Recurrent Energy Careers

Company Summary

Recurrent Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar Inc. and is one of the world's largest and most geographically diversified utility-scale solar and energy storage project development, ownership, and O&M platforms.  Recurrent Energy is focused on bringing low-cost clean energy and meaningful economic development to communities across the globe.

With a strong track record of originating, developing, financing, and building nearly 9 GWp of solar and 3 GWh of battery storage power plants across six continents, Recurrent Energy has established a leadership position in both solar and battery storage project development. With a total pipeline of 25 GWp in solar and 47 GWh in battery storage, of which 14 GW and 12 GWh respectively already have interconnections (as of January 31, 2023). In addition, Recurrent Energy’s services business has 6 GW of projects under operations and maintenance contracts, either operational or contracted projects.

Position Title:  System Performance & Reliability Engineer

Department:Engineering, Procurement, & Construction

Reports To:Manager, Performance Engineering

Location:Priority is given to candidates who can work in a flexible hybrid model from one of our offices in San Francisco, New York, Austin, or Guelph (Canada). In addition, monthly travel may be required to either a project site or our headquarters in Austin.             

Position Summary

As a System Performance & Reliability Engineer, you will demonstrate technical expertise in PV & battery energy storage systems (BESS). You will play a crucial role in evaluating power converters and associated balance of systems. You will be responsible for analyzing and evaluating system performance, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing strategies to enhance overall efficiency and reliability. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions and make a significant impact in a rapidly evolving field.

Responsibilities

• Responsible for energy modelling, optimization, and technical diligence across all life-cycle stages of our pipeline of storage only and PV+S assets
• Perform energy modelling and system performance optimization workflows for a 4GW+ pipeline of Stand-Alone Storage (SAS) and PV+S projects.
• Drive solar PV and BESS due diligence with focus on inverters and electrical BOS.
• Support the cross-functional teams as Subject Matter Expert on inverters and drive design rules for projects under early-stage development.
• Work with engineering and estimating teams to drive design optimization and identify project risks considering electrical designs and its impact on the project.
• Work with Development team to assess feasibility of early-stage projects in siting campaigns and M&A efforts.
• Work with Origination and Structuring team to set expected availability, performance, and guarantee levels for offtake contracts for a variety of contract structures.
• Create training modules for commercial and legal teams to make them aware of technical aspects to consider during contract negotiations.
• Coordinate with inverter and other equipment manufacturers to understand equipment performance and assist Procurement team in system equipment selection to maximize project value.
• Negotiate contracts with off-takers and financiers and establish mutually benefitting terms for all parties involved.
• Support discussions with Independent Engineers or Third-Party Engineering parties per the best interests of Recurrent Energy.
• Contribute to process development and initiatives aimed at furthering modeling team capabilities and accuracy.
• Support Asset Management team in reviewing system performance as a Subject Matter Expert for specific project cases and support the team in carrying out Root Cause Analysis (RCA) studies.

Knowledge, Skills: & Abilities:

• Knowledge of solar inverter operation and performance.
• Familiarity with evaluating products as per UL 1741, IEEE 1547, IEC 62109.
• Knowledge of system loss factors, and competency in modeling tools for utility scale projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Proficient with Excel and MS Office.
• Analytical skills: Deploys combination of unique ideas and structured thinking to solve techno-commercial challenges.
• Detail Oriented: Has eye to detail and focus on data presented. One who can review complicated data and define critical and missing inputs.
• Self-Driven: Evaluates existing and future challenges for projects and comes up with initiative that can drive project pipeline and increase profitability.

Requirements

• Masters/Bachelors in Energy Management, Power or Energy Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Meteorology, Physics, or equivalent
• 5+ years of experience in utility scale BESS projects, energy modeling and optimization.
• Performance acceptance testing.
• Inverter Availability analysis.
• Writing product RFPs and evaluating vendor inputs as per RFPs.
• Uncertainty analysis for PV & BESS systems.
• Energy storage modeling, preferred, including trade-offs of DC coupled/ AC coupled system architectures, optimization of PV+S systems.
• Experience with PVSYST, Plant Predict, SAM, PVLib, is a plus.
• Proficient with Excel and MS Office.

Recurrent Energy is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE). Qualified applicants are considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status.