Technology and Facilities Program Manager

First Solar, Inc.; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 171,000 - 220,000; Full time

Job summary

First Solar, Inc. in Santa Clara, CA, seeks an experienced Project Manager to lead equipment development and manage cross-functional teams in an R&D environment.

You will coordinate with Mechanical Engineering, Process Development, and facilities, manage budgets, schedules, and risks, and ensure safety and compliance while delivering on-time, on-budget results. Travel up to 20%.

Qualifications

• Requires 7+ years of project or program management experience, including 5+ years leading equipment-development or engineering projects in R&D, automation, pilot-line, manufacturing, or similar high-tech environments.
• Experience with MS Project or equivalent scheduling, resource-planning, risk-management, and action-tracking tools.
• PMP certification or equivalent demonstrated project management capability preferred.
• Experience with CCPM, TOC, or other resource-constrained scheduling is a plus.
• Experience in facilities management or similar role is a plus.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional technical teams without direct reporting authority.

Responsibilities

• Independently build and maintain integrated project plans for the equipment portfolio.
• Own project scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, dependencies, and execution; drive equipment projects to objectives.
• Manage contracted facility operations teams 24/7, including on-call coverage.
• Align stakeholders on objectives and develop mitigation plans when commitments are at risk.
• Lead design and project reviews, track decisions, and ensure timely closure of issues.
• Maintain schedules, dashboards, risk logs, and documentation using approved tools.
• Improve and standardize equipment-project-management processes and governance for CTC.
• Develop and manage equipment-project capital and expense budgets and cost risks.
• Lead automatic platform and related mechanical engineering projects with safe, on-time delivery.
• Define roles, deliverables, interfaces, and performance expectations for team members and suppliers.
• Coordinate reliability, maintainability, serviceability, spare-parts and readiness with stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement using delivery, performance, cost, and issue-closure metrics.
• Partner with EHS for compliance and life safety; liaise with regulators.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Risk management

Issue resolution

Process improvement

AI and automation usage

Education

BS in mechanical engineering/automation/mechatronics

MS in Engineering Discipline

MBA with technology experience

PMP certification or equivalent

Tools

MS Project

Portfolio-management systems

Job description

First Solar reserves the right to offer you a role most applicable to your experience and skillset.

Basic Job Functions:

• Leads project and program management for equipment (EQ) development, delivery, installation, qualification, and deployment within the Research and Development (R&D) environment.
• Provides closely integrated project leadership for the Mechanical Engineering function, including design maturity, build readiness, technical issue resolution, and cross-functional execution.
• Interfaces and coordinates with Equipment, Process Development, Mechanical Engineering, Automation and Controls, EHS, Facilities, Finance, and other functions as required by the specific project scope.
• Responsible for Facilities management at the R&D site, including contracted site services, operations, business processes, strategic planning, and daily operations. Ensures the Facilities site services meet internal stakeholder needs, regulatory requirements, company goals, operational efficiency, and cost objectives.

Education/Experience:

• BS degree in mechanical engineering, automation, or mechatronics required
• MS Degree in Engineering Discipline, preferred
• MBA will be considered, but must have technology experience
• 7+ years of project or program management experience, including at least 5 years leading equipment-development or engineering projects in an R&D, automation, pilot-line, manufacturing, or other high tech environment through design, qualification, deployment, and operational handoff.
• Experience using MS Project or equivalent scheduling, resource-planning, risk-management, and action-tracking tools.
• PMP certification or equivalent demonstrated project management capability preferred.
• Experience with CCPM, TOC, or other resource-constrained scheduling methods and corresponding project portfolio management software is a plus.
• Experience of facilities management or similar role is a plus.
• Demonstrated capability leading cross-functional technical teams and influencing contributors without direct reporting authority is strongly preferred.

