Solar Operations & Maintenance Manager

Southwest Generation Operating Company; Bakersfield (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Onward Energy is seeking a Solar Operations & Maintenance Manager in Bakersfield, California to lead site safety, reliability and cost-efficient operations across multiple PV facilities.

You will supervise O&M Supervisors and staff, develop annual budgets, coordinate maintenance campaigns, drive continuous improvement, and partner with Asset Management, Engineering and Compliance to maximize fleet performance.

Qualifications

• 7 years of work experience in operations and/or maintenance in power generation, with at least 2 years in solar.
• At least 2 years in a lead or supervisory role.
• Ability to plan, organize, schedule and direct safe operations across multiple sites.
• Strong understanding of EH&S compliance, budgeting, and performance management.

Responsibilities

• Ensure health, safety, and environmental performance aligns with policies and standards.
• Provide leadership for assigned solar facilities to ensure safe, reliable operations.
• Lead and develop O&M Supervisors and site personnel through coaching and performance management.
• Set performance expectations and drive safety, reliability, and cost performance.
• Foster safety culture, teamwork, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure compliance with policies, environmental requirements, and regulations.
• Own operational performance including availability, reliability, and budget.
• Develop budgets and manage site expenditures within approved plans.
• Monitor expenses and identify cost optimization opportunities while maintaining reliability.
• Establish KPIs and operational objectives aligned with company targets.
• Lead reliability improvements through monitoring, RCA, and preventive maintenance.
• Collaborate with Asset Management, Engineering, Supply Chain, Compliance, and ROC.
• Oversee maintenance programs per PV industry best practices and manufacturer guidance.
• Manage CMMS data quality, maintenance compliance, and asset history.
• Lead annual maintenance planning, outages, and major campaigns.
• Develop contractor performance expectations and oversee vendor relationships.
• Review scopes of work and major maintenance activities for quality and safety.
• Ensure contractor services meet procurement, safety, and ops requirements.
• Identify operational risks and develop mitigation strategies for safety and asset performance.
• Support fleet-wide standardization and best practices across facilities.
• Lead staffing, succession planning, and organizational development for regions.
• Provide updates and strategic recommendations to senior leadership.
• Support audits, due diligence, and regulatory inspections.
• Represent Operations in cross-functional initiatives and capital projects.

Skills

PV plant operations

Leadership

Budget management

Regulatory compliance

Maintenance planning

Root cause analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related

Associate degree in Engineering or related

Tools

CMMS

MS Office Suite

ERP systems

Job description

Job Title Solar Operations & Maintenance Manager Reports To Solar Regional Manager Direct Reports Yes Functional Unit Asset Management & Operations FLSA Status Exempt Position Type Full Time Location Bakersfield California

THE COMPANY

Onward Energy is an independent power platform that owns and operates over 7 GW of utility scale wind solar and natural gas generation projects across the US Our Vision is to reliably power a sustainable future Our Mission is that as North Americas premier independent power generator we will deliver renewable and reliable power to our customers opportunities to our employees sustainable returns to the families who invest in us and a better world to the next generation Corporate offices are in Denver New York and Charlotte and we are where renewable meets reliable See wwwonwardenergycom for more information

THE CHALLENGE

This position reports to the Solar Regional Manager The Solar O&M Manager provides leadership and oversight for assigned PV plant sites with responsibility for safe reliable compliant and cost effective operations This role owns overall site performance budget execution workforce development contractor strategy reliability improvement compliance execution process development and coordination with cross functional support teams The Solar O&M Manager ensures that plant objectives are achieved through effective leadership of supervisors and site personnel strong operational discipline and continuous improvement of safety reliability availability and cost performance

