Solar Director of Preconstruction and Engineering

Moss & Associates LLC; Hawaii; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Moss & Associates LLC is seeking a Solar Director of Preconstruction and Engineering to lead preconstruction, estimating, and engineering for utility-scale solar projects from Hawaii Office. The role ensures accurate estimates, reinforces design deliverables, and coordinates with owners, consultants, and vendors.

The ideal candidate has 8+ years in engineering/management, strong solar experience, and excellent leadership and communication skills to guide a growing team and deliver successful

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, electrical engineering, or related discipline preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of engineering and management experience, including 5 years supporting utility-scale solar projects.
• Strong background in solar utility-scale ground mount projects and constructability.
• Experience with estimating software and project scheduling.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills for interfacing with owners, consultants, and Moss staff.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the preconstruction and engineering effort for utility-scale solar projects from concept to final pricing.
• Manage estimating for EPC, conceptual/schematic, and progress drawings for solar projects.
• Produce estimate summaries with costs and margins for owner bids and Moss budgets.
• Update and track estimates as designs progress; perform value engineering and scope reconciliation.
• Provide leadership in creating, reviewing, and revising drafts for solar ground mount projects.
• Review contracts to identify commercial, technical, operational, and risk issues.
• Build and manage the preconstruction and engineering team; train staff.
• Provide training and promote continuous improvement in estimating and preconstruction processes.
• Ensure adherence to departmental processes and deliverables.

Skills

Estimating

Preconstruction

Engineering management

Team leadership

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

HCSS Heavy Bid

Accubid

MS Project

Primavera

AGTEK

BlueBeam

InSite Software

Job description

Company Overview

Moss is a national privately held construction firm providing innovative solutions resulting in award-winning projects. With regional offices across the United States, Moss focuses on construction management, solar EPC, design-build, and public-private partnerships. The company’s diverse portfolio encompasses a wide range of sectors, including luxury high-rise residential, landmark mixed-use developments, hospitality, K-12 and higher education, justice, solar energy and battery storage, and sports. Moss is ranked by Engineering News-Record as one of the nation’s top 65 general contractors, and the 3rd ranked solar EPC nationwide. Moss prides itself on a strong entrepreneurial culture that honors safety, quality, client engagement and employee development. Its employees consistently rank Moss as one of the best places to work.

Position Scope and Organizational Impact

The Solar Director of Preconstruction and Engineering provides leadership for preconstruction, estimating, and engineering functions to support the Solar Division in the pursuit and execution of large utility-scale solar projects based out of the Hawaii Office. This role drives accuracy and consistency in estimating, oversight of engineering deliverables, team development, and collaboration with owners, consultants, trade contractors, and vendors to support successful project pursuits and transitions to operations.

Essential Job Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the preconstruction and engineering effort for utility‑scale solar projects, from early‑stage concept through final contract pricing and handoff.
• Manage the estimating process for EPC, conceptual/schematic, and various stages of progress construction drawings through final contract pricing for the solar industry.
• Produce estimate summaries indicating project costs and margin potential, while supporting conversion to both Owner bid forms and Moss internal budget formats.
• Prepare, update, and track estimates as design documents progress, including value engineering analysis and reconciliation of scope, assumptions, and clarifications.
• Provide leadership in creating, reviewing, and revising drafts and deliverables for solar utility‑scale ground mount projects.
• Review, analyze, and provide comments on owner contracts, subcontract agreements, consultant agreements, and other project related contracts to identify commercial, technical, operational, and risk related issues.
• Build, train, and manage the preconstruction and engineering team; establish assignments, priorities, and key staff objectives.
• Provide training/seminars to the department and promote continuous improvement in estimating, engineering coordination, and preconstruction processes.
• Monitor adherence to all departmental processes; correct non‑compliance as required.
• Conduct department meetings and ensure clear communication of expectations, schedules, and deliverables.
• Responsible for all deliverables produced by the department, ensuring completeness, accuracy, and timeliness.
• Support and manage relationships with owners, design consultants, vendors, and trade contractors to align with project goals.
• Coordinate project handoff to operations teams and ensure all preconstruction, engineering, and contractual information is accurately transferred for successful project execution.
• Establish and maintain strong business relationships with trade contractors and vendors to ensure support and interest in bidding and executing solar projects.
• Provide support to early‑stage project management, engineering, and operations teams to enable successful project planning and execution.
• Communicate and interact effectively with the project owner, design consultants, and Moss staff to meet project goals.
• Provide high‑level summaries of bids to the Leadership Team at the time of submission or by the following morning, including key risks, assumptions, and opportunities.
• Focus on risk management training and development of systems, standards, constructability, and scope development practices.
• Oversee trade contractor compliance and performance expectations (including contractor scorecards) for trade contractors bidding projects.
• Review trade contractor applicants who submit information through established channels and/or advise the Vice President of Solar as appropriate.
• Provide staff performance reviews and recommend salary adjustments to the Vice President of Solar.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Education and Work Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in construction management, civil engineering, electrical engineering, or related discipline preferred.
• Minimum 8 years of engineering and management experience, including minimum 5 years supporting utility‑scale solar projects.
• Strong background in solar utility‑scale ground mount projects (engineering coordination, constructability, and preconstruction execution).
• Strong estimating and project scheduling background.
• Strong computer skills are a necessity (MS Office / Excel / PowerPoint / Word), including familiarity with construction project management applications and estimating software.
• Experience with HCSS Heavy Bid, Accubid, MS Project, Primavera, AGTEK, BlueBeam, and InSite Software is an advantage.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills required to interface directly with owners’ representatives, the A/E team, building departments, and other team members.
• Ability to read, interpret, and understand plans proficiently; ability to read specifications and understand subject matter.
• Ability to perform accurate quantity survey take-offs.
• Demonstrated leadership skills, including experience managing and developing teams of estimators, project engineers, and/or engineering staff.

Job Details

Job Title: Solar Director of Preconstruction and Engineering

Job Location: Hawaii Office

Classification: Full Time – Exempt – Salaried

Department: Preconstruction (Solar)

Reports To: Vice President, Solar

Equal Opportunity Statement

Moss is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Moss brings an honest, positive, and intelligent approach to our business that’s not readily found in the construction industry. This has created recognizable, sustainable, innovative, award‑winning buildings and helped our company become one of the most respected and sought‑after companies in the U.S. The Moss team of experts spans the country with offices in Hawai’i, California, Texas, and Florida. Customer satisfaction is our passion. We are focused on exceeding expectations with intelligent solutions and genuine relationships. We’ve combined our deep expertise with a renowned level of integrity and transparency—serving as the foundation for all we do.

Learn more about careers at Moss here!