Required Skills/Competencies:

• Demonstrated project and program management capability for equipment-development and mechanical-engineering projects, including support for design reviews, build readiness, technical issue resolution, and engineering execution.
• Strong understanding of equipment-development processes, including requirements definition, requirements traceability, design reviews, qualification, documentation, configuration control, and operational handoff.
• Advanced skills in project planning and execution, including scope, schedule, budget, resources, procurement, risk management, dependency management, change control, commissioning, and qualification.
• Working knowledge of automated equipment systems, including mechanical assemblies, motion systems, robotics/material handling, sensors, controls, machine safety, utilities, and equipment-to-facility interfaces.
• Working knowledge of mechanical design and equipment-development practices, including drawings, BOMs, manufacturability, assembly, tolerance management, and CAD-based development processes.
• Knowledge of equipment safety, risk assessment, applicable codes and standards, root-cause analysis, issue resolution, escalation management, and continuous improvement methods.
• Effective communication, stakeholder alignment, and leadership skills with demonstrated ability to drive decisions, accountability, and execution in cross-functional teams without direct reporting authority.
• Strong proficiency with MS Project or equivalent project-management software; experience with portfolio-management systems is a plus.
• Leverages technology, including AI and automation tools, to (enhance efficiency, decision-making, analysis, or operational outcomes as applicable to the role).

Essential Responsibilities:

• Independently build and maintain integrated project plans for the equipment portfolio.
• Owns overall project scope, schedule, budget, resources, risks, dependencies, and execution; drives equipment projects to agreed technical, safety, cost, and schedule objectives.
• Manage contracted facility operations teams to achieve performance, cost, and reliability goals 24*7, including on call coverage.
• Aligns stakeholders on project objectives, requirements, priorities, and decision criteria; develops mitigation and recovery plans when commitments are at risk.
• Leads design and project reviews, tracks decisions and action items, communicates status, and drives timely closure of technical and execution issues.
• Maintains accurate project schedules, dashboards, decision logs, risk registers, action trackers, and project documentation using approved tools.
• Independently improves and standardizes practical equipment-project-management processes, templates, metrics, and governance appropriate for CTC.
• Develop and manage equipment-project capital and expense budgets, forecasts, purchase commitments, and cost risks in alignment with approved plans.
• Lead automatic platform and related mechanical engineering projects, ensuring safe, technically sound, on-time, and on-budget execution.
• Establish clear responsibilities, deliverables, interfaces, and performance expectations for project team members and suppliers.
• Build effective working relationships with equipment suppliers, fabricators, integrators, internal customers, and technical stakeholders.
• Coordinate equipment reliability, maintainability, serviceability, spare-parts, and support-readiness requirements with engineering and operations stakeholders.
• Drive continuous improvement using project delivery, equipment performance, reliability, cost, and issue-closure metrics.
• Partner with EHS to ensure compliance, life safety system performance, inspections, and reporting requirements. Maintain a positive working relationship with regulators.
• Ensure adherence to all safety policies, procedures, and housekeeping standards.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Reporting Relationships:

• Reports to Sr Manager- Process Development
• Could have direct reports.

Travel:

• Up to 20% domestic and international

Estimated Salary Range:

170,560 USD per year- 220,000 USD per year

US Physical Requirements:

Hybrid Physical Requirements

• Will sit, stand or walk short distances for up to the entire duration of a shift.
• Will climb stairs on an occasional basis.
• Will lift, push or pull up to 37 pounds on an occasional basis.
• Required to use hands to grasp, lift, handle, carry or feel objects on a frequent basis.
• 20/40 vision in both eyes together, with or without correction, is required.
• Must be able to comply with all safety standards and procedures.
• May reach above shoulder heights and below the waist on a frequent basis.
• May stoop, kneel, or bend, on an occasional basis.
• Ability to wear personal protective equipment is required (including but not limited to; steel-toed shoes, gloves, safety glasses, hearing protection, protective jacket or apron and arm guards, and a condition of employment and continued employment (requires little or no facial hair) for those requiring respirator use.

Office Physical Requirements

All positions in our office require interaction with people and technology while either standing or sitting. To best service our customers, internal and external, all associates must be able to communicate face-to-face and on the phone with or without reasonable accommodation. First Solar is committed to compliance with its obligations under all applicable state and federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In keeping with this commitment, it attempts to reasonably accommodate applicants and employees in accordance with the requirements of the disability discrimination laws. It also invites individuals with disabilities to participate in a good faith, interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made without imposing an undue hardship.

Potential candidates will meet the education and experience requirements provided on the above job description and excel in completing the listed responsibilities for this role. All candidates receiving an offer of employment must successfully complete a background check and any other tests that may be required.

Equal Opportunity Employer Statement: First Solar is an Equal Opportunity Employer that values and respects the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce. It is the policy of the company to recruit, hire, train and promote persons in all job titles without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity. We recognize that diversity and inclusion is a driving force in the success of our company.