Principal Engineer, Asset Management

Peak Demand; Baltimore (MD); On-site; USD 150,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

Peak Demand is seeking a Principal Engineer, Asset Management to lead troubleshooting, root-cause investigations, and engineering solutions across its solar portfolio. This senior role will drive reliability improvements and plan repowering across multiple sites.

You will partner with Operations, Asset Management, Construction, and Procurement to resolve technical issues, define standards, and deliver design enhancements for efficiency and safety.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• 8+ years of experience in solar engineering, power systems, operations engineering, reliability engineering, or asset performance.
• Hands-on engineering experience taking solar projects from design through construction and operation.
• Experience troubleshooting distributed generation or utility-scale solar PV systems.
• Experience with three-phase electrical systems, protection systems, inverter operation, and solar PV plant design.
• Ability to interpret electrical drawings, equipment datasheets, test results, as-built documentation, and manufacturer literature.
• Experience supporting multiple operating solar assets and managing competing technical priorities.
• Strong communication skills and ability to explain complex technical issues to technical and nontechnical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Conduct troubleshooting and root-cause investigations for PV modules, inverters, transformers, protection systems, monitoring equipment, and medium-voltage systems.
• Review plant performance, operating data, and field-test results to identify equipment failures and opportunities to improve reliability.
• Evaluate drawings, commissioning records, equipment documentation, and site history to determine causes and propose corrective actions.
• Develop recommendations and designs for solar repowering, major repairs, and equipment replacement projects.
• Lead technical investigations across multiple sites and coordinate corrective actions.
• Identify defects, construction deficiencies, and workmanship issues, including support for warranty claims.
• Help establish engineering standards, construction practices, equipment selection criteria, and maintenance requirements across the portfolio.
• Provide engineering support to Operations, Asset Management, Construction, Development, Procurement, and other teams.
• Support technical reviews for remediation projects and assist during construction and commissioning.
• Ensure engineering recommendations comply with electrical codes, industry standards, and safety requirements.

Skills

Solar engineering experience

Field troubleshooting

Power systems

Strong communication

Asset optimization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering

Job description

Our client is one of North America's largest developers of DG and Community Solar projects with over 1,300 MW of distributed energy resources in operation across 28 states, the company serves more than 1,000 customers across the education, commercial, industrial, municipal, and utility sectors. Their offerings include on and off-site solar, energy storage, and EV infrastructure.

The Principal Engineer, Asset Management will serve as a senior technical resource supporting the company's operating solar portfolio. This person will lead complex troubleshooting and root-cause investigations, evaluate major equipment repairs and repowering opportunities, and develop practical engineering solutions to improve plant reliability and performance.

This is a hands‑on engineering role for someone who understands how solar projects are designed, built, and operated. You'll work closely with internal teams, contractors, and equipment manufacturers to resolve technical issues, improve engineering practices, and support a growing technical team.

What You'll Do

• Conduct troubleshooting and root-cause investigations for PV modules, inverters, transformers, protection systems, monitoring equipment, and medium-voltage systems.
• Review plant performance, operating data, and field-test results to identify equipment failures, production losses, and opportunities to improve reliability.
• Evaluate electrical drawings, commissioning records, equipment documentation, and site history to determine the cause of technical issues and recommend corrective actions.
• Develop technical recommendations and designs for solar repowering, major repairs, and equipment replacement projects.
• Lead technical investigations across multiple solar sites, establish testing requirements, review findings, and coordinate corrective actions.
• Identify equipment defects, construction deficiencies, and workmanship issues, including providing technical support for warranty claims.
• Help establish engineering standards, construction practices, equipment selection criteria, maintenance requirements, and lessons learned across the portfolio.
• Develop critical spare parts recommendations based on equipment risk, potential downtime, production impact, availability, and procurement lead times.
• Provide engineering support to Operations, Asset Management, Construction, Development, Procurement, and other internal teams.
• Support technical reviews for major remediation projects and help resolve engineering issues during construction and commissioning.
• Ensure engineering recommendations comply with applicable electrical codes, industry standards, and safety requirements.
• Help define the engineering information maintained in operational databases, equipment repositories, and asset management systems.
• Communicate technical findings and recommendations clearly to engineering teams, field personnel, and company leadership.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or a related field.
• 8+ years of experience in solar engineering, power systems, operations engineering, reliability engineering, or asset performance.
• Hands‑on engineering experience taking solar projects from design through construction and operation, including resolving technical issues in the field.
• Experience troubleshooting distributed generation or utility-scale solar PV systems.
• Experience with three‑phase electrical systems, protection systems, inverter operation, and solar PV plant design.
• Working knowledge of PV modules, inverters, transformers, combiner boxes, electrical balance-of-system equipment, and common equipment failure modes.
• Ability to interpret electrical drawings, equipment datasheets, test results, as‑built documentation, and manufacturer technical literature.
• Experience supporting multiple operating solar assets and managing competing technical priorities across a portfolio.
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain complex technical issues to both technical and nontechnical audiences.
• Comfortable working independently on technical challenges while collaborating with internal teams and external partners.
• Experience with solar repowering, major equipment replacements, fleet modernization, or PV system field testing is a plus.

Salary Range: $150k-$175k plus bonus