Utility Operations Manager

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.

Preferred 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.

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

Statement to all Third-Party Agencies and Similar Original contracted recruiting agencies with formal service agreements. Please do not send unsolicited resumes or outreach emails to our QE Solar employees, hiring managers, or team members without expressed consent or contract for services. QE Solar is not responsible for any fees or charges associated with unsolicited resumes or services.