Project Development Associate

CATL; Malaysia; On-site; MYR 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

CATL is seeking a seasoned energy development professional to lead utility-scale BESS project development across Southeast Asia. You will screen opportunities, manage land and grid interactions, and coordinate with utilities, developers, and regulators to build a robust project pipeline.

The role requires strong regulatory knowledge, cross-cultural communication, and the ability to travel across Southeast Asia to advance RtB and COD milestones.

Qualifications

• Minimum 3 years of experience in energy, power, infrastructure, or renewable energy sectors.
• Experience on Southeast Asian markets is strongly preferred.
• Experience delivering utility-scale renewable energy or BESS projects.
• Strong understanding of land, grid, permitting, and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Identify and screen utility-scale BESS opportunities across Southeast Asia.
• Manage land, regulatory, grid connection, and permitting activities for projects.
• Coordinate with developers, utilities, regulators, and investors to build a project pipeline.
• Oversee project budgets, milestones, and risk registers, coordinating internal and external resources.
• Support market-entry strategies and potential investment transactions.

Skills

Energy market analysis

BESS project development

Regulatory & policy understanding

Stakeholder management

Land acquisition & leases

Grid connection & utility coordination

Financing & M&A support

Project risk management

Cross-cultural communication

Southeast Asia market experience

Education

Bachelor’s degree or above in Business, Engineering, Finance, Economics, Real Estate, Environmental Studies

Master’s degree (advantage)

Job description

• Monitor and analyze electricity markets across Southeast Asia, including power market structures, electricity pricing, grid conditions, renewable energy integration, ancillary services, capacity mechanisms, energy storage policies, procurement frameworks, and relevant regulatory developments.
• Identify, screen, and evaluate utility-scale BESS project opportunities, including greenfield, brownfield, standalone BESS, renewable-plus-storage, and co-location projects at both pre-RtB and RtB stages.
• Assess and prioritize potential markets based on regulatory frameworks, grid needs, project economics, market accessibility, investment environment, and potential BESS revenue opportunities.
• Originate new utility-scale BESS opportunities through local developer networks, utilities, government relationships, industry partners, market intelligence, and other business development channels.
• Identify, establish, and manage relationships with local developers and development partners to build a scalable project pipeline across multiple Southeast Asian markets.
• Manage key project development workflows, including site selection, land acquisition or lease arrangements, grid connection applications, permitting, environmental and social assessments, M&A activities, financial model inputs, and coordination of local resources.
• Coordinate land-related activities, including land due diligence, lease or acquisition negotiations, land rights assessment, and management of external land agents, consultants, developers, and local partners.
• Represent the company in discussions and negotiations with key external stakeholders, including utilities, transmission and distribution companies, government authorities, regulators, local developers, landowners, consultants, EPC contractors, investors, financial institutions, and strategic partners.
• Manage and monitor the overall project development process, including grid connection, land, permitting, environmental and social requirements, community engagement, stakeholder management, development schedules, and project risk management.
• Work closely with internal teams, including engineering, finance, legal, investment, procurement, and operations, to identify and mitigate project risks and implement solutions to maximize project value.
• Work with internal technical teams and external consultants to support grid connection studies, technical assessments, project design, technical due diligence, and evaluation of project constructability.
• Create and manage project budgets, development schedules, key milestones, and development risk registers. Act as the internal project lead and coordinate external consultants and development partners.
• Support project investment and acquisition activities, including project screening, investment evaluation, commercial analysis, financial model inputs, due diligence, transaction structuring, negotiations, and project closing.
• Support the development and execution of market-entry strategies for new Southeast Asian markets, including identifying suitable local partners, understanding foreign investment requirements, and evaluating potential development or acquisition structures.

Requirements:

• Experience: Minimum 3 years of experience in the energy, power, infrastructure, or renewable energy sectors, preferably covering project development, project investment/M&A, engineering, or related activities. Experience working on projects in one or more Southeast Asian markets is strongly preferred.
• Skills:
• Proven ability to support or deliver utility-scale renewable energy, power infrastructure, or BESS projects from early-stage development through Ready-to-Build (RtB).
• Experience in utility-scale BESS, solar, wind, power generation, transmission, or other energy infrastructure development, investment, or M&A.
• Strong understanding of key aspects of project development in Southeast Asia, including:
• Land acquisition, leasing, and land rights
• Grid connection applications and utility coordination
• Grid capacity and connection requirements
• Development and construction permitting
• Environmental and social requirements
• Government and regulatory approvals
• Local stakeholder and community engagement
• Foreign investment and local ownership considerations
• Power purchase, offtake, or other project revenue arrangements
• Ability to evaluate different electricity market and regulatory frameworks and translate them into actionable project development and investment strategies.
• Fundamental understanding of the technical, commercial, and financial factors required to develop a constructable and bankable utility-scale BESS project.
• Experience managing local developers, consultants, advisors, or development partners across multiple jurisdictions will be considered a strong advantage.
• Experience taking projects from RtB through Final Investment Decision (FID), financing, construction, and Commercial Operation Date (COD) will be considered a strong advantage.
• Experience with project acquisition, development-stage M&A, joint development arrangements, or project investment transactions will be considered an advantage.
• Communication: Exceptional negotiation, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across different cultures and jurisdictions.
• The candidate should be comfortable engaging with local developers, utilities, government authorities, regulators, investors, financial institutions, legal advisors, landowners, EPC contractors, and technical consultants, while coordinating effectively with an international internal team.
• The role may require regular travel across Southeast Asia.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree or above in Business, Engineering, Finance, Economics, Real Estate, Environmental Studies, or a related field. A Master’s degree will be considered an advantage.
• Language: Fluency in English is required for communication within an international working environment and with regional counterparties.
• Proficiency in one or more Southeast Asian languages, such as Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malaysia, Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino/Tagalog, or Khmer, will be considered a strong advantage.
• Chinese language skills will also be considered a plus.