Meet the Team: Sam Wevers, Senior Product Manager

Our Meet the Team blog series highlights the amazing people behind Moixa. A big thank you to Sam, our Senior Product Manager, who sat down with us to talk about Moixa, his role and the projects he is currently working on.

Sam Wevers, Senior Product Manager

Sam has been working for Moixa for nearly a year now and due to the current state of the world, he has been entirely remote! As Senior Product Manager at Moixa Sam is responsible for pulling together user needs, market developments, and technical considerations to work out what we build next. Prior to joining Moixa, Sam worked at Centrica on the Cornwall Local Energy Market programme. He was Product Manager for the flexibility market platform, which was the first auction-based market for flexibility services across both distribution and transmission networks anywhere in the world. 

How did you first hear about Moixa?

I actually heard about Moixa through my work at Centrica, which was all about unlocking flexibility in distributed energy resources like Moixa’s batteries. 

What made you want to take up this role?

I had seen how critical it is to get flexibility on the system, but that this needs to happen whilst empowering customers and making them happy. Moixa is tackling that challenge, which is why I wanted to join. 

What elements of Moixa and our business are you most passionate about?

Tackling climate change. I used to be a corporate lawyer, but wanted to work on finding and building climate solutions. That’s my job every day, and I love that. 

What happens on a typical workday for you?

Stand-up with the dev team, catching up with colleagues across the company about projects I’m involved in, interacting with key external stakeholders, reviewing customer feedback and market developments, and planning for what we should build next.

Are you currently working on any particularly interesting projects?

We’re integrating our optimisation software onto a new 3rd party battery, which is a fantastic new opportunity to showcase how Moixa adds value beyond default operating modes. 

What has been your highest point since joining Moixa?

Helping to translate and release our new app for our clients in Japan was a highlight. I grew up in Japan and studied Japanese at university, so being able to work on climate solutions in Japan has been very rewarding. 

What is the biggest challenge in your role?

The biggest challenge is trying to prioritise what we do next, given there’s so much we want to accomplish. 

What is the most interesting thing you have learnt whilst working at Moixa?

Getting more involved in the detailed aspects of battery operation and firmware integration has been really interesting. 

What are the key skills you need to be successful in your role?

The ability to distill and thread together multiple different types of information to come up with an answer to a problem. 

If you had a magic wand, what change would you make to the energy industry?

Can I have three swishes of the wand?

• A cross-sector carbon tax
• Half hourly settlement for all customers
• Short-term market-based procurement of flexibility from all shapes and sizes of asset across distribution and transmission networks

What motivates you?

The existential threat of climate change, and the fact that its greatest burdens will fall on those who have contributed the least to the problem.

What is the one thing we should know about you that isn’t on your CV or LinkedIn Profile?

I like to sing at open mic nights when the world isn’t locked down.

Wow, we’re even more excited for lockdown to be lifted now!

What is one great piece of career advice you have been given?

Build great relationships and the rest will follow.

What are your top tips for someone who wanted to work at Moixa or in the renewable energy industry?

Never underestimate how much you can teach yourself.

What steps are you individually making towards a cleaner future? 

Only eating meat once a week and buying seasonal, local produce. 

A huge thank you to Sam for taking the time out to discuss his life at Moixa. You can connect with Sam on LinkedIn here and read about his latest blog here.

If you would like to work with Moixa on a project, contact our Business Team through moixa.com/contact.

If you would like to hear more about available roles at Moixa, visit moixa.com/recruitment.