Director of BESS Augmentation

SOLV Energy is a leading provider of infrastructure services to the power industry, designing, building and maintaining utility scale solar, battery storage and high voltage substation projects nationwide.

Job Description Summary:

The Director of BESS Augmentation provides strategic and operational leadership for battery energy storage system (BESS) augmentation projects. This position directs Superintendents, works collaboratively with project managers, oversees portfolio-level planning and execution, and ensures safe, timely, profitable delivery of battery capacity additions, replacements, system upgrades, integration, testing, commissioning, and turnover for SOLV and third-party clients.

This role is fully remote. Specific location details and expectations will be discussed during the interview process.

Job Description:

*This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned

Position Responsibilities and Duties:

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for BESS augmentation programs, Superintendents, and technical teams in partnership with project managers. 

• Set portfolio priorities, staffing plans, governance, performance expectations, and augmentation strategies. 

• Direct safe field execution, outage and resource planning, subcontractor coordination, quality, schedule, testing, commissioning, and turnover. 

• Partner with project managers on budgets, procurement, contracts, schedules, forecasts, risks, change control, and closeout. 

• Review portfolio safety, quality, schedule, cost, margin, technical risk, commissioning readiness, customer commitments, and corrective actions. 

• Develop leaders and technical personnel through coaching, training, succession planning, and performance management. 

• Coordinate with internal teams, OEMs, integrators, utilities, contractors, and clients to align execution and resolve escalated issues. 

• Standardize project controls, reporting, installation and commissioning practices, and lessons learned to improve consistency and profitability. 

• Lead BESS safety planning and compliance, including electrical safe work, lockout/tagout, energized work, emergency response, environmental requirements, and OEM procedures. 

• Support estimating, scope development, procurement, and vendor quotations for batteries, enclosures, power conversion, transformers, controls, HVAC, fire systems, cabling, and related upgrades. 

• Oversee installation and integration of BESS electrical, mechanical, controls, communications, thermal-management, and fire-protection systems. 

• Support operating sites with augmentation planning, capacity restoration, compatibility assessments, troubleshooting, and execution. 
• Lead cross-functional resolution of battery, OEM, firmware, controls, and balance-of-system issues through documented ownership and closure.

• Review forecasts, profit and loss, estimating accuracy, contingency, and margin-improvement actions.

• Maintain lifecycle oversight from opportunity qualification and feasibility through design, procurement, installation, commissioning, turnover, and closeout.

• Develop BESS augmentation, optimization, reliability, and lifecycle-service opportunities with Business Development, Asset Management, and project teams.

• Train regional teams and improve safety, constructability, repeatability, schedule, cost, quality, and operational performance.

• Travel at least 30% to support projects, sites, clients, and team development.

• Maintain relevant professional and technical knowledge.

• Complete other responsibilities as assigned.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Safety and Compliance: Achieve zero preventable recordable incidents and 100% completion of required safety audits, training, corrective actions, and compliance reviews within assigned due dates.

• Portfolio Financial Performance: Deliver the BESS Augmentation portfolio within approved budgets and forecasts, meet or exceed annual margin targets, and maintain forecast accuracy within ±5%.

• Schedule and Delivery: Complete at least 90% of projects and major milestones on or ahead of the approved baseline schedule, with recovery plans documented for material variances.

• Quality and Rework: Maintain a first-pass quality acceptance rate of at least 95% and keep rework costs below 2% of annual project revenue.

• Client and Owner Engagement: Conduct at least one strategic job-site visit or business review per quarter for each priority client or owner account, with documented needs, commitments, and follow-up actions.

• Client Satisfaction and Retention: Achieve an average client satisfaction rating of at least 4.5 out of 5 and support a client retention or repeat-business rate of at least 90%.

• Risk and Corrective-Action Management: Escalate material safety, client, schedule, and financial risks within one business day and close at least 90% of corrective actions by their agreed due dates.

• Workforce and Succession: Maintain documented development plans for 100% of direct reports, complete quarterly talent reviews, and identify at least one succession candidate for each critical leadership role.

