Director of BESS Augmentation (Remote)

SOLV Energy, Inc.; Iowa; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

SOLV Energy, Inc. is seeking a Director of BESS Augmentation to lead battery energy storage system augmentation projects across a nationwide portfolio.

The role directs Superintendents, collaborates with project managers, and ensures safe, timely, profitable delivery of capacity additions, replacements, and system upgrades for SOLV and clients. This remote position outlines oversight of estimates, scopes, procurement, and affiliate coordination; travel is required and expectations will be

Qualifications

• Requires leadership of managers, superintendents, and field teams.
• Strong knowledge of BESS governance, estimating, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling, procurement, and contracts.
• Experience with outage planning, risk, change control, commissioning, and financial performance.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for BESS augmentation programs.
• Set portfolio priorities, staffing plans, governance and augmentation strategies.
• Direct safe field execution, scheduling, testing, commissioning, and turnover.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic thinking

Project management

Budgeting & forecasting

Communication to executives

Safety leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering/construction management/business

Job description

SOLV Energy is a leading provider of infrastructure services to the power industry, designing, building and maintaining utility scale solar, battery storage and high voltage substation projects nationwide.

Job Description Summary:

The Director of BESS Augmentation provides strategic and operational leadership for battery energy storage system (BESS) augmentation projects. This position directs Superintendents, works collaboratively with project managers, oversees portfolio-level planning and execution, and ensures safe, timely, profitable delivery of battery capacity additions, replacements, system upgrades, integration, testing, commissioning, and turnover for SOLV and third-party clients.

This role is fully remote. Specific location details and expectations will be discussed during the interview process.

Job Description:

• This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned

Position Responsibilities and Duties

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for BESS augmentation programs, Superintendents, and technical teams in partnership with project managers.
• Set portfolio priorities, staffing plans, governance, performance expectations, and augmentation strategies.
• Direct safe field execution, outage and resource planning, subcontractor coordination, quality, schedule, testing, commissioning, and turnover.
• Partner with project managers on budgets, procurement, contracts, schedules, forecasts, risks, change control, and closeout.
• Review portfolio safety, quality, schedule, cost, margin, technical risk, commissioning readiness, customer commitments, and corrective actions.
• Develop leaders and technical personnel through coaching, training, succession planning, and performance management.
• Coordinate with internal teams, OEMs, integrators, utilities, contractors, and clients to align execution and resolve escalated issues.
• Standardize project controls, reporting, installation and commissioning practices, and lessons learned to improve consistency and profitability.
• Lead BESS safety planning and compliance, including electrical safe work, lockout/tagout, energized work, emergency response, environmental requirements, and OEM procedures.
• Support estimating, scope development, procurement, and vendor quotations for batteries, enclosures, power conversion, transformers, controls, HVAC, fire systems, cabling, and related upgrades.
• Oversee installation and integration of BESS electrical, mechanical, controls, communications, thermal-management, and fire-protection systems.
• Support operating sites with augmentation planning, capacity restoration, compatibility assessments, troubleshooting, and execution.
• Lead cross-functional resolution of battery, OEM, firmware, controls, and balance-of-system issues through documented ownership and closure.
• Review forecasts, profit and loss, estimating accuracy, contingency, and margin-improvement actions.
• Maintain lifecycle oversight from opportunity qualification and feasibility through design, procurement, installation, commissioning, turnover, and closeout.
• Develop BESS augmentation, optimization, reliability, and lifecycle-service opportunities with Business Development, Asset Management, and project teams.
• Train regional teams and improve safety, constructability, repeatability, schedule, cost, quality, and operational performance.
• Travel at least 30% to support projects, sites, clients, and team development.
• Maintain relevant professional and technical knowledge.
• Complete other responsibilities as assigned.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Safety and Compliance: Achieve zero preventable recordable incidents and 100% completion of required safety audits, training, corrective actions, and compliance reviews within assigned due dates.
• Portfolio Financial Performance: Deliver the BESS Augmentation portfolio within approved budgets and forecasts, meet or exceed annual margin targets, and maintain forecast accuracy within ±5%.
• Schedule and Delivery: Complete at least 90% of projects and major milestones on or ahead of the approved baseline schedule, with recovery plans documented for material variances.
• Quality and Rework: Maintain a first-pass quality acceptance rate of at least 95% and keep rework costs below 2% of annual project revenue.
• Client and Owner Engagement: Conduct at least one strategic job-site visit or business review per quarter for each priority client or owner account, with documented needs, commitments, and follow-up actions.
• Client Satisfaction and Retention: Achieve an average client satisfaction rating of at least 4.5 out of 5 and support a client retention or repeat-business rate of at least 90%.
• Risk and Corrective-Action Management: Escalate material safety, client, schedule, and financial risks within one business day and close at least 90% of corrective actions by their agreed due dates.
• Workforce and Succession: Maintain documented development plans for 100% of direct reports, complete quarterly talent reviews, and identify at least one succession candidate for each critical leadership role.
• Operational Improvement: Implement at least three measurable process improvements annually that improve safety, cycle time, quality, scalability, or profitability.

Minimum Skills or Experience Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, business, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent BESS leadership experience may be considered.
• Progressive leadership experience in utility-scale BESS, power generation, electrical construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance, or a related technical-services environment.
• Experience leading managers, Superintendents, field teams, subcontractors, and multiple concurrent BESS augmentation projects.
• Advanced knowledge of BESS governance, estimating, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling, procurement, contracts, outage planning, risk, change control, commissioning, and financial performance.
• Strong commercial judgment and experience partnering with clients, owners, Estimating, and project management to develop solutions, define executable scopes, and support sound investment and delivery decisions.
• Ability to communicate strategy, priorities, performance, and risk effectively to executives, clients, and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Advanced knowledge of battery systems, power conversion, transformers, switchgear, protection and controls, communications, HVAC, and fire detection and suppression.