Director, Performance Engineering

The Director of Performance Engineering will serve a crucial role in steering the design and planning of upcoming utility scale Solar PV plants in the company’s multi-GW pipeline across a vast geographic footprint. You will serve as the company’s performance subject matter expert (SME) and lead the performance engineering team in the development of energy models throughout various stage of the project life cycle. Additionally, lead the review and assessment of energy models by external parties such as independent engineers and EPCs. You will assist in ensuring that projects successfully achieve their performance testing goals near the end of construction and vetting of all performance testing for completeness and accuracy. The Director of Performance Engineering will report to the Vice President of Pre-Construction. 

What You’ll Do

• Manage a team responsible for performance modeling, assessment and testing.
• Establish, maintain and keep up to-date modeling best practices including but not limited to Meteo data, soiling expectations, advanced shade scenes and standard loss assumptions. 
• Uphold a current and forward-looking comprehension of key system components (modules, inverters, and trackers) and their characteristics related to plant performance including the benefits and differences between technologies. 
• Develop energy models and production estimates for both internal evaluation and external project financing reliability. 
• Review production estimates prepared by 3rd parties to ensure accuracy and consistency with Pine Gate’s design parameters. 
• Support the development, project finance and EPC contract process as it relates to offtake agreements, project financing and EPC contracting due diligence items centered around plant performance needed to establish commercial agreements. 
• Collaborate with the Front-End Engineering team to produce the optimal system design that maximizes energy yield at the lowest LCOE. 
• Coordinate and support plant performance testing (e.g., capacity testing) during the commissioning phase of construction. 
• Serve as Pine Gate’s performance center of excellence with regards to Performance Ratio and Capacity testing/evaluation. 
• Prepare data supported action plans based on information analyses. 
• Apply knowledge of utility scale solar PV systems to devise new approaches to production problems encountered. 
• Support and work closely with stakeholders to develop tools and processes to analyze operational and financial performance. 

Must-Haves

• 4-7 years of PV performance engineering with utility scale solar/renewable Photovoltaic (PV) systems.
• Experience leading and managing a small team.
• Prior knowledge of PV devices, system design, technology, and its performance characteristics. 
• Experience conducting Performance Ratio and Capacity Performance Tests. 
• Knowledge of the various Meteo databases and be able to recommend the best match for each project site. 
• Experience with PVsyst and other PV software/models.
• Skilled and competent with P50 Production & Insolation analysis techniques. 
• Ability to analyze, verify, and summarize complex data. 
• Proficient in reading and interpreting design documents associated with PV systems. 
• Ability to work effectively under pressure and meet project timelines. 
• Flexibility conducive to a fast-paced, growing company environment. 
• Willing to travel and work non-standard hours when required. 

Education and Certifications

• Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in Engineering, Math or Physics 

Working Environment and Physical Demand

• May require lifting/carrying items up to 50 pounds.
• Travel up to 20-30% Asheville, Charlotte, Project Sites