How to apply for Director of Origination - Public Power

About Mainspring Energy

Mainspring Energy makes fuel-flexible linear generators that add local power capacity with low emissions. It has shipped commercially since 2020 and works with AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, and Schneider Electric. The company's stated values are pragmatic optimism, excellence without ego, and proactive collaboration.

About the role

You lead commercial strategy and transaction execution for municipalities, electric cooperatives, and investor-owned utilities. You pitch Mainspring's value proposition, open executive-level doors, and drive complex deals from first meeting to financial close. The role is remote and requires frequent travel and hosting of counterparties.

A typical day

A typical day might include calls with utility or cooperative executives, internal deal reviews with engineering and finance, and travel to host a counterparty or attend an industry event. You would spend time pitching Mainspring's value proposition and moving transactions toward financial close.

Who Mainspring Energy is looking for

• Has an established rolodex of utility and public power relationships at the executive level.
• Brings deep transaction experience in the power sector, including origination through financial close.
• Is a natural networker and dealmaker who is high-energy and commercially driven.
• Can travel often and is comfortable hosting counterparties and working remotely.

Tips for this application

• Name specific public power or utility counterparties you have closed deals with, and your role in each.
• Quantify your origination results: deal size, number of transactions, and time from first contact to financial close.
• Explain how Mainspring's linear generator fits public power needs such as fuel flexibility, low emissions, and rapid capacity additions.
• Show you understand the difference between selling to municipalities, electric cooperatives, and IOUs, and how you adjust your approach for each.
• Reference Mainspring's existing partners like AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, and Schneider Electric to show you have done homework on their channel model.

What to cover in your cover letter

Your cover letter should focus on: (1) your rolodex of public power and utility executives and how you built it; (2) a specific complex transaction you originated and closed, including the counterparty type; (3) how you translate market tailwinds into executed contracts in the power sector; (4) your willingness to travel and host counterparties as an outward-facing executive.

Research before applying

• Read Mainspring's product materials on the linear generator, including fuel flexibility and emissions performance.
• Study the company's announced partnerships with AEP, NextEra Energy Resources, and Schneider Electric and what they mean for origination channels.
• Research current capacity, reliability, and decarbonization drivers at municipalities, electric cooperatives, and IOUs.
• Find recent public power transactions in the power sector to understand deal structures and counterparties.

Likely interview topics

Based on the job description, expect questions about:

• Walk through a complex public power or utility deal you originated from first handshake to financial close.
• How would you pitch Mainspring's linear generators to a municipal utility or electric cooperative compared to an IOU?
• Describe your executive-level relationships across municipalities, cooperatives, and IOUs and how you maintain them.
• How do you qualify and prioritize origination opportunities when you are on the road and remote?
• What market tailwinds in public power do you see right now, and how would you turn them into signed contracts?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Submitting a generic resume that does not list specific public power or utility counterparties you have worked with.
• Claiming a rolodex without naming executive-level relationships or deals you originated.
• Ignoring the travel requirement or the outward-facing, hosting-heavy nature of the role.