Head of Field Ops & Grid AI & Analytics

Company Summary Statement

As one of the largest investor-owned utility companies in the United States, PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), is committed to creating long-term, sustainable value for our 3.5 million customers, our shareowners and the communities we serve. Our high-performing regulated utilities — PPL Electric Utilities, Louisville Gas and Electric, Kentucky Utilities and Rhode Island Energy — provide an outstanding experience for our customers, consistently ranking among the best utilities in the nation. PPL’s companies are also addressing challenges head-on by investing in new infrastructure and technology that is creating a smarter, more reliable and resilient energy grid. We are committed to doing our part to advance a cleaner energy future and drive innovation that enables us to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 while maintaining energy reliability and affordability for the customers and communities we serve. PPL is a positive force in the cities and towns where we do business, providing support for programs and organizations that empower the success of future generations by helping to build and maintain strong, diverse communities today.

- Please note this role is hybrid - in office 3 days a week to one of our local offices in: Allentown, PA; Louisville, KY; Providence, RI

PPL’s Data and AI Office is seeking a Head of Field and Grid Ops AI and to be an integral part of the OnePPL Digital Transformation. The Head of Field and Grid Ops AI is a key role within PPL and is responsible for defining leading the enterprise initiatives around field and grid operations analytics and AI for the enterprise. Successful candidates have excellent communication and networking skills, a passion for being customer-centric, have a digital and AI first mind set, be execution focused and have expertise in digital transformations leveraging AI and automation. This includes liaising with other department heads to ensure PPL can better serve its customers and internal employees using analytics, AI. This Head of Field and Grid Ops AI will work with the various data and technology groups and be a partner with the Gas and Electric Transmission and Distribution business stakeholders across the organization to steer the company to be a digital company. The role will report to the VP, Data and AI.

LI-Hybrid

#INDPPL

- Collaborate with senior leadership and customer business, data and technology stakeholders to define and lead a comprehensive AI and analytics strategy of understanding our field and grid operations, identifying ways to improve our digital field work experiences and drive operational efficiencies.

- Evaluate existing IT systems, processes, and tools to identify pain points and areas for improvement in field work and grid operations – think digital first

- Leverage GenAI and other emerging technologies to create a digital field worker experience leveraging automation and mobile capabilities.

- Leverage data science, machine learning, data visualization techniques to help with storm management and field work allocations, vegetation management for transmission and distribution, predictive asset maintenance etc

- Oversee the design, development, and deployment of AI-powered solutions, including recommendation systems, predictive analytics tools etc

- Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of data and AI professionals skilled in customer transformation programs and technology integration.

- Evaluate and recommend new technologies and approaches to enhance field and grid operations and drive business value.

- Champion responsible AI principles by ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability in all AI-driven processes.

- Ensure that the field and grid analytics and AI team works in collaboration with all other business and technology functions, consistently delivering great end-to-end experiences for our field workers and grid operators

- Partner with technology and business teams to assist efforts in training, user adoption of data and AI tools.

- Encourage problem-solving, strategic thinking and customer-orientation amongst the team

- Contribute to a positive culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence by identifying and implementing process improvements where appropriate.

- May be assigned an Electric Utilities emergency and storm role. This is a special assignment that comes into play during storms and other emergencies when the company needs to restore power or respond to other issues affecting customer service. This role may necessitate the need to work after-hours, outside of your normal schedule.

Qualifications

- Over 15 years of experience in data science and advanced analytics, including substantial time in leadership positions.

- Demonstrated experience in senior leadership roles such as Director of Data Science, VP of Data Science, or Chief Data Scientist

- Solid understanding and experience in deploying on GenAI, Data Science and Machine Learning models

- Collaborate closely with Field Operations and Grid Operations business teams, to identify opportunities for AI-driven enhancements

- Experience with cloud-based AI and analytics platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Databricks, Snowflake etc)

- Create and manage a strategic roadmap for AI/GenAI initiatives, overseeing the full lifecycle from model development to deployment, optimization, and continuous improvement of AI solutions.

- Deep understanding of statistical modeling, machine learning, data mining, and big data technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark) Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, R

- Ability to resolve complex issues independently and escalate to management as needed.

- Excellent organizational, multitasking, and problem-solving skills.

- Effectively communicates complex information with both internal and external contacts at a variety of organizational levels.

- Experience establishing metrics/key performance indicators to measure business impact

- Regularly share the business value and impact of AI initiatives with senior leadership through Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs) and other forums.

- Ability to align IT transformation initiatives with the overall business strategy.

- Initiative and passion for finding solutions to ambiguous problems and ability to work in difficult situations and across organizational boundaries.

- Strong communication skills both written and verbal, with ability to communicate or convey the results to audience at all levels.

- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or related discipline.

Preferred Qualifications

:

- Utilities industry experience, especially within Electric and Gas Transmission and Distribution.