Senior Project Developer

OpenKrill; United States; Remote; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive base salary

Performance-based bonus

Health, Vision, and Dental coverage

Generous Paid Time Off

401(k) program and company match

Job summary

Highland Electric Fleets in Boston, MA seeks a Senior Project Developer to bring battery storage and edge compute projects from concept to construction readiness. You will lead permitting, interconnection, and engagement with utilities to drive power readiness.

You will manage external engineers and consultants, oversee schedules and budgets, and collaborate with the engineering team to mitigate risks and prepare projects for handoff to execution teams. Travel ~20% is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or 8+ years of related experience.
• 4+ years developing energy infrastructure projects (solar, BESS, transmission, or generation).
• Direct BESS development experience, including utility interconnection and permitting engagement.

Responsibilities

• Develop battery storage and edge compute projects from concept to construction readiness.
• Establish utility pathways for BESS interconnection and compute loads.
• Coordinate with interconnection team to achieve power readiness at sites.
• Develop entitlement and permitting strategies including zoning, land-use, building, electrical, fire, and environmental approvals.
• Lead early engagement with authorities having jurisdiction and utilities.
• Manage permit submissions, responses to comments, public hearings, and approval conditions.
• Review site plans and equipment layouts with engineering to identify risks.
• Track schedules, budgets, and subcontractor deliverables.
• Prepare projects for handoff to Project Execution teams.

Skills

Energy project development

Permitting and interconnection

Budget and risk management

Stakeholder engagement

Project scheduling

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

About Us

Highland Electric Fleets' mission is to make electric fleets accessible and affordable for all, enabling communities to realize the benefits of cleaner, quieter and healthier fleets. Highland is North America's leading provider of Electrification-as-a-Service (EaaS). Founded in 2019, Highland partners with school districts, municipalities, and fleet operators to make the transition to electric fleets simple and affordable.

Highland proudly serves as the Official Electric School Bus Provider of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA. From pioneering vehicle-to-grid technology to managing some of the nation's largest electric school bus fleets, Highland delivers reliable, cost-effective solutions that support local communities and drive the future of transportation.

Job Summary:

The Senior Project Developer will deliver fully developed, execution-ready battery storage (BESS) and edge compute projects. This role will manage the permitting and utility interconnection process from preliminary design until construction handoff. The Senior Developer will manage external engineers and consultants to navigate major design and permitting issues and drive their portfolio of projects to power readiness.

This position reports directly to the Senior Manager, Development and Construction, preferably based in Boston, MA and an expectation of approximately 20% travel.

Job Overview:

• Develop battery storage and edge compute projects from initial concept through construction readiness.
• Establish the appropriate utility pathway for each project, distinguishing new electrical service for compute loads from BESS interconnection and any associated operating or export requirements.
• Work with Highland’s interconnection team to drive towards power readiness at each site, managing utilities to adhere to schedule.
• Develop and execute the entitlement and permitting strategy for each project, including zoning, land-use, building, electrical, fire, and applicable environmental approvals.
• Lead early engagement with authorities having jurisdiction, planning staff, fire officials, utilities, and other reviewing agencies.
• Manage complete permit submissions, responses to comments, public hearings, and approval conditions.
• Work with Highland’s engineering team to review site plans, electrical one-lines, equipment layouts, and design assumptions sufficiently to identify development risks and coordination gaps.
• Track project schedules, budgets, and subcontractor deliverables.
• Engage construction teams to validate design and prep the project for handoff to Project Execution teams.

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree or 8+ years of directly related professional experience.
• 4+ years experience developing energy infrastructure projects, such as solar, BESS, transmission, or generation projects
• Direct BESS development experience, including utility interconnection and engagement with permitting authorities.
• Demonstrated ability to develop entitlement strategies, manage permit submissions, and represent projects before municipal boards or other approval bodies.
• Experience evaluating project economics, development budgets, and tradeoffs among cost, schedule, technical feasibility, and risk.

Preferred:

• Experience developing data center and/or edge compute projects
• Experience with large, power-intensive projects with medium voltage/primary metered utility service
• Project management experience in engineering and/or construction environments

What You Can Expect from Highland:

• Competitive base salary and performance-based bonus program
• A supportive, highly collaborative, team-oriented environment
• Ability to work with bright, innovative, and forward-thinking colleagues
• Health, Vision, and Dental coverage for employees & their dependents
• Generous Paid Time Off
• 401(k) program and company match

Highland Electric Fleets provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetics. In addition to federal law requirements, Highland Electric Fleets complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.