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Senior Quantitative Power Market Strategist (ERCOT Focus)

Job Description

We are seeking an accomplished Senior Quantitative Power Market Strategist with deep expertise in U.S. electricity markets—preferably ERCOT—to lead the development of advanced analytical frameworks, market models, and decision-support tools that directly influence trading strategy, asset optimization, and real-time dispatch.

In this senior leadership role, you will work at the intersection of quantitative research, market operations, and real-time trading, collaborating with traders, data scientists, engineers, and executive stakeholders. You will architect scalable forecasting engines, design market-behavior models, and provide critical insights into price formation, congestion dynamics, renewable intermittency, ancillary services value, and grid reliability trends.

Candidates should bring 10+ years of experience, with a strong preference for those who have:

• Direct ERCOT operations experience, ideally at major Texas utilities or generators such as Vistra, Austin Energy, LCRA, CenterPoint, NRG, Oncor, or comparable entities; or
• A PhD from a top-tier U.S. engineering, operations research, or quantitative program combined with substantial power markets research.

This role is ideal for a senior quantitative leader who is passionate about designing the next generation of power market intelligence systems and shaping the strategies that maximize portfolio value in a fast-evolving ERCOT landscape.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design, development, and deployment of advanced quantitative models supporting real-time trading, unit dispatch, hedging, and risk mitigation across ERCOT and other U.S. ISOs.
• Serve as the subject-matter expert for ERCOT market operations, including SCED, ORDC, congestion, CRR valuation, ancillary services, node/bus-level price formation, and reliability mechanisms.
• Drive long-term market research initiatives, including structural modelling, scenario analysis, grid-resource evolution, and policy/regulatory impact assessments.
• Architect forecasting systems for LMPs, load, renewables, outages, and congestion using statistical, machine learning, and hybrid methods.
• Guide data scientists and analysts in rigorous model development, validation, and documentation.
• Influence commercial strategy by translating complex quantitative insights into actionable recommendations for senior traders, asset managers, and executive leadership.
• Build scalable analytics pipelines to support high-frequency real-time decision-making.
• Act as a key advisor during market stress events, providing tactical guidance during system emergencies or extreme price volatility.
• Mentor junior analysts and help shape the analytical culture of the trading organization.

Minimum Qualifications

• 10+ years of professional experience in U.S. power markets, with at least 5 years directly in ERCOT (market operations, commercial analytics, trading support, or asset optimization).
• OR PhD in Electrical Engineering, Operations Research, Industrial Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Statistics, or Computer Science from a top U.S. university, with research focused on power systems or market modelling.
• Expert-level understanding of ERCOT’s:
• SCED and pricing engines
• ORDC and ancillary services markets
• Congestion drivers and transmission constraints
• Outage scheduling and reliability processes
• Proficiency in Python, including numerical and ML libraries (NumPy, pandas, scikit-learn, PyTorch, etc.).
• Strong foundation in time-series modelling, stochastic optimization, and applied statistics.
• Experience working with large-scale operational datasets (telemetry, outages, generation, load, constraints).
• Demonstrated ability to independently define modelling problems, structure analyses, and drive results with minimal guidance.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to influence traders, engineers, and non-technical leadership.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience at major Texas market participants.
• Expertise in power system optimization, including security-constrained economic dispatch, storage scheduling, and bidding strategies.
• Experience implementing ML- and deep-learning–based forecasting systems for prices, load, wind/solar generation, or congestion.
• Familiarity with cloud-based architectures (AWS/GCP/Azure) and real-time data pipelines.
• Experience building decision-support tools for traders in fast-paced environments.
• Strong intuition around market participant behaviour, system reliability risk, and ERCOT regulatory trends.

Work Style & Leadership Expectations

• Comfortable operating under market time pressures and providing rapid, high-quality insights.
• Collaborative and confident engaging with senior traders and executive leadership.
• High ownership mentality with accountability for model accuracy and analytical outcomes.
• Flexibility to support operations during market events, including early morning, evening, or weekend hours as conditions require.
• Commitment to building a rigorous, data-driven culture grounded in transparency, model discipline, and continuous improvement.

What We Offer

• Highly competitive compensation including performance-based incentives.
• Full health benefits, flexible PTO, and opportunities for continuing education.
• A leadership role shaping one of the most advanced renewable and real-time trading analytics platforms in the industry.
• The opportunity to influence grid-scale renewable strategy and contribute to the future of sustainable energy in the ERCOT market.

If the role is of interest please apply via LinkedIn or contact Simon Howard (showard@leap29.com)