Technical Director, Utility-Scale
Chicago, IL, United States
New Leaf Energy is an experienced clean energy developer that partners with landowners, policymakers, and other stakeholders to accelerate the transition to a world powered by renewable energy. We identify high-value sites, work with landowners and local communities to develop them, and partner with long-term asset owners to bring the most impactful clean energy projects to life.
New Leaf Energy is seeking a Technical Director, Utility-Scale to join our growing team.In this role you will help drive progress toward transmission-connected solar and storage projects larger than 20 MW across the United States. The Utility-Scale team is responsible for determining the strategy for our utility-scale business and will drive the work conducted by SMEs across multiple technical teams in pursuit of that strategy.
A key area for this role is strategic program management in support of utility-scale development activities, including technical resource management, interdisciplinary coordination and communication, process development, and change management.
Ideally this position will be filled from a New Leaf office location, although we will consider remote applicants. This position will report to the Executive Vice President of Engineering.
Position responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:
Establish and achieve goals that drive financial results of the business, primarily by focusing on process development that maintains quality and schedule adherence within the utility-scale pipeline;Closely collaborate with the Utility Scale Project Development Lead and other Utility Scale team members to align with a shared responsibility for developing a strategy and execution plan that results in the successful development of utility-scale projects across the United States;
Oversee the technical review, risk evaluation, and value engineering assessments for projects under development;
Provide strategic guidance on transmission and interconnection, including management of congestion, curtailment and deliverability studies, taking information about changing grid dynamics and planned transmission upgrades and expansions and translating it into project siting and design recommendations, in collaboration with existing internal and external SMEs;
Manage the design, permitting, and value engineering / optimization efforts for projects in the prospecting, entitlement, and design phases. This work will at times be performed by an internal team, and in other cases sub-contracted;
Provide oversight of our engineering team’s work in generating preliminary designs, performance models, cost estimates, and both permitting and bid set plans;
Build a network of subcontractors and a process for engaging those partners as a complement to the strong internal technical team at New Leaf Energy;
Work with senior management to improve processes and achieve operational excellence in individual functional areas, within the utility-scale development business, and for the company overall;
Assist in developing key performance indicators (KPIs) to monitor and control the utility-scale business performance, and engage in strategy deployment to deliver on the KPIs;
Ensure that all business KPIs that are impacted by engineering efforts are understood and tracked on a recurring basis; identify, plan, and implement continuous improvement efforts as needed;
Build and maintain a company culture of passion, performance, and accountability that attracts, retains, and motivates the best-qualified employees.
Desired Qualifications:
While no one individual will possess them all, the successful candidate will bring many of the following experiences, skills, and attributes. If you’re unsure whether you meet enough of the qualifications below but believe that your experience and skill set is a good match for this position, we invite you to apply!
10+ years experience at the intersection of engineering and business;
Understanding of the growing importance of transmission system expertise in renewables and storage siting and development, and the ability to translate complicated technical transmission analysis and plans into actionable development guidance;
Strong program management skills, with an emphasis on managing multiple projects within a portfolio and managing priorities with regular adjustment to new information from the market;
Knowledge of technical solutions for complex grid interconnections, and understanding of how to coordinate and manage utility and independent system operator (ISO) counterparties from design phase through ISA;
Understanding of rules and regulations related to technical aspects of PV and storage design - e.g. local and national electric and fire codes, permitting requirements, utility interconnection tariffs, ISO requirements, etc.;
Exposure to design of medium and/or high voltage power systems that include parallel generation and DC subsystems (i.e. PV and/or battery systems);
Experience coordinating a multidisciplinary team, including navigating different individual team members’ priorities to build alignment across the team;
Ability and inclination to continually evaluate business needs and practices, successfully facilitating improvements using lean problem solving, standard work, and New Leaf Energy principles;
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to provide leadership alongside peers within the four-person Utility Scale leadership regional team and to the broader Utility Scale division;
Education Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience.
Compensation
New Leaf Energy compensates all employees in three ways: market-competitive base salary, plus above-market variable compensation, plus an equity-like program such that all employees experience the benefits of ownership. We use a data-driven and transparent methodology to calibrate compensation that is externally competitive and internally equitable, guided by the New Leaf Energy compensation manual, which is available to all employees.
Under our compensation framework, the likely base salary range for this position in Chicago is $173,260 - $197,490. Your actual salary may be above, in, or below this range, depending on your location and experience.
Compensation for this position includes an incentive plan, about which we can go into detail in the interview process.
Benefits and Culture
New Leaf Energy’s success is driven by our collaborative, long-term relationships based on trust and transparency. We offer a flexible work environment that places significant responsibility in independent teams and creates opportunities for innovation and personal growth. New Leaf Energy’s benefits are designed to appropriately recognize our employees’ contributions and enable a reasonable work/life balance. Our benefits include:
Competitive salaries and comprehensive benefits, including medical, dental and vision;
A 401k plan with immediate vesting and a company match (100% of the first three percent of your pay; 50% for the next two percent you contribute);
An open and self-managed paid time-off policy;
A hybrid work location policy that supports working from home for part of the week;
A parental leave policy for both birthing and non-birthing parents, available immediately upon hire;
Professional development and education assistance.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
New Leaf Energy values the diverse perspectives, skills, experiences, and contributions of all employees. We want all our employees to feel like they belong and are empowered to be their most authentic selves at work. We’re actively committed to fostering diversity and creating an inclusive environment not only within our own organization but also within the clean energy industry.
We seek a diverse candidate pool in this–and every–search. New Leaf Energy provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, disability, genetics, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state, federal and local laws. In addition to federal law requirements, New Leaf Energy complies with applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities. EEO M/F/D/V.
A Note to Third-Party Recruiters
New Leaf Energy’s People + Culture team coordinates all recruiting and hiring at our company. New Leaf Energy does not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters, staffing firms, or related agencies. Resumes are only accepted from third-party recruiters, staffing firms, or related agencies if a signed agreement is in place AND if external recruiting assistance is authorized by the People + Culture team for a specific position. All unsolicited resumes will be considered the property of New Leaf Energy. New Leaf Energy is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
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