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Solar Performance Engineer – Asset Operations & Maintenance

Pivot Energy
2 days ago
Full-time
Remote
United States
$90,000 - $120,000 USD yearly
Solar Panel Inspections

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Performance Engineer (O&M) will play an important role in driving value for Pivot Energy’s distributed generation assets. This role is highly collaborative, supporting internal and external stakeholders in the establishment of Pivot Energy as an industry-leading ESG-focused IPP. As our portfolio grows, we cannot rely on manual oversight. Your ability to build automated "sanity checks" on our data ensures that asset managers and service teams are working on the most impactful tasks, directly protecting the IRR of our renewable assets.

The Performance Engineer will ensure that current and future performance of the assets is in line with project proformas. We are seeking a data-driven engineer to bridge the gap between raw SCADA data and actionable field maintenance. In this role, you will not just report on underperformance; you will diagnose it and support action plans with asset managers to improve performance. You will leverage your background in electrical engineering and data science to identify systemic issues, optimize energy yield, and provide recommendations to asset modeling and DAS system interface as well as field service work.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Performance Monitoring & Diagnostics: Monitor real-time and historical plant data to identify underperformance related to system alerts, equipment efficiency, AC and DC health, including but not limited to inverter efficiency, tracker misalignment, or string-level anomalies.

  • System Optimization: Identify inefficiencies and develop strategies to improve energy yield and system availability.

  • Troubleshooting: Diagnose and resolve technical issues affecting system performance, grid stability and control systems. Root Cause Analysis (RCA): Lead technical investigations into equipment failures and outage events. Move beyond "what" happened to "why" by correlating meteorological data with electrical output.

  • Data Automation: Develop and maintain Python/R scripts or SQL queries to automate the ingestion and cleaning of DAS/SCADA data, replacing manual spreadsheet workflows.

  • Advanced Modeling: Use PVsyst and DAS modeling logic to compare actual vs. expected energy production, adjusting for degradation and weather variance and system loss identification.

  • Action Liaison: Translate complex data findings into "Action Reports." You will tell the asset managers and field technicians which specific components to test, reducing "truck roll" costs and mean time to repair (MTTR).

  • Contractual Compliance: Calculate and track Guarantee Availability and Performance Ratio (PR) to ensure O&M providers are meeting PPA obligations.

  • Additional responsibilities as required.

REQUIRED COMPETENCIES

  • Experience 3+ years in the solar industry, specifically within O&M, Performance Engineering, or Asset Management.

  • Solar Expertise: Understanding of DC/AC ratios, clipping losses, inverter operating curves, and the impact of soiling/shading.

  • Education: B.S. in Electrical Engineering, Renewable Energy, or a related quantitative field.

  • Technical Skills: * Proficiency in Python (Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn) or R for data analysis.

  • Strong SQL skills for querying large historical datasets.

  • Hands-on experience with PVsyst and meteorological data (MET) stations.

  • Strong organizational skills with ability to track & execute large volumes of on-going compliance obligations

PREFERRED COMPETENCIES

  • The "So What?" Factor: The ability to present technical findings to non-technical Asset Managers and VPs in a way that emphasizes financial impact.

  • Field Empathy: You understand that a sensor might be "lying" due to a comms issue rather than a hardware failure.

  • Mechanical engineering experience

  • Battery Energy Storage performance monitoring and analysis

  • Understanding of Community Solar

  • NABCEP certification

  • OSHA 30

$90,000 - $120,000 a year

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

The estimated base salary range for this position is $90,000-$120,000 depending on relevant experience, along with eligibility for the company’s substantial bonus plan, with a target bonus of 30% of annual salary (prorated in first year based on start date).

Pivot Energy is dedicated to providing a great work experience for all employees, placing an emphasis on company culture, and a focus on our people. To that end, Pivot offers an outstanding benefits package that includes:

  • Excellent health/dental/vision insurance benefits with up to 100% of premiums covered by the company
  • Four weeks of vacation (prorated in first year)
  • Company paid life insurance and short- & long-term disability coverage
  • Generous parental leave
  • 401(k) matching
  • Home Office set-up stipend for new employees
  • Public transit reimbursement
  • PTO for volunteering in the community
  • Charitable donation matching up to $500/year
  • Professional development and educational reimbursements

A complete list of all the benefits Pivot offers may be provided upon request.

Recruitment Agency Notice:
We appreciate your interest in partnering with us; however, we are not seeking recruitment agency support for this role.

ABOUT PIVOT

Pivot Energy is a national renewable energy provider that develops, finances, builds, owns, and manages solar and energy storage projects that help decarbonize our nation’s electricity, increase equitable access to clean energy for local communities, and provide real cost-savings to American businesses and
families.
 
We are fiercely dedicated to accelerating the rapid transition taking place in the energy industry to a more decentralized and cleaner approach to power generation. We are committed to positively contributing to the local communities and people we serve with more than clean energy. We believe global warming poses an existential threat to our planet and that we have a responsibility to help mitigate the threat. Our portfolio includes projects that reduce energy burden for income-limited families, create workforce pathways for under-represented groups within the solar industry, and include robust community investment opportunities.
 
As a Certified B Corporation and one of Denver’s “Best Places to Work”, we believe that company success is driven by a healthy environment, thriving society, and workplace where all individuals are respected. We evaluate every internal decision on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors to determine if our actions will result in a net positive impact on the community, our employees, customers, shareholders, and the environment. Learn more in our annual ESG Report.
 
At Pivot, our core values guide our work internally and externally:
·       Impact – We hold ourselves accountable to having a measurable impact on our people, communities, and the planet
·       Balance – Put family first; work hard/have fun
·       Determination – Find ways to be successful no matter how difficult the challenge
·       Professionalism – Impress everyone we touch, be a team player
·       Honesty – Be truthful and transparent, externally and internally
·       Kindness – Create an environment where kindness, empathy, and vulnerability are embraced
 
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION and JUSTICE STATEMENT
 
At Pivot, we are proactively developing and maintaining an inclusive culture, rooted in mutual respect, that supports a workforce of different generations, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, ability statuses, religions, and cultures to work collaboratively together for greater impact. We seek to build a team that invests in relationship building, celebrates each other’s successes, and makes space for the unique contributions and working styles people bring into Pivot. 
Pivot invests in company-wide trainings, assessments, and programs to advance internal inclusion and equity practices, such as employee allyship building, cross-cultural communications, and equitable hiring and management protocols to increasingly recognize bias and ensure mutual respect and belonging.
 
EEO STATEMENT
Pivot Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce. We actively work to cultivate an inclusive culture that welcomes, empowers, and enables equitable career growth for employees regardless of background.