Lu Chen, CEM

GTM | Enterprise AI | Energy and AI infrastructure | Utilities, Data Centers Partnership

San Francisco718 followers

Uplight

ex-AutoGrid

ex-Verdigris

Secured $8M+ Enterprise contracts | Drove $50M expansion motions across AI and energy Most enterprise deals stall between proof of concept and real contract signature. I specialize in closing that gap.
More
Across AI-powered SaaS platforms, I've scaled $10-20K early pilots into multi-million-dollar contracts, and built the strategic account frameworks driving $50M+ in active proposal conversations with enterprise I bring a rare blend of customer leadership and technical fluency. -Experience in customer success, solutions architecture or sales engineering at high-growth startups-Deep understanding of technical architectures, APIs, integrations, data flows, and cloud infrastructure-Strong consultative selling skills – able to map product capabilities to customer pain points and ROI-Skilled at communicating complex technical concepts simply to both engineering and executive audiences-Builder mindset – I enjoy creating scalable processes, proof-of-concepts, and reusable frameworks-Collaborative partner to Sales, Product, and Engineering, ensuring tight feedback loops---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------my story: I began my career rooted in engineering - coding, modeling (ML/AI), and data analysis. I have 4 publications in leading scientific journals and patented software registered. Over time, I made a deliberate and courageous shift into the commercial side of technology, stepping into GTM/customer success realm to bridge the gap between deeply technical products and real-world business I am driven by one core belief: the true value of technology is realized only when customers succeed with I have repeatedly helped organizations scale from small pilots to multi-million-dollar partnerships, empowering 5-10x growth, enabling the adoption of AI-driven solutions across large, complex For me, there is no greater reward than seeing customers unlock real, measurable impact in their own Beyond individual success, I have repeatedly developed GTM processes, built scalable tools, playbooks, and frameworks that empower teams and organizations to replicate that impact consistently. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” - Steve Jobs

LinkedIn Browse people

Claim profile

Career Timeline

JobSchool

GTM Index

UPLIGHTJOB
1. Founding Sr Customer Succe…
  1Y 10M
AUTOGRIDJOB
1. Founding Sr Customer Success
  4M
VERDIGRISJOB
1. Principal Customer Success…
  3Y 6M
CLEARESULTJOB
1. Senior Energy Eng
  1Y 4M
DREXEL UNIVERSITYJOB
1. Research Assistant and Tea…
  1Y 10M
INGERSOLL RANDJOB
1. Mktg & Program Lead (Leade…
  1Y 3M
TONGJI UNIVERSITYJOB
1. Program Mgr
  2Y 6M
ECADIJOB
1. Mechanical system design Eng
  4M
JONES LANG LASALLEJOB
1. Senior Project Mgr
  1Y 4M
AECOMJOB
1. Smart Building Strategy Co…
  4M

