[Hiring] Utility Operations Manager @QE Solar

Role Description

QE Solar is seeking a highly motivated Utility Field Operations Manager to lead field operations supporting utility-scale solar and battery storage assets throughout North America. This role is responsible for overseeing field personnel, contractor coordination, operational performance, safety compliance, maintenance execution, and customer satisfaction across a portfolio of renewable energy assets.

The ideal candidate is a strong operational leader with utility-scale solar experience, excellent communication skills, and the ability to drive accountability, safety, and execution across geographically dispersed teams.

Travel: 25–35%

Key Responsibilities

• Field Operations Leadership
  • Oversee operations and maintenance activities across assigned utility-scale solar, BESS, substation, and MV/HV assets.
  • Lead Plant Managers responsible for utility sites and ensure consistent execution of site operations, preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, outage support, inspections, and compliance requirements.
  • Ensure Plant Managers maintain strong site ownership, including daily site walks, SCADA review, work planning, work order review, safety meetings, contractor coordination, and customer-ready documentation.
  • Support safe execution of utility-site work involving inverters, trackers, transformers, switchgear, substations, BESS, collection systems, and balance-of-plant equipment.
  • Drive accountability for LOTO, NFPA 70E, switching procedures, energized work controls, site-specific procedures, and customer/regulatory requirements.
  • Monitor and support work order progression, PM/CM completion, FWC-to-Complete closeout, backlog reduction, and documentation quality across assigned sites.
  • Provide coaching, mentorship, performance management, and leadership development for Plant Managers and site-level personnel.
  • Coordinate with internal engineering, ROC/control center, asset management, safety, compliance, and subcontractors to resolve site issues and maintain asset performance.
  • Support workforce planning, outage coverage, contractor mobilization, staffing needs, scheduling, and resource allocation across assigned utility sites.
• Maintenance & Asset Performance
  • Oversee preventive, corrective, and emergency maintenance execution across assigned utility-scale solar, BESS, substation, MV/HV, and balance-of-plant assets.
  • Ensure Plant Managers are effectively planning, prioritizing, and driving completion of PMs, CMs, inspections, outage work, and site corrective actions.
  • Monitor site operational performance, equipment health, availability, downtime drivers, and recurring failures to ensure uptime and performance targets are achieved.
  • Partner with engineering, ROC/control center, SCADA support, OEMs, and technical teams to resolve complex inverter, tracker, transformer, switchgear, SCADA, BESS, medium-voltage, and balance-of-system issues.
  • Support escalation and resolution of utility-site issues involving outages, switching coordination, equipment failures, alarms, contractor support, and customer-impacting events.
  • Drive operational excellence initiatives focused on reliability, work order discipline, PM/CM compliance, documentation quality, efficiency, and cost control.
  • Ensure Plant Managers complete accurate maintenance documentation, work orders, photos, inspection results, test records, and reporting in a timely and customer-ready manner.
  • Monitor FWC status, overdue work orders, aging backlog, and documentation gaps to ensure completed field work is reviewed, closed, and reported properly.
• Safety & Compliance
  • Champion QE Solar’s safety culture across assigned utility-scale solar, BESS, substation, and MV/HV sites.
  • Ensure Plant Managers are consistently reinforcing site safety expectations, toolbox talks, hazard identification, pre-job planning, LOTO, JHAs, and safe work execution.
  • Ensure compliance with OSHA, NFPA 70E, company safety procedures, LOTO requirements, switching procedures, energized work controls, and customer site-specific policies.
  • Support safe execution of utility-site work involving inverters, trackers, transformers, switchgear, substations, collection systems, BESS, and balance-of-plant equipment.
  • Conduct field audits, site safety observations, Plant Manager check-ins, incident reviews, and corrective action follow-up across assigned sites.
  • Verify safety documentation, permits, switching orders, LOTO records, inspection findings, and corrective actions are completed accurately and on time.
  • Ensure subcontractors follow QE Solar safety expectations, customer requirements, site access rules, work procedures, and documentation standards.
  • Escalate safety, compliance, or regulatory concerns immediately when issues create risk to personnel, equipment, customer commitments, or site reliability.
• Customer & Stakeholder Management
  • Serve as the operational point of contact for assigned utility-scale customers, Plant Managers, and internal stakeholders.
  • Partner with Plant Managers to ensure customer communication is accurate, timely, and aligned with site performance, maintenance activity, outages, and corrective actions.
  • Provide regular updates on PM/CM execution, work order status, operational performance, equipment issues, risks, resource constraints, and corrective action progress.
  • Support customer meetings, site visits, outage reviews, operational reviews, and performance discussions for assigned utility sites.
  • Maintain strong working relationships with internal engineering, asset management, ROC/control center, safety, compliance, subcontractors, and leadership teams.
  • Coordinate with technical and support teams to resolve customer-impacting issues involving SCADA, inverters, trackers, substations, BESS, MV/HV equipment, and balance-of-plant systems.
  • Ensure Plant Managers are prepared for customer interactions with accurate site updates, documentation, maintenance records, and action plans.
  • Escalate customer concerns, operational risks, and unresolved site issues with clear facts, ownership, timeline, and recommended next steps.
• Financial & Operational Accountability
  • Support budget management, vendor oversight, and cost control initiatives across assigned utility-scale solar, BESS, substation, and MV/HV sites.
  • Partner with Plant Managers to review labor utilization, contractor performance, maintenance spend, outage support costs, and site-level productivity.
  • Assist with forecasting field resource needs, site coverage requirements, outage support, subcontractor needs, and operational planning across assigned assets.
  • Monitor PM/CM completion, work order aging, FWC-to-Complete progression, backlog trends, contractor efficiency, and documentation quality as key indicators of operational performance.
  • Identify opportunities to improve service delivery, work planning, labor efficiency, contractor utilization, asset performance, and customer reporting readiness.
  • Support cost control by ensuring work is properly planned, resources are used effectively, and subcontractor support is aligned with site needs.
  • Provide leadership with clear updates on staffing constraints, maintenance risks, vendor performance, backlog exposure, and recommended corrective actions.
  • Drive consistent execution across assigned utility sites to improve productivity, reliability, scalability, and accountability.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in utility-scale solar operations and maintenance.
• 2+ years of leadership experience managing field teams, contractors, or regional operations.
• Strong working knowledge of:
  • Utility-scale solar PV systems
  • Battery energy storage systems (preferred)
  • Inverters, trackers, SCADA, MV systems, transformers, BOS equipment
  • Preventive and corrective maintenance programs
• Experience managing geographically dispersed teams.
• Strong understanding of OSHA safety standards, LOTO, NFPA 70E, and renewable energy field operations.
• Ability to read electrical drawings, single-line diagrams, and technical documentation.
• Strong problem-solving and troubleshooting capabilities.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and organizational skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, CMMS/work order systems, Teams, and Outlook.
• OSHA 30 certification
• Technical electrical background
• Experience supporting utility-scale BESS operations

Physical Requirements

• Ability to walk utility-scale solar sites, including uneven terrain and outdoor environments.
• Ability to lift up to 50 pounds occasionally.
• Ability to work in varying weather conditions.
• Ability to travel 25–35% as needed.

Benefits

• Pay Range: 100,000-120,000
• 100% paid employee premium on health benefits; additional dependents at low costs and great plans for Health, Dental, Vision, FSA or HSA.
• Wellbeing and Employee Assistance.
• Perks at Work Marketplace for discounts on gym memberships, classes, tech, vacations, tickets, and more.
• Family Building and Adoption Assistance Programs.
• Learning & Development Opportunities.
• Discounted Life & Disability Insurance.