Claire Puttock – #TeamRenewables

Innovation and technical excellence are at the core of who we are, and how we operate.  At RES, we have always been at the forefront of innovation, in our industry, our markets, in the way we work and how we deliver our services.

At the end of 2022, we created a new department dedicated to engineering additional tools and solutions, with the aim of providing our customers with complete real-time data visibility to enhance their insights.

In our latest #TeamRenewables, we caught up with Claire Puttock, Senior Product Manager, who has recently relocated to sunny California.

Career Journey so far…

I studied Astrophysics at university and at the end of my degree I wanted to find a career path that allowed me to do something I enjoyed but also had a direct benefit on the planet.

During my studies I was lucky enough to be offered an internship with RES’ Technical department in the Acoustic Analysis team. This really opened my eyes to the interesting problems to solve in the renewables sector and was my first experience working on a (simple!) software product. After graduating, I then joined RES full-time as a Technical Analyst and started working with the SMART team in more of a product owner/analyst role. I loved it – it was really rewarding to speak to users, understand their problems and then work with the engineering team to help come up with solutions that (hopefully) make people’s lives easier.

After working at a low carbon energy consultancy for a few years doing software and product development, I boomeranged back to RES and re-joined as a Product Manager.

The Role

I’m currently working as a Senior Product Manager in the Products department, building UNO Hub with a great team. I’ve been at RES for a total of about three and a half years, with two years in my current position.

What does a day in the life look like for you?

One of the things I enjoy about being a Product Manager is that every day can be quite different. A lot of it involves communication, for example daily update calls with the engineering team, alignment calls with the other Product Managers or discussions with users to understand their feedback and requirements. On other days I might be thinking a bit more about product strategy or design, and some days I get to do some coding!

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Launching UNO Hub in 2022, onboarding our first users and getting feedback has been a highlight and is still very much an ongoing journey. It’s also been amazing to witness how far things have come in RES in terms of software and product development capabilities as well as the Products team being established to help support RES’ growth.

UNO is digital hub that aims to provide renewable asset owners and managers an overview of the performance of their assets. It acts as a ‘one stop shop’ for asset managers who want a complete picture of how an asset is performing – technically, financially as well as any health and safety updates, ESG standards and more.

Where do you see your career in 5 years’ time?

I’d like to think I’ll still be doing what I love – working in the renewable energy industry on products that make a positive impact on society.

RES is at a pivotal moment of time in terms of growth, so I feel excited by the opportunities that this presents. Maybe in five years I’ll be working on some kind of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) product!

Tell us about your favourite hobbies and interests

I love to run – my distance of choice is the marathon and I aim to do at least one a year! I recently moved to California and did the San Francisco marathon last month. It was a really memorable route that involved running over the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise.

I’m also into craft beer and am a regular attendee of beer festivals! It’s been fun getting to know the craft beer scene on the West Coast and trying out some new styles and breweries. One day I hope to run the famous beer marathon in Belgium and get to combine the two hobbies, but we’ll see.