Solar Design Engineer

About the role

You will join a solar engineering team that designs commercial, industrial, and utility-scale PV systems from concept through permit-ready construction documents. The team is responsible for every line on the drawing set: array layout, electrical design, racking, and interconnection details. This role matters because clean, code-compliant, value-engineered designs are what let projects permit fast, install without field fixes, and produce the energy the financial model promised. You will also own the evolving code landscape, tracking NEC Article 690 revisions, rapid shutdown rules, and local AHJ amendments across every jurisdiction the company builds in, so plan sets never stall in review. The role extends into emerging scopes such as agrivoltaics layouts, carport structural coordination, and DC-coupled storage retrofits as the portfolio diversifies. You will mentor junior designers on your QA checklists and redline standards, raising the bar for every set that leaves the team. Your field feedback loop matters too: you will review installation photos and as-builts to catch details that looked fine on paper but caused friction on the roof.

What you will achieve

• Produce permit-ready plan sets for 20 to 40 MW of solar per year across rooftop, carport, and ground-mount projects with first-pass AHJ approval rates above 90 percent
• Reduce installed cost per watt by 5 to 8 percent through value engineering: optimized stringing, inverter loading ratios, and racking standardization, with redlines from AHJ comments tracked and folded back into the standard detail library
• Own shade analysis, production modeling, and DC/AC ratio optimization so modeled yield matches first-year metered output within 5 percent
• Cut design rework to near zero by building standard details, title block templates, and automated QA checklists the team runs on every set, documented in a value-engineering log that quantifies savings per design decision
• Drive structural and geotechnical coordination so ballasted and penetrating mounting systems pass review without redesign cycles

What you will bring

Must-haves

• 2 to 5 years of experience designing PV systems with issued permit sets in your portfolio
• Expert-level fluency in NEC Article 690 and related articles (705, 250, 310) for PV installations
• Proficiency with PVsyst or Helioscope for production modeling plus AutoCAD for plan set production
• Ability to perform string sizing, voltage drop, conduit fill, and overcurrent protection calculations independently
• Understanding of racking systems, roof attachment methods, and structural loading basics for rooftop and ground-mount
• Experience coordinating with structural engineers, AHJs, and utilities on plan review comments
• Detail-obsessed drawing habits: clean layers, consistent notation, and constructible details

Nice-to-haves

• NABCEP PV Installation Professional or PV Design Specialist credential
• Experience with energy storage integration or AC-coupled retrofits
• Familiarity with utility interconnection requirements and net metering tariffs
• EIT certification or progress toward a PE license
• Familiarity with bifacial system design, albedo assumptions, and rear-side irradiance modeling