Senior Project Design Engineer

Qcells USA specializes in utility-scale solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage system project development and EPC services. The Senior Project Design Engineer leads front-end engineering for solar PV and BESS projects, developing conceptual and preliminary designs, evaluating equipment and design alternatives, supporting EPC proposals and estimating, and coordinating the transition to detailed engineering.

Responsibilities:

• Lead front-end engineering activities for utility-scale solar PV and BESS projects from project intake through conceptual and preliminary design and engineering handoff
• Review project data rooms, customer requirements, site information, surveys, technical studies, interconnection requirements, and available project documentation to identify design constraints, assumptions, risks, and missing information
• Design conceptual and preliminary site layouts, block designs, equipment arrangements, access concepts, setbacks, and overall plant configurations
• Evaluate and select major equipment including PV modules, inverters, trackers, transformers, and applicable balance-of-system components
• Perform system sizing and engineering analyses including DC/AC sizing, string sizing, inverter loading, equipment quantities, and other project-specific calculations
• Evaluate design alternatives to optimize site utilization, energy production, constructability, equipment selection, project cost, and overall EPC value
• Review energy-generation modeling and comparative design studies using PVSyst and other applicable engineering tools
• Prepare conceptual and preliminary engineering deliverables, including 10% design packages, Basis of Design inputs, design criteria, technical assumptions, exclusions, equipment quantities, and supporting documentation
• Provide engineering inputs and technical support to Estimating, Procurement, Sales, Project Engineering, Preconstruction, and other stakeholders during EPC proposal activities
• Coordinate front-end design activities with Civil, Electrical, Structural, Performance, BESS, SCADA, Substation, Transmission, CAD Designers, and applicable Subject Matter Experts
• Participate in project kickoff meetings, design reviews, constructability reviews, and technical discussions with internal teams, customers, and vendors as required
• Clearly communicate design decisions, technical risks, assumptions, constraints, and engineering recommendations to project stakeholders and engineering leadership
• Support an effective transition from FEED to detailed engineering by maintaining complete and clearly documented design records and handoff information
• Manage multiple projects and competing priorities while meeting accelerated EPC estimating, proposal, and engineering schedules
• Standardize and continuously improve FEED engineering processes, design standards, templates, tools, and quality-control practices
• Provide technical guidance and training to engineers, designers, and new team members
• Perform other duties and special projects, as assigned
• Regular attendance, in accordance with the Company's attendance policy and supervisory assignment, is an essential job duty requirement for this position

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering , Energy Engineering, or another related engineering discipline
• Minimum of five years of professional engineering experience in the solar industry, with demonstrated experience in utility-scale PV project design
• Experience performing conceptual, preliminary, or front-end engineering design for utility-scale PV projects
• Strong understanding of utility-scale PV plant architecture, major equipment, balance-of-system components, and site design considerations
• Experience evaluating site constraints and designing PV site layouts, block configurations, and major equipment arrangements
• Strong understanding of PV system sizing, DC/AC ratios, string sizing, inverter loading, and module, inverter, and tracker selection
• Experience evaluating design alternatives based on energy production, constructability, equipment requirements, project cost, and technical risk
• Experience with AutoCAD or equivalent engineering design software
• Experience with utility-scale PV layout and optimization tools such as PVcase or equivalent
• Experience with photovoltaic performance modeling tools, preferably PVSyst
• Ability to interpret site surveys, technical studies, equipment specifications, customer requirements, interconnection information, and engineering drawings
• Working knowledge of applicable solar industry codes, standards, and engineering practices, including the National Electrical Code as applicable to project design
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to make sound engineering decisions using incomplete or evolving project information
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated ability to collaborate across multidisciplinary engineering and cross-functional teams
• Ability to independently manage multiple projects, priorities, and accelerated engineering schedules
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel
• Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the United States
• This position is expected to travel up to 30% of the time
• Stationary Position: frequently remains stationary up to 90% of the time and sitting up to 8 hours in a day
• Move/Traverse: infrequently bend, stand, stoop and/or walk
• Carry Weight: infrequently carry weight and/or lift objects (light to heavy) weighing up to 10 pounds
• Hearing and Speech: frequently communicates with the ability to hear and talk on a regular basis with employees, coworkers, and all personnel matters; must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations
• Sight: frequent use of sight to detect images on computer, office documents, and office objects near and far
• Climb: occasionally ascends/descends on stairway to get to office upper and lower floors
• Travel: up to 30% as needed
• Experience supporting EPC estimating, proposals, procurement, preconstruction, or front-end engineering activities is preferred
• Experience with BESS projects is preferred
• Professional Engineer (PE) licensure or Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certification is preferred