Sr. BESS Engineer

Adapture Renewables, Inc.; Oakland (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan with company matching

Health, vision, and dental benefits

Generous personal time off

Work-from-home policy

Salary commensurate with experience

Job summary

Adapture Renewables, Inc. seeks a Senior BESS Engineer to lead technical evaluation, design, and commissioning of battery energy storage systems across projects. You will work with procurement, asset management, construction, and development teams, ensure NFPA 855 and UL 9540 compliance, and travel up to 25%.

Based in Oakland or remote in the U.S., you’ll define specs, review proposals, and mentor junior engineers in a fast-growing renewables portfolio.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical or mechanical engineering or related field.
• 5–8+ years in utility-scale battery energy storage engineering across multiple ESS suppliers.
• Knowledge of lithium-ion BESS architecture, including cells, modules, PCS, EMS/BMS.

Responsibilities

• Lead independent technical evaluation of energy-storage suppliers and technologies across major OEMs.
• Define technical specifications and requirements for BESS RFPs and feed procurement's evaluation.
• Review proposals, datasheets and exhibits; identify performance, safety, degradation risks.
• Support contract negotiation on technical terms such as guarantees and testing protocols.
• Execute BESS electrical and system design reviews: DC/AC, PCS sizing, augmentation, thermal design.
• Interface with civil, electrical and interconnection design to ensure proper integration.
• Develop and maintain ARI's BESS design standards and evaluation criteria.
• Support FAT/SAT and commissioning; assist in performance testing and warranty substantiation.

Skills

Battery energy storage engineering

Electrical engineering

System design

Technical evaluation

Cross-functional teamwork

Education

Bachelor's degree in electrical/mechanical engineering

Job description

Adapture Renewables, Inc. is on a mission to be a leader in this new era of sustainable energy. Drawing upon an extensive knowledge base, we develop, finance, engineer, build, own, and operate high quality utility-scale photovoltaic projects and battery energy storage projects. Our Engineering team is looking for a talented Senior BESS Engineer to help support the efforts of our fast-growing company. Adapture Renewables is owned by KIRKBI Climate – the private holding and investment company of the Kirk Kristiansen family founded to build a sustainable future for the LEGO® brand through generations.

Overview

This position will work in our Engineering team and serve as ARI's technical resource for battery energy storage across the portfolio-spanning technology and supplier evaluation, system design, delivery, commissioning, augmentation, and operating performance. The Senior BESS Engineer provides storage-specific engineering expertise that complements ARI's engineering team and is the technical backbone behind ARI's storage procurement and design decisions as BESS becomes a core part of the portfolio. The role supports Strategic Procurement with independent technical evaluation of storage suppliers, partners with the development engineering team on integrated system design, and feeds Asset Management the technical inputs needed to operate and maintain the fleet, working closely with Strategic Procurement, Asset Management, Pre-Construction, Construction, and Development. This role reports to the Head of Engineering. The candidate may be based in Oakland, CA or remotely in the U.S., with periodic travel to projects and OEM/factory sites.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead independent technical evaluation of energy-storage suppliers and technologies - cells, modules, enclosures, PCS, and EMS/BMS - across the major OEMs (e.g. Fluence, eStorage, Wärtsilä, Tesla, LG, Samsung).
• Define technical specifications and requirements for BESS RFPs and support Strategic Procurement's supplier selection with technical scoring, due diligence, and risk assessment (Procurement owns the RFP process and commercial terms; this role owns the technical evaluation and specification that feed them).
• Review supplier proposals, datasheets, and technical exhibits; identify performance, round-trip efficiency, safety, degradation, and warranty risks before they are contracted.
• Support contract negotiation on technical terms: capacity and energy guarantees, degradation and augmentation, round-trip efficiency, availability, and performance-testing protocols.
• Execute BESS electrical and system design review across projects: DC and AC architecture, PCS sizing, augmentation planning, auxiliary loading, thermal/HVAC, and fire and safety design.
• Interface with civil, electrical, and interconnection design so that storage integrates cleanly with the plant and the point of interconnection.
• Develop and maintain ARI's BESS design standards, technical requirements, and evaluation criteria as reusable internal assets.
• Support Project Management and Construction on BESS technical issues through factory acceptance testing (FAT), site acceptance testing (SAT), and commissioning.
• Support performance testing and capacity and availability verification at commercial operation.
• Support Asset Management on operating storage performance: degradation tracking, augmentation timing, availability and performance analysis, and technical substantiation of warranty claims.
• Direct technical inputs into ARI's operating-performance framework for the storage fleet.
• Ensure compliance of BESS safety requirements, including NFPA 855, UL 9540 and UL 9540A, hazard mitigation analysis, and technical input to emergency response plans.
• Coordinate with authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) on storage safety requirements.

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field.
• 5-8+ years in utility-scale battery energy storage engineering - design, integration, or technical evaluation - with hands-on exposure across multiple ESS suppliers or technologies.
• Deep working knowledge of lithium-ion BESS architecture: cells, modules, enclosures, PCS, EMS/BMS, augmentation strategy, and degradation behavior.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate and compare ESS OEM offerings on the technical merits and to defend technical positions against sophisticated suppliers.
• Working knowledge of BESS performance guarantees, testing protocols, and warranty structures.
• Familiarity with NFPA 855, UL 9540 / 9540A, and relevant IEEE standards.
• Ability to operate independently and lead cross-functional technical work with Procurement, Asset Management, and Construction.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred.
• Experience with both solar-plus-storage and standalone BESS configurations preferred.
• Familiarity with ISO/RTO market-participation requirements for storage as they affect sizing and dispatch preferred.
• Experience developing long-term augmentation and capacity-maintenance strategy preferred.
• Must be willing to travel as needed, up to 25% of time.

Benefits Package

• 401(k) plan with company matching contribution
• Competitive health, vision, and dental benefits
• Attractive personal time off and company holiday package
• Work-from-home policy
• Salary commensurate with experience

Note

Qualified candidates only. Adapture Renewables, Inc. is committed to equal employment opportunity.

The application deadline for this role is December 31, 2026