• Operational Improvement: Implement at least three measurable process improvements annually that improve safety, cycle time, quality, scalability, or profitability.

Minimum Skills or Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, construction management, business, or a related discipline preferred; equivalent BESS leadership experience may be considered.

• Progressive leadership experience in utility-scale BESS, power generation, electrical construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance, or a related technical-services environment.

• Experience leading managers, Superintendents, field teams, subcontractors, and multiple concurrent BESS augmentation projects.

• Advanced knowledge of BESS governance, estimating, budgeting, forecasting, scheduling, procurement, contracts, outage planning, risk, change control, commissioning, and financial performance.

• Strong commercial judgment and experience partnering with clients, owners, Estimating, and project management to develop solutions, define executable scopes, and support sound investment and delivery decisions.

• Ability to communicate strategy, priorities, performance, and risk effectively to executives, clients, and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Advanced knowledge of battery systems, power conversion, transformers, switchgear, protection and controls, communications, HVAC, and fire detection and suppression.

• Ability to interpret BESS electrical, controls, communications, mechanical, fire-protection, and site-integration drawings and specifications.

• Understanding of BESS scope, interfaces, acceptance criteria, warranties, turnover obligations, safety hazards, and emergency response.

• Ability to communicate strategy, risk, safety, performance, and project status to executives, clients, OEMs, utilities, and project teams.

• Ability to develop accountable teams, resolve escalated issues, train technical personnel, prioritize resources, and drive continuous improvement.

• Advanced written, verbal, presentation, and negotiation skills.

• Ability to conduct leadership visits at remote project locations and work safely in varying weather and field conditions.

• Availability to provide executive escalation support for critical incidents, including occasional after-hours or weekend events

• Ability to support accurate estimates and proposals with scope, quantities, assumptions, risks, and cost inputs and to manage OEM, supplier, contractor, testing, and commissioning interfaces.

• Advanced computer, organizational, and written and verbal English communication skills.

• Valid driver’s license, satisfactory driving record, and ability to operate a company vehicle.

• Ability to work independently and safely in field conditions and remain current on required safety, technical, OEM, commissioning, and emergency-response training.

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without requiring employer sponsorship now or in the future.

SOLV Energy Is an Equal Opportunity Employer  

At SOLV Energy we celebrate the power of our differences. We are committed to building diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces that improve our communities. SOLV Energy prohibits discrimination and harassment of any kind against an employee or applicant based on race, color, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, or ethnicity, mental or physical disability, veteran status, parental status, or any other characteristic protected by law.  

Benefits:

Employees (and their families) are eligible for medical, dental, vision, basic life and disability insurance. Employees can enroll in our company’s 401(k) plan and are provided vacation, sick and holiday pay.

Compensation Range:

$159,613.00 - $212,286.00

Pay Rate Type:

Salary

Please be aware that all official communications from SOLV Energy will come exclusively from email addresses ending in @solvenergy.com.  Any emails originating from other domains should not be considered affiliated with or authorized by our organization.

SOLV Energy does not accept unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals or resumes from third-party recruiters or staffing agencies. We require all third-party recruiters to communicate exclusively with our internal talent acquisition team. SOLV Energy will not pay a placement fee to any third-party recruiter or agency that has not coordinated their recruiting activity with the appropriate member of our internal talent acquisition team.

In addition, candidate introductions or resumes can only be submitted to our internal talent acquisition recruiting team if a signed vendor agreement is already on file and the third-party recruiter or agency has received formal instructions from our internal talent acquisition team to submit candidates for a particular job posting.

Any unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals or resumes sent by third-party recruiters to SOLV Energy or directly to any of our employees, or received through our website or career portal, will be considered property of SOLV Energy and will not be eligible for a placement fee. In the event a third-party recruiter submits a resume or refers a candidate without a previously signed vendor agreement, SOLV Energy explicitly reserves the right to pursue and hire the candidate(s) without financial liability to such third-party recruiter.

#LI-Remote

Job Number: J14276

If you’re interested in a meaningful career with a brighter future, join the SOLV Energy Team.