Head of Congestion Optimization
Chicago, IL, US, 60654
RWE Supply & Trading Americas, LLC
To start as soon as possible, full time, permanent
About the role
Short-term optimisation sits at the core of value creation for RWE’s U.S. renewables portfolio. The platform is established, commercially material, and tightly connected to how assets perform in real time across increasingly complex power markets. The opportunity now is to lead this capability with clarity, discipline, and strategic intent as scale, optionality, and market volatility continue to grow.
We are looking for a senior leader who can set direction, take full commercial ownership, and steer portfolio-level performance day to day. You bring an entrepreneurial mindset, sound market intuition, and quantitative confidence, and you use them to sharpen decision-making, evolve the platform pragmatically, and unlock additional short-term value.
- Provide senior leadership for short-term optimisation, with full accountability for prompt-market revenue performance across U.S. assets.
- Set and own the strategic framework for short-term optimisation, ensuring consistent, risk-aware execution across markets and products.
- Steer portfolio-level performance, balancing power, heat rates, gas, ancillaries, time spreads, and optionality to maximise value.
- Lead and develop a high-calibre team, setting expectations, prioritising effectively, and fostering a culture of ownership and continuous improvement.
- Sponsor the evolution of modelling and analytics, including battery optimisation and AI-enabled approaches, to support scalable decision-making.
- Ensure strong governance and controls, with clear oversight of risk limits, KPIs, and operational processes.
- Partner closely with the wider Commercial organisation, ensuring market impacts and risks are properly reflected at FID and hedged through COD.
- Represent short-term optimisation at senior level, translating market dynamics into clear, actionable insight for stakeholders.
Job requirements and experience
- Leadership for Business Impact
Provides strategic leadership for short-term optimisation across RWE’s U.S. asset portfolio. Entrepreneurial in mindset, commercially sharp, and able to prioritise effectively in fast-moving, data-intensive market environments. - Leadership to Deliver
Accountable for short-term revenue performance, with demonstrated ability to deliver value through disciplined optimisation and execution. Experienced in balancing commercial ambition with clear governance, risk limits, and operational controls. - Leadership for Team Success
Leads and shaping a high-performing, technically strong team by setting direction, empowering expertise, and developing talent. Builds trust across functions and locations and role-models inclusive, high-standards leadership. - Professional & Technical Experience
Strong background in energy trading and short-term optimisation, with a proven P&L track record grounded in fundamental and quantitative strategies. Deep understanding of power market price formation, asset optimisation, and commercial dependencies. Highly numerate, with the ability to guide advanced optimisation, forecasting, and analytics environments, including Python or R, SQL, and large-scale datasets. - Personal Attributes
Confident, resilient, and analytically rigorous. Collaborative and persuasive, with strong judgement, sound decision-making, and a continuous-improvement mindset. - A Master’s or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Operations Research, or a related quantitative discipline.
What we value most is someone who continuously demonstrates courage, thrives to create impact and seeks to build trusting, collaborative relationships. So, even if you think you do not yet display all of the skills listed above we would still like to hear from you.
Your benefits
We want to make sure your career at RWE is as rewarding as it is impactful. Here’s what you can look forward to:
- True senior ownership of a core commercial capability.
- Influence without bureaucracy - short decision paths and real mandate.
- An established team operating at scale.
- Strategic proximity to markets.
- Long-term growth and visibility within RWEST’s commercial leadership.
- Salary range $240,000 - $300,000.
Apply with just a few clicks: ad code 91813
Any questions? Contact HR: Madlen Krembel, madlen.krembel@rwe.com
We look forward to meeting you. Of course, you can find us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Xing, too.
We value diversity and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of gender, disability, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, age, sexual orientation, and identity. #inclusionmatters
RWE Supply & Trading is our connection to the world’s energy markets. Headquartered in Essen, Germany, the company operates one of Europe’s largest and most advanced energy trading floors. A diverse team of over 2,200 professionals from around 90 countries trades electricity, gas, commodities, and CO2 emission allowances. With precise market analysis and a strong customer focus, we create innovative energy supply solutions and tailored risk management concepts for industrial clients.
We also ensure the commercial optimisation of RWE’s power plant portfolio and markets the electricity generated by RWE. In addition, legally independent RWE gas storage companies operate in Germany, contributing to a secure energy supply.
Nearest Major Market: Chicago
Job Segment:
Electrical Engineering, Power Plant Operator, Supply, Power Plant, Electrical, Engineering, Energy, Operations