Founder in Residence, Scaling grid construction and deployment

Join us to build : we’re seeking entrepreneurially-minded individuals with deep technical and commercial domain expertise, who are eager to solve urgent unmet challenges through venture building. This role offers a unique opportunity to work at the forefront of energy infrastructure, leading a company that dramatically reduces the cost of high-voltage transmission construction through novel approaches to fragmentation and modularity. The role is full-time, remote initially until venture incorporation and spin-out (circa Q4 2027), location TBD. The Problem Worth Solving Across the UK, US and Europe, electricity transmission networks face an unprecedented construction challenge. Decarbonisation targets and the electrification of heat, transport, and industry require a dramatic expansion of high-voltage overhead lines - yet the construction methods used to build transmission towers have barely changed in half a century. Lattice steel towers are fabricated in large sections, transported by heavy goods vehicles and erected using mobile cranes that can cost £300K-£750K per project mobilisation. Foundations are over-designed because site-specific geotechnical data is too expensive to gather at scale. Most cost-reduction efforts remain anchored in incremental optimisation: slightly lighter steelwork, marginally faster crane cycles. These leave the fundamental cost structure intact. Mass-dependent items - steel, concrete, transport, cranage and installation labour - still account for 35-45% of total line CAPEX. For transmission operators facing the scale of the UK's ASTI programme, or equivalent US and European grid expansion, incremental savings are not enough. The Opportunity We believe the answer is fragmentation and modularity: decomposing transmission towers into standardised, factory-produced modules - small enough for conventional transport, light enough to assemble without heavy plant, designed for rapid field connection by semi-skilled labour. This approach has the potential to address not only the direct costs of tower erection and foundation installation, but the cascading cost drivers that inflate transmission project budgets: crane mobilisation, road upgrades for heavy transport, weather-dependent construction windows, skilled labour shortages and field operations risk premiums. The commercial space remains wide open. Existing tower manufacturers and EPC contractors are optimised for the current paradigm and face strong institutional incentives to preserve it. Transmission owners are under acute regulatory and political pressure to build faster and cheaper but lack internal innovation capacity to drive a paradigm shift. The UK's ASTI programme alone requires £20B+ of new overhead line construction over the coming decade. Similar build-out pressures exist across the US and Europe. Working in partnership with a Major Transatlantic Utilities Company Driven by mutual conviction in the urgent need to accelerate grid expansion and reduce the cost of high-voltage transmission construction, DSV and a major transatlantic utilities company (the Partner) have partnered to create ventures at the intersection of structural engineering, advanced manufacturing, and deployable energy infrastructure products. This partnership leverages their deep domain access and position as one of the world’s largest transmission owners to provide founders with unparalleled market insight and a direct route to first customers. The Role You will join DSV’s venture creation programme as a Founder-in-Residence and work closely with the DSV and the Partner’s team to spin out the new company. During the programme you will refine, improve and complement existing scoping work on: The technical thesis for approaches that fragment or modularise transmission tower and foundation construction, enabling off-site manufacture, rapid deployment, and reduced dependence on heavy plant (neglect and technical tractability); Commercial neglect (IP strategy, differentiation, competition); Value proposition (market, value capture, techno-economics); Regulatory strategy & positioning; Fundraising strategy & pitching; Optimising company strategy for the most rapid and de-risked path to Series A. Preparation for Investment Committee (IC) will involve fulfilling our investment criteria, recruiting advisory and co-founding team members, and parallel fundraising for additional expansion funds. Assuming success at IC, you will receive pre-seed investment and spinout the company in Q4 2027. You and your co-founders will own a significant stake in the business and continue receiving support post-spinout. What We're Looking For Essential - engineering depth (e.g. civil or mechanical engineering at core; architecture with strong structural skills also considered): Modular structural systems (interlocking connections, DfMA, kit-of-parts approaches); Advanced connection technologies (friction-grip bolting, adhesive bonding, snap-fit joints, field-weldable nodes); Lightweight and composite structural materials (FRP, BFRP, advanced steel alloys, hybrid material systems); Foundation engineering and geotechnics (micropile systems, helical anchors, precast modular foundations); Automated and robotic construction (robotic assembly, drone-assisted installation, self-erecting mechanisms). Essential - translational execution: Experience across the full project lifecycle of large grid or energy infrastructure construction - from design through to commissioning; Hands-on navigation of relevant regulations; Prototype or field trial personally shipped; type-test or standards-compliant data package delivered; Venture creation or product leadership in construction technology, energy infrastructure or adjacent deep-tech. Strongly preferred - commercial capability: Network across transmission operators, EPC contractors, utilities or infrastructure investors; BD, partnerships or customer development experience in energy infrastructure or construction technology; Fundraising experience (from VC); Previous founder or C-suite experience in deep-tech, construction technology or energy infrastructure. Essential values: You are highly motivated by unsolved challenges in energy infrastructure and grid modernisation, and driven to challenge the status quo in transmission construction; You are impact driven, take the initiative, make things happen, and think from a first principles perspective to figure out what’s really needed; You have clear entrepreneurial spirit and mindset, demonstrated through impactful innovation, and an ability to work in ambiguous, unstructured but fast-paced, demanding and pressurised environments; Collaborative nature, with the ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams. Our Offer By joining DSV, you’ll be joining a team of operators who have founded companies and led translation of science at some of the most respected universities, charities, funds and government agencies. 2/3 of the team have founded or led a company at C-suite and 65% have a PhD. Our team dedicate several hours every week to each Founder or founding team to provide tailored guidance, resources and feedback covering every aspect of what it takes to successfully launch a new venture from both the tech and commercial perspectives: We provide optimised, purpose-built, proprietary tools, resources and processes to help create high-impact ventures from scratch, using our venture creation methodology; DSV and the Partners’ extensive network incl. leaders of energy infrastructure, transmission operators, EPC contractors, technical & commercial domain expertise, and wide-ranging portfolio company capabilities; We jointly provide an initial £250k (~$340k / €290k) investment governed by our Investment Committee to incorporate the new venture and develop early proof-of-concept data that is often needed to attract high profile non-venture studio VCs. This funding is also key for obtaining grant funding, which often needs to be matched with private investment; You and your co-founder(s) together will own the majority equity stake in the company; We provide minimum guaranteed income of £4,166 per month (fixed), paid to each Founder as a consultancy fee until the company is launched and pre-seed investment is secured; We provide continuous support post spin-out, including fundraising, commercial partnerships, recruitment and team-building (amongst other things); Other Founders currently at DSV across sectors working collaboratively and supporting one another - a unique resource to draw on. About DSV Deep Science Ventures (DSV) is on a mission to create a future in which both humans and the planet can thrive. We use our unique venture creation process to create, spin-out, and invest in science companies, combining available scientific knowledge and founder-type scientists into high-impact ventures. Operating in four sectors - Pharmaceuticals, Climate, Agriculture, and Computation - we tackle the challenges defining these areas by taking a first principles approach and partnering with leading institutions.