Manager, Systems Engineering - Renewable Energy

WSP in the U.S.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 119,600 - 213,200; Full time

Job summary

WSP USA is seeking a Manager, Systems Engineering – Renewable Energy in San Diego, with travel to Houston and Denver as needed. Lead technical due diligence, owner’s engineering, and bankability assessments for solar, BESS, hybrid projects, leveraging data science and AI-driven tools.

The role focuses on identifying and mitigating technical, financial, and execution risks, developing mitigation plans, and serving as technical lead through all project phases while advancing digital transformation

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical or Energy Systems Engineering or related field.
• 10+ years in renewable energy engineering, technical advisory, owner's engineering, or independent engineering roles.
• Experience supporting utility-scale solar PV, BESS, wind, and hybrid projects.
• Experience performing lender’s technical due diligence and bankability assessments.
• Experience supporting projects through development, construction, commissioning, and operations.
• Strong understanding of project financing, EPC contracting, and project risk management.
• Proven track record of safety compliance and ability to work in a fast-paced environment.
• Occasional travel may be required depending on project-specific requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical due diligence for solar PV, BESS, hybrid renewables, and microgrid projects.
• Perform independent assessment of design, technology, engineering assumptions, and execution plans.
• Identify and quantify technical, operational, commercial, and contractual risks across lifecycles.
• Develop risk registers and mitigation plans for developers, EPC contractors, lenders, investors, and asset owners.
• Review permits, equipment specs, EPC and O&M contracts, and performance guarantees.
• Evaluate project bankability and financing readiness from an engineering perspective.
• Prepare lender-required independent engineering and technical advisory reports.
• Serve as technical lead and owner's representative through development, procurement, construction, commissioning and operations.
• Evaluate and validate EPC contractor designs and deliverables.
• Review drawings, studies, calculations, and equipment specs.
• Monitor construction progress and identify execution risks.
• Support FAT, SAT, and commissioning activities.
• Develop and validate energy yield assessments and production forecasts.
• Perform independent checks of contractor models and assumptions.
• Support revenue-risk assessments and merchant exposure analysis; analyze dispatch strategies.
• Assess BESS technology selection, degradation, augmentation strategies, and lifecycle performance.
• Review warranties, performance guarantees, and long-term operating risks.
• Perform independent verification of system sizing and operational modeling.
• Develop data-driven methodologies for risk identification and asset performance monitoring.
• Build RAG solutions to streamline technical reviews and project intelligence workflows.
• Utilize ML, AI and predictive analytics to identify project and operational risks.
• Develop automated engineering assessment and due diligence tools.
• Support digital transformation initiatives within renewable energy advisory services.
• Adhere to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies; ethical use of funds and resources.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

Skills

Technical due diligence

Risk management

Data analytics

Machine learning

AI-driven decision support

Owner's engineering

Lender due diligence

Project risk assessment

Engineering leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering

Master’s Degree in Engineering

Professional Engineer (PE) license

Tools

Python

PVsyst

NREL SAM

Storlytics

R programming

Job description

Job Description

Manager, Systems Engineering – Renewable Energy

Location: San Diego, CA (also Houston, TX and Denver, CO)

The role requires deep expertise in identifying, quantifying, and mitigating technical, performance, operational, financial, and execution risks associated with renewable energy projects. The candidate will lead technical due diligence, owner's engineering services, performance modeling, technology evaluations, and project bankability assessments while leveraging advanced analytical tools, data science, and AI-driven decision‑support solutions.

Your Impact

• Lead technical due diligence for solar PV, BESS, hybrid renewable, microgrid (BTM data centers/ green hydrogen), and other emerging energy infrastructure projects.
• Perform independent assessment of project design, technology selection, engineering assumptions, and execution plans.
• Identify and quantify technical, operational, commercial, and contractual risks throughout project lifecycles.
• Develop risk registers and mitigation plans for developers, EPC contractors, lenders, investors, and asset owners.
• Review project permits, equipment specifications, EPC agreements, O&M contracts, and performance guarantees.
• Evaluate project bankability and financing readiness from an engineering perspective.
• Prepare lender‑required independent engineering reports and technical advisory reports.
• Serve as technical lead and owner's representative during project development, procurement, construction, commissioning, and operations.
• Evaluate and validate EPC contractor designs and technical deliverables.
• Review engineering drawings, studies, calculations, and equipment specifications.
• Monitor construction progress and identify execution risks.
• Support factory acceptance tests (FAT), site acceptance tests (SAT), and commissioning activities.
• Develop and validate energy yield assessments and production forecasts.
• Perform independent checks of contractor‑provided models and assumptions.
• Support revenue‑risk assessments and merchant exposure analysis. Analyze dispatch strategies and revenue optimization assumptions.
• Assess BESS technology selection, degradation, augmentation strategies, and lifecycle performance.
• Review battery warranties, performance guarantees, and long‑term operating risks.
• Perform independent verification of system sizing and operational modeling.
• Develop data‑driven methodologies for project risk identification and asset performance monitoring.
• Build Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) solutions to streamline technical reviews, engineering knowledge management, and project intelligence workflows.
• Utilize machine learning, AI, and predictive analytics to identify project and operational risks.
• Develop automated engineering assessment and due diligence tools.
• Support digital transformation initiatives within renewable energy advisory services.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision‑making regarding company funds, resources and conduct, and adhere to WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of experience in renewable energy engineering, technical advisory, owner's engineering, or independent engineering roles.
• Experience supporting utility‑scale solar PV, BESS, wind, and hybrid projects.
• Proven experience performing lender’s technical due diligence and bankability assessments.
• Experience supporting projects through development, construction, commissioning, and operations.
• Strong understanding of project financing, EPC contracting, and project risk management.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Must be flexible to a variety of schedules to meet business needs and able to prioritize responsibilities and quickly adapt to change in a pressure work environment.
• Occasional travel may be required depending on project‑specific requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Engineering.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Renewable Energy Modeling:
  • PVsyst
  • NREL System Advisor Model (SAM)
• Battery Energy Storage Analytics:
  • Storlytics
• Programming & Data Analytics:
  • Python
• R Programming
• Retrieval‑Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture development
• Large Language Model (LLM) integration

WSP Benefits

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.

Compensation

Expected Salary (all locations): $119,600 – $213,200

Expected Salary (Colorado only): $111,200 – $186,100

WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

About WSP

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors, and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water, and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.

www.wsp.com

WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.

At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?

Equal Opportunity Employer

WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.

Authorized Work

The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.

Notice to Third Party Agencies

WSP does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or other staffing services. Unsolicited resumes include any resume or hiring document sent to WSP in the absence of a signed Service Agreement where WSP has expressly requested recruitment/staffing services specific to the position at hand. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers or other business leaders, will become the property of WSP and WSP will have the right to hire that candidate without reservation – no fee or other compensation will be owed or paid to the recruiter, employment agency, or other staffing service.