[Hiring] Senior Optimization Engineer @Qcells

Role Description

We are looking for a Senior Optimization Engineer to join our Residential Applications team to design, develop, and optimize Distributed Energy Resources (DER) scheduling and dispatch models. This role translates product requirements and energy market rules into mathematical optimization models that support participation in wholesale electricity markets, demand response programs, and behind-the-meter incentives. The ideal candidate has experience building optimization models for energy applications and will work closely with product managers, forecasting teams, sales engineers, and operations.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with product managers to understand program requirements and market rules
• Translate market and program requirements into DER scheduling and dispatch optimization models
• Develop constraints and penalty structures to guide heuristic behaviors
• Design, unit test, and document object-oriented Python code
• Write Python code to manipulate and analyze time-series data
• Collaboratively review and revise pull requests with team members
• Partner with the forecasting team on probabilistic forecasting and optimization approaches
• Contribute to the development and maintenance of simulation code used to evaluate algorithm performance and DER economics
• Conduct batch simulation experiments to tune models and parameters for maximum performance
• Troubleshoot optimizer software operational issues and use production data to improve algorithms
• Provide support to sales engineering and operations teams on optimizer configuration

Qualifications

• 3+ years of industry experience developing optimization models for energy applications
• M.S. in Science, Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research, or equivalent combined education and work experience
• Experience with optimization modeling packages such as Pyomo, CVXPY, or solver APIs (Gurobi, CPLEX, Xpress)
• Strong theoretical background in Linear Programming, Mixed-Integer Programming, and Convex Optimization
• Strong foundation in linear algebra and statistics
• Experience using Python libraries for numerical methods and time-series analysis (NumPy, Pandas, SciPy)
• Experience working in a collaborative software development environment (Git, code reviews)
• Ability to write clean, maintainable, and production-ready code
• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional engineering teams
• Travel may be required up to 10%, depending on business needs

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of machine learning algorithms, including time-series forecasting, clustering, and probabilistic models
• Experience with PostgreSQL and Django
• Familiarity with cloud and IoT technologies and scalable platforms such as Docker, AWS, and Kubernetes
• Experience in renewable energy, distributed energy resources, or electricity markets

Use of AI Tools

As a technology organization, Qcells expects team members to leverage AI models and AI-assisted tools in their daily workflows where appropriate. Candidates should be comfortable working in an AI-augmented environment and applying sound judgment when using AI-generated outputs. During the interview process, candidates will be asked to share examples of how they have used AI tools or models in their work.

Physical, Mental & Environmental Demands

• Mobility:
  • Standing: 20% of time
  • Sitting: 70% of time
  • Walking: 10% of time
• Strength:
  • Pulling: up to 10 Pounds
  • Pushing: up to 10 Pounds
  • Carrying: up to 10 Pounds
  • Lifting: up to 10 Pounds
• Dexterity:
  • Typing: Frequently
  • Handling: Frequently
  • Reaching: Frequently
• Agility:
  • Turning: Frequently
  • Twisting: Frequently
  • Bending: Occasionally
  • Crouching: Occasionally
  • Balancing: Never
  • Climbing: Never
  • Crawling: Never
  • Kneeling: Never

Salary Information

The salary range is required by the California Pay Transparency Act and may differ depending on the location of those candidates hired nationwide. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to, skill set, education, licenses and certifications, essential job duties and requirements, and the necessary experience relative to the job's minimum qualifications. *This target salary range is for CA positions only and should not be interpreted as an offer of compensation.