About Sunairio
Founded in 2020, Sunairio is the pioneer of award-winning, next-generation grid forecasting software that’s the first to provide integrated energy, weather, and climate insights. Sunairio helps energy traders, grid operators, utility-scale asset developers, and VPP and demand response aggregators make better commercial decisions in the face of increasing grid variability and extreme event risks. Sunairio and Sunairio ONE have received recognition from the National Science Foundation, American Clean Power, and EPRI.
Meet the team
Founder & CEO
Rob Cirincione
Rob is an engineer who studied the effects of uncertainty on technology strategy at MIT and then spent 12+ years developing novel approaches to managing weather-based risk in the energy sector. Prior to Sunairio, he held senior roles in the trading departments at Constellation Energy and Boston Energy Trading & Marketing (BETM), most recently as Managing Director of Energy Trading at BETM. Rob earned a BSE from Princeton and an MS from MIT.
Chief Technology Officer
Eric Hewitt
Eric has 15+ years of experience in analytics, data engineering, software development, and data science. Before joining Sunairio, he was most recently CTO for Understory, where he led the software, hardware, and data science teams creating severe weather instruments and risk management products across the U.S., South America, and Europe. Eric earned a BS in Economics from Boston College.
VP, Sales
Dustin Whipple
Dustin has two decades of software sales experience, close to a decade of experience in the power and renewables industry, and a passion for SaaS technology and disruptive startups. He thrives on building world-class go-to-market teams and is the proud holder of both a BS degree from the University of Houston and a self-appointed master’s in slow-smoked BBQ.
Director, Data Science
Raiden Hasegawa
Raiden was most recently a senior energy and climate data scientist at Google where he built Google’s industry-leading intelligent data center demand response capabilities, allowing Google to reliably reduce data center power in response to grid stress. Before Google, he worked as a quantitative economic researcher at the New York Federal Reserve Bank and as a virtual energy trader at DC Energy. Raiden holds a PhD in Statistics from The University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from Yale.
Data Scientist
Olivia Pfeiffer
Olivia joined Sunairio from MIT, where she was a member of a research group that studied sustainability in the context of industrial processes. She holds an BS in Mechanical Engineering from UMASS, an MS in Technology & Policy from MIT, and an MS in Computer Science from MIT.
Senior Analytics Engineer
Brent Ho
Brent is a mathematician and software developer with years of experience as an algorithmic trader, data scientist, and mobile app developer. He’s spent several seasons as part of a trail crew for the US Forest Service. Brent has an AB from Harvard College and an MSc. from Edinburgh University.
Senior Data Engineer
Robert Grathwohl
Robert has nearly a decade of experience in data engineering and analytics. Before joining Sunairio, he supported global applications in high frequency trading and low latency infrastructure at Citi, and most recently product performance analysis at NetApp. He holds a BS in computer engineering and a minor in mathematics from Texas A&M University.
Senior Software Engineer
Aleksandar Popović
Alex is a software engineer and team lead with 10+ years of experience in building pixel perfect web apps. Before Sunairio, he co-founded a startup for real-time event mapping and navigation. He enjoys mentoring junior developers and building apps that solve real-world problems. Alex holds a BS in Information Systems and Technologies from the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade.
Senior Software Engineer
Zorica Pendić
Zorica is a software engineer with over 11 years of experience in developing web and mobile applications. Before joining Sunairio, she worked on document management systems designed for processing sensitive and confidential information. She enjoys solving mathematical and programming problems and holds a BS in Information Systems and Technologies from the Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade.
Product Designer
Sonja Ćiraković
Sonja is a UX/UI and Product Designer with over a decade of experience creating user-centered digital products. She holds a degree in Architecture from the Faculty of Applied Arts in Belgrade, where she built a strong foundation in spatial design and systems thinking—skills she later applied to the architecture of digital experiences. Prior to Sunairio, she designed digital products for Amtrak and power grid operators in Europe. Her design approach centers on building products that are not only functional and visually cohesive but also accessible and effortless to use.
Advisor
Barry Nelson
Barry L. Nelson is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences at Northwestern University. His research interests include computer simulation, stochastic processes, and statistical learning. In addition to numerous research papers and textbooks, he is the author of several simulation software libraries and widely used output analysis algorithms.
Advisor
Matthew Lackner
Matthew Lackner is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is the director of the Wind Energy Center and the Endowed Chair in Renewable Energy. His research interest include aerodynamic modeling and optimization of offshore wind turbines.