Project Development Manager

Lightshift Energy; Washington (District of Columbia, MD); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonuses

Full benefits: 401k, health/dental/vis

Paid vacation/sick/holidays

Job summary

Lightshift Energy seeks a Project Development Manager to support utility-scale energy storage project development. You will drive land acquisition, coordinate development activities, and align stakeholders with Lightshift’s growth plan.

This role requires leadership, strong PM skills, and travel up to 25-50%. Preference for Arlington, VA, with remote options for highly qualified candidates who can overlap with development efforts.

Qualifications

• Experience identifying viable project sites and leading land acquisition efforts for development.
• Experience with pre-NTP development workstreams that culminate in approvals with state/local authorities.
• Excellent project management skills including planning, organizing, and prioritizing tasks.
• Strong leadership and communication skills to manage workstreams and stakeholders.
• Direct experience identifying energy storage market opportunities and developing project sites.
• Minimum of 2 years of direct project development experience in the energy sector.
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills.
• Willingness to travel ~25-50% of the time.

Responsibilities

• Leading land acquisition efforts / siting campaigns and identifying viable project sites to grow our project pipeline
• Leading projects through development lifecycle (inception to Notice to Proceed)
• Creating project management plans for Lightshift team use
• Managing project federal, state and local permitting challenges as/when they arise
• Ensuring interconnection rights are secured and advanced for our projects
• Working with team engineers and analysts on project scope and site design
• Providing research and due diligence support on all federal, state and local officials, regulators, utilities, RTOs, and other stakeholders throughout the project development process
• Providing key support for battery supply and EPC partners from project design to contract negotiation/execution

Skills

Land acquisition

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

Energy storage market

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s in business, environmental science, energy management, renewable energy, electrical engineering

Job description

The Project Development Manager will be an integral member of Lightshift’s team, providing strategic support to the Project Development team, with a focus on utility-scale energy storage project development. The Project Development Manager will facilitate Lightshift’s boots-on-the-ground project development efforts with support from the rest of the Lightshift team.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Leading land acquisition efforts / siting campaigns and identifying viable project sites to grow our project pipeline
• Leading projects through development lifecycle (inception to Notice to Proceed)
• Creating project management plans for Lightshift team use
• Managing project federal, state and local permitting challenges as/when they arise
• Ensuring interconnection rights are secured and advanced for our projects
• Working with team engineers and analysts on project scope and site design
• Providing research and due diligence support on all federal, state and local officials, regulators, utilities, RTOs, and other stakeholders throughout the project development process
• Providing key support for battery supply and EPC partners from project design to contract negotiation/execution

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience identifying viable project sites and lead acquisition efforts of land for project development
• Experience with pre-NTP project development workstreams that culminate in obtaining project approvals with state and local authorities
• Excellent project management skills, including effective planning, organizing and prioritizing tasks
• Strong leadership and communication skills to manage project workstreams / stakeholders
• Direct experience identifying energy storage market opportunities, determine use cases with prospective customers, and to develop project sites
• At least 2 years of direct project development experience in the energy sector
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills;
• Willingness to travel ~25-50% of the time
• Bachelors or Master’s degree in business, environmental science, energy management, renewable energy, electrical engineering, or related degree desired

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Strong problem-solving and interpersonal skills
• Strongly prefer more than 2 years of project development experience with demonstrated results (project permitting approvals obtained)
• Excellent research and presentation skills
• Knowledge of development risks / risk management best practices
• Working knowledge of US energy markets
• A collaborative attitude and desire to help as needed to assist company growth plans
• Desire to effectuate swift change in the clean energy transition
• Prior mentorship experience with developing junior development team members

LOCATION

Preference is for candidates to report to Lightshift’s Arlington, VA headquarters. We will consider remote employment for well qualified candidates as long as there is overlap with Lightshift’s development efforts.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Base salary range of $115,000 – $155,000; commensurate with related qualifications and experience/educational background
• Generous annual cash bonuses
• Full benefits package, including 401k, health/dental/vision insurance, paid vacation, paid sick leave, paid holidays, and short-term disability