipeline, forecast, and quota for the utility side of the business across both commercial motions: selling utilities on the Mercury flexible capacity platform, and securing the capacity supply partnerships that back Mercury's resale business.

Source and close deals — prospect and build relationships with utility executives, planning teams, demand management and operations teams, and regulatory affairs leaders; run discovery to identify utilities facing large-load interconnection pressure; structure and negotiate commercial terms; close program agreements.

Build the sales and GTM motion — design and continuously refine the sales process, narrative, pricing and packaging, and competitive positioning for both the utility platform offering and capacity supply partnerships; build the collateral, demos, and proposal materials the team will use to sell.

Structure capacity supply deals — work with the VP of Data Center Solutions to match utility-sourced non-firm capacity against data center demand, and structure supply agreements that get Mercury capacity to resell fast while protecting margin and delivery commitments.

Navigate regulatory and program design — work with utility partners to shape tariffs, large-load rate structures, and flexible-service program design in a way that both satisfies regulators and makes Mercury's platform the path of least resistance.

Manage the customer relationship — serve as the primary commercial point of contact for utility accounts from first conversation through contract and into delivery, ensuring smooth handoff to the product/delivery team for pilot design and program launch.

Scale the org — as pipeline and revenue grow, hire, coach, and develop a utility sales team.

Be a thought leader — speak at industry conferences and attend networking events; represent Mercury in interviews, podcasts, and press to build the market for utility-side data center flexibility.

Support the fundraising narrative — contribute customer proof points, revenue metrics, and pipeline data to board updates, investor narratives, and fundraising materials.

What You'll Bring

Minimum 4+ years in a sales or business development role selling into utilities, energy, or other regulated critical infrastructure markets, with a track record of personally sourcing and closing deals. Comfort selling both a software/services solution and a capacity/supply partnership — you can run a SaaS-style sales process and negotiate a commercial and regulatory-aware agreement with a utility counterparty. Domain fluency in one or more of: utility interconnection processes, power grid/wholesale markets (ISO/RTO), utility rate design/tariffs, or demand response and grid flexibility programs. Strong relationship-building skills with senior technical, regulatory, and commercial stakeholders at utilities (planning teams, demand management and operations teams, regulatory affairs, C-suite). Builder's bias to action — comfortable defining your own process, pricing, and pitch rather than working from an established playbook.

Nice to Have

Existing relationships with investor-owned utilities or large public power/co-op utilities. Experience selling to or working within a utility, ISO/RTO, or public utility commission. Familiarity with utility back-office systems (DERMS, EMS) and how software procurement works inside a utility. Prior seed/Series A go-to-market experience, with the ability to build and scale a sales team as the business grows. Track record navigating regulatory processes or rate cases as part of a commercial deal.

Compensation & Benefits

Competitive base plus commission/variable comp, meaningful equity (executive leadership grant), full health benefits, and flexible PTO.

Contact

Monty Prekeris [email protected]