Director of Innovation - Energy and Power

At Jacobs, we’re not just building structures—we’re helping our clients solve complex energy challenges by combining deep technical expertise, digital capabilities, data, and emerging technologies.

As the Director of Innovation - Energy & Power (Americas), you will help shape how innovation is identified, developed, deployed, and scaled across our business and for our clients.

This role is designed for a strategic, market-facing, and hands-on leader who can connect business priorities with the capabilities of our Digital and Data teams, translate emerging technologies into practical solutions, and build trusted relationships with clients and internal stakeholders.

Role Overview & Mission

The Director of Innovation will lead the Energy & Power innovation agenda in alignment with business strategy, client needs, delivery priorities, and Jacobs enterprise digital and data direction. The role will connect market insight, client challenges, technical expertise, digital capabilities, and artificial intelligence to create differentiated solutions and improve how we win and deliver work.

Key Responsibilities: Drive measurable improvements in delivery performance by integrating digital capabilities, embedding innovation into workflows, and accelerating adoption of global digital strategies—while ensuring consistent, scalable, high-quality delivery through governance, standardized practices, and capability building.

This role plays a critical leadership function in combining delivery excellence with innovation—through both traditional governance and modern digital solutions.

• Innovation strategy and portfolio: Define and execute an innovation strategy and roadmap aligned with Energy & Power Americas priorities.

• Digital, data, and AI interface: Serve as the primary business interface with Jacobs Digital and Data teams and other enterprise capability groups. Translate business and client needs into clear use cases, connect teams to the right capabilities, and avoid duplicating solutions that can be leveraged from elsewhere in Jacobs.

• Market sensing and ecosystem engagement: Monitor changes in the energy market, client operating models, delivery methods, technology, data, and AI. Engage with industry partners, technology providers, academia, and other external

networks to identify relevant innovations and bring a practical outside-in perspective to the business.

• Client engagement and growth: Act as a client-facing innovation leader in strategic pursuits, account planning, workshops, and project delivery. Help clients frame their challenges, co-develop innovation roadmaps and use cases, and articulate the business value of Jacobs solutions.

• Use-case development and scaling: Build a focused pipeline of use cases tied to defined business or client outcomes. Lead pilots with clear success criteria and work with business, technical, legal, risk, cybersecurity, procurement, and delivery stakeholders to scale proven solutions.

• Adoption and value realization: Ensure innovations are embedded into workflows rather than treated as standalone demonstrations. Define measures of adoption, efficiency, quality, risk reduction, revenue growth, client value, and other relevant outcomes; report progress and lessons learned to leadership.

• Responsible innovation and governance: Promote the secure, ethical, and responsible use of data and AI in accordance with Jacobs policies and client requirements. Establish fit-for-purpose governance for experimentation, intellectual property, data protection, model risk, and deployment decisions.

• Culture and capability building: Create awareness, training, communities of practice, and repeatable playbooks that improve innovation fluency across leaders, practitioners, and project teams. Build a network of innovation champions across the Americas business.

The role further encompasses responsibility for establishing and standardizing delivery methodologies, tools, and workflows across the organization, while leading and continuously enhancing the QA/QC framework to ensure consistent application and adherence to global standards. Through oversight of quality audits and continuous improvement initiatives, the Director of Innovation drives operational excellence and fosters a culture grounded in accountability, standardization, and delivery excellence.

Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience leading the deployment and adoption of digital, data, and AI-enabled solutions that resulted in measurable improvements in project delivery, productivity, quality, risk reduction, client outcomes, or business performance.

• Experience identifying, prioritizing, developing, and scaling innovation initiatives from concept and pilot through operational deployment, including governance, change management, adoption, and value realization.

• Domain knowledge within the Energy & Power market, including technical design, construction delivery systems, contract management, project delivery, project controls, quality management, or performance governance.

• Demonstrated ability to engage directly with clients and senior stakeholders to identify business challenges, define innovation opportunities, co-develop solutions, and articulate measurable business value.

• Experience leading cross-functional teams across engineering, operations, digital, data, cybersecurity, legal, procurement, and business functions to successfully implement transformation initiatives.

• Demonstrated understanding of data governance, advanced analytics, digital platforms, responsible AI principles, and enterprise technology adoption practices, with the ability to translate complex challenges into practical, scalable solutions.

Ideally, You’ll Also Have:

• Degree, certification, or licensure in Engineering, Construction Management, Project Management, Data Science, Information Systems, Business, or a related discipline (or equivalent experience).

• Professional certification, executive education, or advanced training in Artificial Intelligence, Data Management, Digital Transformation, Innovation Management, Cloud Technologies, Business Analytics, or related disciplines (e.g., Azure AI Engineer, Azure Data Engineer, CDMP, MIT/Stanford/Wharton executive programs, or equivalent).

• Proven experience delivering large, infrastructure, utilities, industrial, generation, transmission, distribution, renewable energy, or grid modernization programs.

• Experience integrating digital tools into engineering, construction, and project delivery workflows, including BIM, digital twins, advanced analytics, automation, generative AI, and enterprise data platforms.

• Demonstrated success establishing innovation strategies, technology roadmaps, communities of practice, innovation champion networks, or enterprise capability-building programs.

Jacobs is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding), age, medical condition, marital or domestic partner status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression and transgender status, mental disability or physical disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, citizenship, low-income status or any other status or characteristic protected by applicable law. Learn more about your rights under Federal EEO laws and supplemental language.