THE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Ensure the highest level of health safety and environmental performance through strict adherence to company policies procedures and operational standards
• Provide leadership direction and oversight for assigned solar facilities to ensure safe reliable and cost effective operations
• Lead and develop Solar O&M Supervisors and site personnel through coaching mentoring training and performance management
• Establish performance expectations and drive accountability for safety plant performance compliance employee development and operational excellence
• Foster a culture of safety ownership teamwork continuous improvement and employee engagement
• Ensure compliance with all company policies environmental requirements NERC requirements and applicable regulatory obligations
• Own overall operational performance for assigned facilities including availability reliability generation performance safety metrics maintenance execution and budget performance
• Develop annual operating budgets and manage site expenditures within approved financial plans
• Monitor spending trends forecast operating expenses and identify opportunities for cost optimization while maintaining reliability and safety expectations
• Establish facility goals key performance indicators KPIs and operational objectives aligned with company targets
• Lead reliability improvement initiatives through equipment performance monitoring root cause analysis corrective action programs and predictive maintenance strategies
• Partner with Asset Management Engineering Supply Chain Compliance and the Remote Operations Center ROC to improve plant performance and operational efficiency
• Ensure maintenance programs are implemented in accordance with PV industry best practices manufacturer recommendations and company standards
• Provide oversight of CMMS processes to ensure work order quality data accuracy maintenance compliance and asset history integrity
• Lead annual maintenance planning outage planning major maintenance campaigns and long term asset preservation strategies
• Develop contractor performance expectations and oversee strategic vendor relationships to ensure safe cost effective and high quality service delivery
• Review and approve scopes of work contractor performance metrics and major maintenance activities
• Ensure contractor and third party services are properly managed in accordance with company procurement safety and operational requirements
• Ensure compliance with contractual obligations including PPAs LGIAs service agreements warranties landowner agreements and other operational commitments
• Identify operational risks and develop mitigation strategies to improve safety reliability and long term asset performance
• Support fleet wide standardization initiatives and implementation of operational best practices across assigned facilities
• Lead staffing workforce planning succession planning and organizational development efforts for assigned regions
• Provide operational updates performance reporting and strategic recommendations to senior leadership
• Support audits compliance reviews due diligence activities and regulatory inspections
• Represent Operations in cross functional initiatives capital projects and strategic business discussions
• Perform additional duties as assigned

THE PROFILE TO SUCCEED

• Associate or bachelors degree in Engineering Physics Power Generation or related field preferred
• Applicable years of experience may substitute for degreeSeven 7 years of work experience in operations andor maintenance in power generation transmission andor distribution including at least two 2 years in the solar industry and at least two 2 years in a lead or supervisory position
• Ability to plan organize schedule and direct safe operation and maintenance activities across multiple complex projects or sites
• Demonstrated understanding of power plant operations EH&S compliance budgeting personnel management maintenance execution and performance management
• Strong written verbal and presentation skills with the ability to promote business initiatives and influence cross functional stakeholders
• Proficient use of Microsoft Office Suite programs and enterprise work management systems
• Advanced technical knowledge of PV inverters tracking systems DC systems medium voltage equipment communication systems and plant controls preferred
• Ability to anticipate and adapt to changes in the organization and operating environment
• Self starter with ability to make decisions and take necessary actions without specific direction
• Effective time management organizational skills multi tasking capability and attention to detail
• Ability to work well independently and as part of a cross functional team
• Valid US driver license with acceptable MVR history

THE PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Must be able to accomplish physical requirements with or without reasonable accommodation
• Hazardous conditions include working in confined spaces exposure to bloodborne pathogens exposure to energized electrical equipment and working in extreme hot and cold conditions
• The work may require providing first aidCPR and maintaining First AidCPRAED certification
• The work may require irregular hours depending on site operations and the unpredictable needs of the solar plant
• Ability to travel up to 10 or as business needs require
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment including but not limited to steelcomposite toed shoes gloves safety glasses hearing protection protective jacket or apron and arm guards
• Will sit stand or walk short distances for up to the entire duration of a shift
• Will lift push or pull up to 50 pounds on an occasional basis
• Must be able to comply with all safety standards and procedures

THE TEAM

The Onward Energy team is comprised of industry professionals who embrace our values of accountability adaptability collaboration and excellence At Onward Energy we seek to find solutions rather than assign blame

THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Performing this job without full and focused attention may cause serious injury or fatality Work is generally performed outside at project sites and may include weather conditions ranging from warmhot to coolcold occasional rain and moderate to high noise levels