What is a Product Manager at Sunrun?

As a Product Manager at Sunrun, you occupy a unique position at the intersection of renewable energy, consumer technology, and complex logistics. You are responsible for driving the digital and physical experiences that allow homeowners to transition to clean energy. Whether you are optimizing the software that manages residential battery storage or streamlining the workflow for solar installations, your work directly accelerates the global transition to sustainable power.

This role is critical because Sunrun operates in a highly regulated and operationally intensive industry. Your decisions impact not only the user interface of our customer applications but also the efficiency of our field operations and the reliability of the electrical grid. You will work on problem spaces that involve hardware-software integration, financial technology for solar leasing, and predictive analytics for energy production.

Success in this role requires a blend of strategic foresight and tactical execution. You must be comfortable navigating ambiguity and coordinating across diverse teams, including engineering, supply chain, and government relations. At Sunrun, a Product Manager is more than a feature-builder; you are a business owner tasked with making clean energy affordable and accessible to millions.

Common Interview Questions

The following questions are representative of what you may encounter during the Sunrun interview process. They are designed to test your mental models, your past experiences, and your ability to think on your feet.

Behavioral & Leadership

These questions test your ability to navigate the human element of product management and your alignment with Sunrun's values.

• Tell me about a time you had to convince a skeptical stakeholder to support your product vision.
• Describe a failure in a past project. What did you learn, and how did you apply that to your next role?
• How do you handle a situation where your engineering team disagrees with your prioritization?
• Give an example of a time you went above and beyond for a customer.
• How do you manage your time when faced with competing priorities from different departments?

Product Case & Problem Solving

These questions evaluate your ability to structure a problem and design a user-centric solution.

• How would you improve the solar installation tracking experience for a homeowner?
• If you were the PM for our battery storage product, what new feature would you prioritize to increase customer retention?
• Walk me through how you would decide which geographic market Sunrun should expand into next.
• How would you reduce the "time to power" (the time from signing a contract to the system being turned on)?
• Design a product that encourages neighbors in a community to switch to solar together.

Domain & Technical

These questions focus on your understanding of the energy space and the technicalities of the role.

• What are the biggest challenges facing the residential solar industry today?
• How do you stay informed about changes in energy policy or technology?
• Explain the difference between a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) and a solar lease as if you were talking to a customer.
• How would you handle a data discrepancy between our internal production logs and a customer's utility bill?

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation for Sunrun requires a dual focus on your product craft and your understanding of the energy landscape. You should approach your interviews ready to demonstrate how you balance customer needs with complex operational constraints.

Product Execution – This is how you prioritize features, manage roadmaps, and use data to make decisions. Interviewers will evaluate your ability to define success metrics and pivot when technical or regulatory hurdles arise. You should demonstrate a rigorous approach to goal setting and a track record of delivering high-impact products.

Strategic Thinking – At Sunrun, strategy involves understanding market trends in the energy sector and identifying long-term competitive advantages. You will be tested on your ability to look beyond the immediate roadmap to anticipate shifts in consumer behavior or energy policy. Show that you can connect granular product features to the broader company mission of decarbonization.

Cross-functional Leadership – Because our products involve physical hardware and field services, you must prove you can influence stakeholders who do not report to you. Interviewers look for candidates who can bridge the gap between software engineers, solar installers, and sales teams. Strength in this area is demonstrated through stories of resolving conflict and aligning disparate groups toward a common goal.

Mission Alignment – Sunrun is a mission-driven organization. We look for candidates who are genuinely passionate about sustainability and the solar industry. You should be prepared to discuss why you want to work in clean energy and how your values align with our commitment to environmental impact and customer obsession.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process at Sunrun is designed to evaluate both your technical product competence and your cultural fit within a fast-paced, mission-oriented environment. You can expect a process that is professional and structured, typically moving from high-level screens to deep-dive functional assessments. The company values transparency and usually provides clear communication regarding the status of your candidacy.

The rigor of the process reflects the complexity of our business model. You will interact with various stakeholders to ensure you can handle the multifaceted nature of the Product Manager role. While the experience is generally positive and collaborative, you should be prepared for challenging questions regarding your past technical contributions and your ability to manage the "physical" side of product management, such as supply chain or installation logistics.

The timeline above outlines the typical progression from your initial conversation with a recruiter to the final offer stage. Candidates should use this roadmap to pace their preparation, focusing on high-level storytelling in the early stages and deep-dive case studies during the panel rounds. Note that the "Hiring Manager Sync" is a critical gate where your domain expertise and professional poise will be closely scrutinized.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Technical Product Management

In this area, we look for your ability to manage products that have a technical "tail"—meaning software that interacts with hardware or complex data systems. You aren't expected to write code, but you must understand the constraints of the technology you are managing.

Be ready to go over:

• Hardware-Software Integration – How you manage dependencies when software updates must sync with physical battery or inverter hardware.
• Data Analytics – Your approach to using telemetry data from solar panels to improve product performance.
• API and Platform Thinking – How you build scalable systems that can integrate with third-party utility providers.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Describe a time you had to make a product trade-off due to a technical limitation in the hardware."
• "How would you design a dashboard for homeowners to monitor their energy production vs. consumption?"

Operational Complexity & Execution

Sunrun products aren't just used on screens; they are installed on roofs. This evaluation area focuses on how you build products that simplify complex real-world operations.

