Taylor Hopkinson is in search of a highly skilled and experienced Project Development Engineer with a renewable energy developer, specializing in wind and solar utility scale projects across the U.S., with over 1 GW of completed or NTP-ready projects and 4 GW in active development. One of the world’s largest asset managers acquired the company to accelerate project development by combining local expertise with global capital support.
The Project Development Engineer plays a critical role in advancing renewable energy projects from initial site identification through financial close and construction. This position is responsible for managing the conceptual design of utility-scale wind, solar, and battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities. It requires collaboration with a multidisciplinary team to assess prospective project sites and provide technical support throughout the development lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities
- Oversee and coordinate technical studies for prospective and early-stage sites, including:
- Collaborating with development teams to identify and mitigate technical and buildability risks during site prospecting.
- Conducting desktop evaluations of geotechnical, hydrological, seismic, and topographic constraints to determine project feasibility.
- Developing conceptual designs that ensure economic project layouts and achieve target nameplate capacities.
- Conduct site visits to evaluate constructability and support developers with technical assessments.
- Lead and coordinate preliminary designs for collection systems, substations, and transmission systems, as well as electrical and civil design frameworks for wind, solar, and BESS projects.
- Optimize designs to identify cost savings and other improvements.
- Manage third-party engineering consultants and foster collaboration internally and externally to support project development.
- Work closely with development and permitting teams to ensure designs meet all regulatory and permitting requirements.
- Prepare and review technical bid packages, including specifications, design guidelines, and bid evaluations.
- Monitor industry trends and emerging technologies, particularly from OEMs, to ensure alignment with cutting-edge advancements.
- Provide input on and help maintain multidisciplinary design standards and criteria for project infrastructure.
- Support operations and maintenance teams in troubleshooting and resolving technical issues as needed.
- Act as a technical liaison across various functions, including finance, engineering, GIS, real estate, permitting, transmission/interconnection, and contract origination teams.
- Willingness to travel as needed, approximately 10%-20% of the time.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
- 5+ years of experience in renewable energy engineering (PV, BESS, Wind), with a preference for wind project experience.
- Proven expertise in early-stage/pre-construction design and utility-scale project engineering.
- Knowledge of construction phase processes is an advantage.
- Proficiency with design and siting software, such as AutoCAD, ArcGIS, PVcase, PVSyst, and other design tools.
