Intraday Power Trader (with initial focus on battery optimisation)

At Octopus Energy Trading, we’re on a mission to reshape the future of energy. We’re creating an innovative approach to trading that will accelerate the transition to a Net Zero world. With the growth of renewables and a push toward decarbonising heating and transport, greater flexibility in the grid is essential. We are building cutting-edge technology to optimise everything from domestic EV charging to grid-scale batteries, to meet the global demand for energy flexibility. We’re doing unconventional things, and to be successful, we need a team of unconventional traders. This is a brand new venture within Octopus Energy Group, and we have a blank canvas to create a diverse and talented team of market experts that will really push to find new ways of improving market efficiency and decarbonising the grid.

As innovators at the forefront of the energy transition, our trading team is addressing the unique challenges and volatility of a renewables-based power sector. This is an exciting opportunity to join a high-impact venture where you’ll play a key role in driving Octopus’ growth within the dynamic energy market.

About the role: We’re looking for an agile Intraday Power Trader ready to try their hand in several areas. The initial focus will be leading on the optimisation of our GB battery fleet (currently ~600MW in size), including day-ahead and intraday trading, entry into the balancing mechanism and participation in the various frequency and reserve schemes. We’d expect to lean on the human experience to build multiple automations, and as this frees up time, the focus will start to shift. This could be building battery trading functions in other European countries, trading interconnection, or looking at other GB opportunities (e.g. new algorithms). You will be a key member of the team that develops transformational solutions and rapidly implements these to meet the urgent and global need for energy flexibility.

Team culture and vision are so important to us, here’s what the team has to say…

• Celyn Simmonds: “Octopus Energy Trading is a new function within the Octopus Group that is tasked with managing all the Group's short term trading responsibilities. We’ll be building a 24 hour shift desk, supported by world class developers, in order to optimise our flex assets (think batteries, EVs, heat pumps..), retail, and renewable energy portfolio, as well as taking speculative positions. We’re a small, dedicated function who work fast, dynamically and look out for each other; it’s a start-up atmosphere with the benefits of the resources of a larger company.”
• Alissa Tripp: “Working in the Octopus trading team has been a fantastic experience - it’s a space where innovation and teamwork create tangible impact, and it is a very collaborative environment to operate in. Being part of such a dynamic team has definitely pushed me to grow in ways I hadn’t expected.”

If you’re a passionate and driven individual with a proven track record in GB Power trading and operation, we encourage you to apply.

What You’ll Do - Initially:

• Manage the day to day trading decisions for our GB battery portfolio.
• Receive and agree outage requests, and amend trading schedules accordingly.
• Provide detailed understanding of trading markets, balancing mechanism and other ancillary schemes to make smart and flexible decisions on where to deploy the assets.
• Have a strong understanding of relevant regulation (in particular TCLC) to ensure we remain compliant.
• Work with and make recommendations to our developers around value adding areas of tooling and automation (in particular to confidently ensure that the batteries are performing out of working hours).
• Report on performance against varying benchmarks.
• Remain up to date on new schemes and opportunities.

What You’ll Do - Once time is freed from developing sufficient battery trading automation:

• Look for new areas to value add using prompt power trading.
• This could include setting up battery trading in other international regions (Octopus has retail presence in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, US and New Zealand and is interested in batteries in all these markets), or setting up other trading activity (potentially including but not limited to interconnection and new algorithms).
• We would anticipate opportunities to be a combination of business driven (e.g. we’re signing a battery contract in X) and entrepreneurial (e.g. you see and can demonstrate value in trading a new product).
• Depending on the product, these are likely to start off with light touch, manual trading to prove the concept. As it evolves you will work with our developers and data scientists to build trading tools and automations.

What You’ll Need:

• Experience in Power Trading or similar field - ideally with experience trading batteries in GB.
• A passion for the challenge of decarbonisation and grid flexibility as the enabler for it.
• Ability to synthesise numerical information and make informed decisions quickly.
• Understanding of the fundamental drivers of the spot power market.
• Ability to use Python to pull and analyse data would be beneficial but non-essential.
• Motivation to succeed in a fast paced and competitive market.
• An ability to maintain continued attention to the market, even in times of low market volatility.

If this sounds like you then we’d love to hear from you. Are you ready for a career with us? We want to ensure you have all the tools and environment you need to unleash your potential.

Need any specific accommodations? Whether you require specific accommodations or have a unique preference, let us know, and we’ll do what we can to customise your interview process for comfort and maximum magic!

Studies have shown that some groups of people, like women, are less likely to apply to a role unless they meet 100% of the job requirements. Whoever you are, if you like one of our jobs, we encourage you to apply as you might just be the candidate we hire. Across Octopus, we’re looking for genuinely decent people who are honest and empathetic. Our people are our strongest asset and the unique skills and perspectives people bring to the team are the driving force of our success. As an equal opportunity employer, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected attribute. Our commitment is to provide equal opportunities, an inclusive work environment, and fairness for everyone.