Be ready to go over:

• Workflow Optimization – Designing tools that help field technicians install solar arrays faster and more safely.
• Supply Chain Logic – How product features might impact inventory management or equipment procurement.
• Regulatory Compliance – Navigating the varying permitting requirements across different states and municipalities.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk us through a time you optimized a non-digital process using a digital product."
• "How do you handle a situation where a regulatory change invalidates a feature you are about to launch?"

Customer Experience & Empathy

We look for Product Managers who can empathize with a homeowner making a 20-year commitment to solar energy. This area tests your ability to simplify complex financial and technical information for the average consumer.

Be ready to go over:

• User Journey Mapping – Identifying friction points in the long journey from sales lead to an active, energized solar system.
• Financial Literacy – Explaining solar leasing, PPA models, or tax credits through intuitive UI.
• Education and Trust – Building features that reassure customers about the reliability of their energy source.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How would you redesign the onboarding process to reduce customer anxiety during the installation wait period?"
• "What metrics would you use to measure the 'trust' a customer has in our energy storage products?"

Key Responsibilities

As a Product Manager, your day-to-day will involve a mix of strategic planning and hands-on execution. You will be responsible for defining the "what" and the "why" for your product area, ensuring that every feature built contributes to Sunrun's goals of growth and customer satisfaction. You will spend a significant portion of your time translating high-level business objectives into detailed product requirements that your engineering and design partners can act upon.

Collaboration is the heartbeat of this role. You will meet regularly with engineering leads to groom backlogs, with designers to review wireframes, and with operations leaders to understand bottlenecks in the field. You are the glue that holds these functions together, ensuring that the software being built actually solves the problems faced by our installers and customers.

Typical projects might include launching a new mobile app feature that helps customers optimize their battery usage during peak utility hours or developing an internal tool that uses machine learning to predict the best placement for solar panels on a roof. You will own the product lifecycle from initial discovery and user research through to launch and post-launch optimization.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

To be competitive for a Product Manager position at Sunrun, you must demonstrate a history of taking products from concept to launch in complex environments. We value candidates who have worked in "tech-plus" industries—where software meets the physical world (e.g., IoT, automotive, logistics, or fintech).

• Technical Skills – Proficiency in data analysis tools (SQL, Tableau), experience with Agile/Scrum methodologies, and familiarity with hardware-software development lifecycles.
• Experience Level – Typically 3–7 years of product management experience, with a preference for those who have managed consumer-facing digital products or complex B2B platforms.
• Soft Skills – Exceptional stakeholder management, the ability to communicate complex ideas simply, and a high degree of resilience when facing operational challenges.

Must-have skills:

• Proven ability to define and track North Star metrics.
• Strong experience in cross-functional leadership without formal authority.
• A data-driven approach to prioritization and roadmapping.

Nice-to-have skills:

• Prior experience in the renewable energy or utility sector.
• Experience with financial products or complex consumer contracts.
• Background in engineering or another technical discipline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much preparation time is typical for this role? Most successful candidates spend 10–15 hours over two weeks researching the solar industry, practicing product case studies, and refining their behavioral stories. Understanding Sunrun's business model (leasing vs. ownership) is essential.

Q: What differentiates successful candidates at Sunrun? The most successful candidates demonstrate "operational empathy." They don't just care about the app; they care about the person on the roof installing the panels and the homeowner trying to understand their savings.

Q: What is the culture like for Product Managers? The culture is fast-paced and mission-driven. It can be intense because the stakes are high—both financially and environmentally—but it is also highly collaborative. You will find a "roll up your sleeves" mentality across the organization.

Q: Is a background in renewable energy required? While helpful, it is not a prerequisite. Sunrun values diverse perspectives from other complex industries like fintech, logistics, or consumer tech, as long as you can demonstrate a quick learning curve and a passion for the mission.

Other General Tips

• Know the Numbers: Be prepared to discuss the unit economics of solar. You don't need to be an expert, but understanding the basics of how Sunrun makes money will set you apart.
• Show Resilience: The energy industry is full of hurdles, from weather delays to policy changes. Highlight stories where you stayed calm and found a path forward despite external setbacks.
• Focus on the "Physical": Don't just talk about software. Mention your experience or interest in how digital products interact with physical hardware and real-world logistics.
• Be Mission-First: Ensure your passion for sustainability comes through. Sunrun employees are deeply committed to the mission, and they look for that same spark in new hires.

Summary & Next Steps

The Product Manager role at Sunrun is an extraordinary opportunity to build products that have a tangible, positive impact on the planet. You will be challenged to solve problems that are as much about physical logistics and regulatory landscapes as they are about digital user experience. This role requires a unique combination of technical savvy, operational grit, and deep customer empathy.

To succeed, focus your preparation on demonstrating how you handle complexity and how you lead through influence. Review your past projects through the lens of trade-offs and data-driven decision-making. By showing that you understand the unique challenges of the energy sector and that you possess the product craft to navigate them, you will position yourself as a top-tier candidate.

The salary data provided reflects the competitive nature of the Product Manager role at Sunrun. Compensation typically includes a base salary, performance bonuses, and equity components, aligning your success with the company’s long-term growth. When evaluating an offer, consider the total rewards package, including the opportunity to contribute to a leading clean-energy mission. For more detailed insights and to continue your preparation, explore the resources available on Dataford.