Robert Mahoney started his City Light career in 2013. From consultant role to temporary position, he’s now a full-time employee in the Power Supply business unit. “I’m the Operational Technology Program Manager for the Power Systems Automation Group,” Robert explained. “I manage the scope, schedule and budget – for most of the projects that come out of our group. Right now, we’re implementing the Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) and working on new trading and risk management systems, business processes and training employees on the new tools. We’re currently focused mostly on software.”
Rob grew up in the Boston area where he pursued his education at local institutions. He graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology with a degree in electrical engineering and later earned an MBA on organizational behavior from Suffolk University in Boston.
Rob lives in Bothell with his wife Erica and their two daughters, Emily (five years old) and Makenna (two years old). In this week’s (spot)Light, Rob talks about his hometown, hobbies and life in the Northwest.
Rob with his family
“I interned at my local utility during my sophomore year of college and it just kind of stuck. I enjoy knowing how much work goes into something simple as turning the lights on. At utilities we figure out how to generate, transmit and distribute electricity especially around certain constraints and congestion. It’s a fun, complex problem to solve.”
“I grew up in Rockland, Massachusetts which is halfway between Boston and Cape Cod. I lived there for 27 years and met my wife in Boston. At the time I was working at National Grid during the day and the door at comedy club at night. She grew up near Portland but went to school in upstate New York. She always wanted to move back to the Northwest. We’ve been here for about 8 years but enjoy traveling back east as often as we can.
“I enjoy the Northwest. The views here are amazing. The mountains, the trees, the ability not to have snow, but have the option to experience it in the winter whenever you want. That’s something I don’t miss about New England – the frigid cold temps. The weather here is great. I don’t think there is a better place to be than Seattle in the summertime. But even though I live here, I still root for my Boston teams. I’m a total Red Sox, Bruins and Patriots fan.”
“We have two kids and do a lot of hiking and exploring different parks. I think that’s another thing that’s unique to the Northwest. Our kids keep us busy; there is always gymnastics, soccer or some activity going on. Something that most people don’t know about me is that I love musicals, if I’m working with my headphones it is it probably Wicked or Hamilton. I also enjoy archery, it’s something I tried it as a team building activity when I was consultant and I really liked it! I’ve been doing it for nearly four years. It’s fun, precise and incredibly calming to me. I never thought it would be something that I do in life, but I’ve completely taken to it. My oldest daughter also enjoys it, so we do that together in our backyard.”