Job: Uplight — Founding Sr Customer Success, VPP · 2024-02 – 2025-12 — AI platform for grid flexibility and large-scale distributed energy systems • Led technical discovery, solution design, and enterprise adoption for AI-driven grid orchestration SaaS. • Drove $5M+ contract expansions across Demand Response and VPP business by advancing strategic utility partnerships, leading cross-functional execution across product, engineering, regulatory, and executive teams, translating technical capabilities and market needs into differentiated value propositions and winning proposals. • Owned the full post-sale growth from implementation and technical onboarding to adoption, expansion, and renewal, driving 2× ARR growth and securing multi-million-dollar contracts. • N…
Job: AutoGrid — Founding Sr Customer Success · 2023-10 – 2024-02 — imbedded into Uplight, AutoGrid was acquired by Uplight
Job: Verdigris — Principal Customer Success Manager, Solution Architect, GTM · 2020-01 – 2023-07 — AI-driven Energy Intelligence for data centers $multi-million-dollar Net New ARR | $40M+ influenced | AI-powered energy & infrastructure SaaS | Founding customer success & solutions • Convert early-stage pilots into multi-million-dollar strategic expansions by driving the full technical sales motion across both pre-sales & post-sales, leading technical discovery, solution design, pricing, proposal delivery, and post-sale journey (onboarding, value-based engagement, renewal and expansion) • Managed a multi-million-dollar portfolio of enterprises customers (Amazon, Nvidia, ARM, Google, T-mobile, JLL, Prologis etc) as well as SMB accounts, achieving 100% renewal, 10x revenue portfolio growth…
Job: CLEAResult — Senior Energy Engineer · 2018-09 – 2020-01 — • Developed strategic relationships with utility partners and enterprise customers, navigating complex regulatory incentive structures to unlock millions in program participation value, by leading multiple IOU Energy Efficiency programs (Custom/Deem/OBF program) across California and Chicago. • Built a combination of financial models (NPV, IRR for ROI analysis) and engineering analysis to support commercial structure and negotiations for energy efficiency programs. Developed Python-based analytics tools that improved scalability of energy assessments and program delivery. • Develop and implement IPMVP-compliant M&V plan and reports.
Job: Drexel University — Research Assistant and Teaching Fellow · 2016-08 – 2018-06 — • Performed energy audits and simulations of commercial buildings, developed energy performance metrics, and estimated energy savings for potential EE technologies implementation. • Applied statistical and ML methods (regression, sensitivity analysis, random forest) using Python (pandas, NumPy) and MATLAB to analyze energy datasets, generating actionable insights to optimize building performance and carbon footprint, and delivering results through technical and executive presentations. Teaching fellow: Taught Physics classes and led a team of undergraduate to win the solar design contest;
Job: Ingersoll Rand — Marketing & Program Lead (Leadership Development Program) · 2015-04 – 2016-07 — (Rotations in Marketing, GTM, and Customer Operations) GTM execution & growth: led 2 product launches end-to-end, driving 2× lead generation, 5× increase in customer reviews, and 50% growth in qualified sales pipeline. Built and scaled cross-functional GTM processes across marketing and sales; implemented a new CRM platform to improve pipeline visibility and streamline customer lifecycle workflows. Delivered pipeline analytics to guide GTM strategy; established sales coaching and performance tracking cadences to improve conversion and team alignment.
Job: Tongji University — Program Manager · 2012-09 – 2015-03 — Research, program manage large-scale energy technologies. Published 4 peer-reviewed papers and co-developed scalable carbon modeling tools (ICCM, LCA), including a patented solution for low-carbon urban planning Program Delivery & Analytics: Led end-to-end execution of energy efficiency and retrofit projects ($500K+), applying energy modeling, M&V, and techno-economic analysis to deliver measurable performance improvements and inform design decisions Stakeholder Impact & Funding: Generated insights that directly supported project success and contributed to the renewal of external sponsorship (REEEP)
Job: ECADI — Mechanical system design engineer · 2014-05 – 2014-09 — • Designed HVAC systems for large commercial buildings using AutoCAD and Revit, applying BIM for highly efficient design and construction process • Coordinated with Project leaders and engineers on project deliverables, including design & construction drawings • Run energy simulations to optimize energy performance of large commercial buildings
Job: Jones Lang LaSalle — Senior Project Manager · 2013-02 – 2014-06 — • Successfully managed the LEED certification process for 5 global projects, led multi-function collaboration to ensure quality delivery such as basis-of-design (BOD) in a timely manner to fit the building owners’ schedule • Delivered whole building energy model (eQUEST) to apply energy efficient measures for LEED credits. • Successfully served as LEED project administrator for 5 projects, coordinates with the Project Manager on activities affecting the contract administration operation. • Completed energy audits to identify potential EE opportunities. • Assisted in supervising the preparation of construction drawings and schedules • Developed energy model, analyzed building energy efficien…
Job: AECOM — Smart Building Strategy Consultant · 2013-05 – 2013-09 — • Conducted energy modeling and engineering analysis of mega-tall commercial buildings. Delivered an Energy Efficiency strategy guide consistent with international building standards and codes.
School: Drexel University — Master's degree, Architectural Engineering (smart building, grid-interactive technologies)
School: Tongji University — Master's degree, Smart Building/Grid interactive Building
School: Chongqing University — Bachelor of Engineering - BE, Mechanical Engineering (HVAC, Electrical Engineering)

Skills

Technical SalesProduct MarketingDemand ResponseGrid SystemsUtility IndustryStatistical Data AnalysisResearch SkillsGo-to-Market StrategyProduct LaunchMechanical EngineeringConsultingClean Energy Technologiesstrategic customer successSolution ArchitectureEnergy MarketsEnergy OptimizationEntrepreneurshipPartner Relationship ManagementSalesPython (Programming Language)

Playbooks

No playbooks indexed for this profile yet.

Lu Chen, CEM

Skills

Playbooks

More GTM Engineers