Ecotal · 8 hours ago
Chief Engineer
Durham, NC
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level, Lead/Staff
$190K/yr - $240K/yr
10+ years expEcotal is seeking a Chief Engineer to serve as the company’s technical authority for their utility-scale solar and battery energy storage fleet. This role involves establishing technical standards, leading root cause analyses, and managing a high-impact engineering group while acting as a trusted advisor to executive leadership.
Information Technology & Services
Hiring Manager
Michaela Goetze
Responsibilities
Serve as the company’s engineering authority for solar PV and BESS systems across the operating fleet in our Solutions Business
Act as a key partner with our EPC Engineering team to own, maintain, and evolve input into engineering design standards, technical specifications, and approved equipment philosophies
Establish clear technical decision-making frameworks and escalation paths
Serve as final authority and technical underwriter for deviations from Cypress Creek standards in both construction or critical RTS situations
Evaluate new technologies, vendors, and design approaches for fleet-wide adoption as part of our operating feedback loop, and as part of our balance-risk based approach to evaluating new and emerging adjacent technologies
Lead and govern complex, cross-disciplinary root cause analyses for major failures within our operating assets, performance degradation, safety events, and systemic issues
Ensure RCAs result in actionable design, construction, or operational improvements, not just reports
Assist in identifying technically underwritten permanent corrective actions for large-scale defects in our operating fleet
Build and continuously improve a formal operating feedback loop between Solutions and EPC Engineering
Translate operational lessons learned by providing input into design updates, construction standards, and commissioning practices
Partner with Construction, Development, and Supply Chain teams to reduce repeat issues and lifecycle cost. Ensure our portfolio and decisions reflect long-term thinking, not short-term tradeoffs
Lead and mentor a small, senior technical team focused on fleet-level engineering issues
Set priorities, technical rigor, and gold-standards for engineering output
Act as a technical coach and reviewer for complex analyses and recommendations
Work closely with Operations, Asset Management, Construction, Safety, and Executive Leadership
Provide clear, defensible engineering recommendations that balance reliability, cost, risk, and schedule
Support due diligence, acquisitions, and major retrofits as needed
Qualification
Required
10+ years of experience in utility-scale solar, with direct exposure to operating assets
Deep technical expertise in solar PV systems (modules, inverters, trackers, MV/LV systems)
Strong working knowledge of BESS systems (integration, controls, thermal management, degradation, safety)
Proven experience leading fleet-level engineering decisions and complex RCAs
Demonstrated ability to influence across organizations without direct authority
Experience developing or owning engineering standards and technical governance
Strong written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level presentations
Preferred
Experience in an owner/operator or IPP environment
Direct involvement with large operating fleets (GW-scale preferred)
Familiarity with NERC, IEEE, UL, NFPA, and applicable interconnection standards
Professional Engineer (PE) license strongly preferred
Experience integrating operational data and performance analytics into engineering decisions
Experience leading teams
Exposure or direct experience in Wind, Gas, Nuclear, Coal, and other energy industries
Company
Ecotal
We help build companies that save the planet.
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageCompany data provided by crunchbase