Manager or Sr. Manager, Development Engineering

Avantus; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 138,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) matching

Medical & dental plan

Flexible PTO

Job summary

Avantus is seeking a Sr. Manager to lead on mid-to-late-stage utility-scale solar projects within California and the Desert Southwest.

You will guide cross-functional teams on site constructability, engineering studies, and design levers, supporting the full project lifecycle from development to EPC. You will mentor engineers and designers, optimize design and cost, and collaborate with procurement and operations to drive efficiencies.

Qualifications

• Leads engineers and designers across projects.
• Manages cross-functional teams through development to EPC phases.
• Evaluates design trade-offs to optimize cost and performance.
• Requires civil/engineering background with industry relevance.
• Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.

Responsibilities

• Manage and bridge Development Engineering and Estimating teams within cross-functional groups.
• Assess constructability and drive cost/benefit analyses from site conditions to design layouts.
• Guide risk/opportunity discussions as projects progress.
• Collaborate with multiple teams to improve optimization processes.
• Participate in site visits to assess conditions and engineering study needs.
• Develop and refine tools and automation for design, costing, and optimization.

Skills

Team leadership

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Cost optimization

Solar industry experience

Education

Engineering degree

Tools

Geotech modeling tools

Hydro analysis tools

Cost estimation tools

Job description

About Avantus

Avantus develops, owns and operates utility-scale clean energy projects across California and the Desert Southwest. Our development pipeline of solar with integrated storage will generate enough dispatchable power to serve more than 10 million Americans, day and night. Backed by strategic investment from KKR and EIG, and building on more than a decade of industry leadership, Avantus is growing its position as an independent power producer, delivering affordable, reliable clean energy solutions to meet America’s growing energy demand.

About The Position

The Sr. Manager delivers on our current mid- to-late-stage projects and supports our growing pipeline. They provide guidance to cross-functional project teams on site constructability, engineering study impacts (Geotech, hydro) and key design levers. This person is a key contributor to projects through entire project lifecycle, both managing a team and further building out process and team efficiencies. The Sr. Manager works closely with Optimization Engineering teams to assess project cost-benefit (site, design, and technology) and works cross functionally, bridging development, engineering, procurement, and construction considerations.

Essential Functions And Responsibilities

• Manage and bridge Development Engineering and Estimating team within broader cross-functional teams
• Opine on constructability considerations and help drive cost/benefit assessment around site conditions and design layout (early stage through EPC design work)
• Provide guidance to bound risk/opportunities on design and cost with imperfect/limited information. Guide discussion on sensitivities linked to project stage and available project information as project progresses through development lifecycle
• Collaborate with Optimization, Development, Permitting, EPC and Procurement teams to further build out processes and efficiencies on optimization assessments
• Participate in site visits and site assessment (impacts of site conditions, needed and timing of engineering studies, cost or design impacts of site features, etc.).
• Support buildout of tools and automation processes on design, layout, costing with optimization team with strong feedback loop with Development and EPC teams
• Value Engineering support through EPC partnerships
• Ensure EPC view on constructability, country/regional impacts to design/cost are considered within all project stages
• Focus on forward looking and innovative approaches are considered for best in market design, technology, and cost/construction considerations
• Pre-construction PV design and costing
• Design Optimization for LCOE
• Understand how design and cost considerations impact project through the project life
• Collaborative and knowledgeable on cross-functional aspects of design (cost, EPC, development, development engineering, procurement, operations)
• PV+Storage project (design and commissioning)
• Creative view to help solves challenging projects and incorporate innovation
• Able to build out cross-functional processes and communication flow to support efficiencies in growing pipeline
• Ability to effectively communicate between technical and commercial minded team members
• Experience in PV design, constructability in California, and the desert Southwest

Required Skills And Qualifications

• Experience in managing teams of engineers and designers
• Engineering Degree, (Civil Engineering preferred).
• 5-10+ years of relevant experience in utility scale solar.
• Commercially minded engineer who can dive into details but can see how design considerations impact bigger picture (doesn’t lose the forest in the trees).
• Ability to work on projects independently, with minimal supervision, and self-review work.
• Knowledge of site capacity analysis tools or other modeling tools required
• Ability to truly evaluate new technology or tools – layout and design considerations to modules, trackers, storage, land use, etc.
• Knowledge of geotechnical and hydro engineering and impacts to overall project.
• Ability to optimize a project design, finding ways to lower the cost of a project.
• Knowledge of cost drivers for project design

Avantus offers competitive compensation with an excellent benefits package, including 401(k) matching ; comprehensive medical and dental plan options; and flexible PTO.

We are an equal-opportunity employer.

Pay Range

$138,000—$170,000 USD