Vendor & Ecosystem Specialist

The opportunity

As a Vendor & Ecosystem Specialist within Hitachi Energy's Innovation-as-a-Service function, you will discover and assess external vendors, technology partners, and startups, and manage relationships across AI and other emerging technologies, including within the Hitachi Group innovation network. Your work will combine on-demand solution scouting for internal innovation topics with proactive scouting.

You will serve as the primary direct interface between Innovation-as-a-Service and relevant vendors, technology partners, and startups. You will clarify their offerings, capabilities, constraints, and available commercial information, translating these into structured inputs for innovation assessments, recommendation packages, and architecture reviews.

Alongside this work, you will identify relevant startup and partner opportunities and maintain reusable vendor intelligence, including capability summaries, comparison matrices, and ecosystem maps.

In close collaboration with other stakeholders and using the relevant repositories, you will support the effective reuse, scaling, and enterprise readiness of internal capabilities and solutions already available within the company.

How you'll make an impact

• Scout and evaluate solution providers, technology partners, and startups across AI and other emerging technologies, both on demand and proactively. Maintain a structured vendor intelligence repository with current capability assessments and landscape maps.

• Act as the central Innovation-as-a-Service contact for relevant vendors, technology partners, and startups. Engage directly to obtain and clarify information required for innovation assessments.

• Coordinate with Hitachi Group entities to identify relevant vendor and partner opportunities. Facilitate introductions and coordination for initial assessments.

• Scout and assess startups, identifying their fit with Hitachi Energy's strategic priorities and innovation pipeline. Prepare briefing presentations and opportunity summaries for relevant candidates.

• Produce structured comparisons of offerings, capabilities, fit with Hitachi Energy's requirements, constraints, and available commercial information.

• Create and maintain up-to-date vendor and startup repositories and landscapes across key AI and emerging technology categories. Produce capability summaries, comparison matrices, and ecosystem maps for internal stakeholders.

• Contribute vendor and ecosystem intelligence to recommendation packages. Structure vendor comparisons and capability information for reuse in reports and presentations.

• Collaborate with the architecture team, providing current vendor-landscape and capability information to support solution assessments.

• Monitor the internal application and platform landscape to avoid duplication and promote reuse of existing capabilities.

• At least three years of professional experience in vendor management, technology partner management, vendor scouting, startup scouting, market intelligence, or ecosystem management in a technology or enterprise context.

• Strong knowledge of the AI, data, and emerging digital technology vendor landscape. Prior experience with Request for Information (RFI) processes.
• Experience producing vendor assessments, capability comparisons, and ecosystem maps.

• Familiarity with startup scouting, corporate venturing, and innovation partnership concepts.

• Strong communication, relationship management, and stakeholder management skills, supported by strategic and conceptual thinking. Strong presentation and report preparation skills.

• Knowledge of portfolio, demand, and requirements management, alongside digital competency and an understanding of artificial intelligence and innovation.
• Proactive and creative mindset: You anticipate and adapt to new challenges and topics, readily connecting the dots. An assertive, clear, and direct communication style.

• Patience and persistence in research: You seek a deep understanding of a topic and conduct thorough scouting research that goes beyond a superficial assessment.

• Competitive salary and incentives
• Well-being and care
• Paid and unpaid leave
• Flexible work options
• Benefits that support your financial security