Associate Project Engineer (multiple roles)

Hecate Energy - Chicago, IL

Full-time - Entry Level

Hybrid - Chicago, IL

51-100 employees

Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction

About the position

Hecate Energy is seeking an early-career Associate Project Engineer to facilitate the engineering of solar and storage projects for its extensive 50 GW development project pipeline. This role involves creating designs, optimizing solar array layouts, and collaborating with manufacturers to ensure project specifications are met. The position is based in Chicago, IL, and reports to the Director of EPC.

Responsibilities

• Create internal conceptual and preliminary layouts and designs of solar and storage projects for interconnection, permitting, project sales, and construction preparation.
• Conduct solar array design optimization, meteorological resource assessment, energy production estimation, and land constructability evaluation.
• Collaborate with Module, Inverter, Racking, and Transformer manufacturers to obtain equipment technical information and incorporate it into project designs.
• Support the Project Development team with technical aspects of project sale proposals and permitting efforts.
• Maintain Scopes of Work, manage consultants, and support deliverable review for 3rd Party design packages from a 10% level to Issued For Construction (IFC) drawings and studies as well as Geotechnical, Hydrological, and Topographical Engineering Studies.
• Review and consolidate information and insights across disciplines into a financially optimized cohesive project design and execution strategy.
• Understand applicable codes, design standards, and technical requirements for utility scale design and ensure they are met throughout the engineering, procurement, and construction process.
• Travel to project sites and other locations to support site evaluation and construction efforts.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree or greater in engineering or foreign equivalent, with a preference for Civil or Electrical engineering.
• 0-2+ years of utility-scale solar design full-time/internship experience with a focus on cross-disciplinary design optimization.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Passion for renewable energy.
• Comfort bringing sense to ambiguity and driving forward one's technical initiatives.
• Proficiency with PVsyst, NREL SAM, PVlib, QGIS, AutoCAD, Excel, Python, R, and VBA is a plus.
• Ability to travel for site visits or meetings as needed (up to 25%).
• Valid US driver's license.
• Self-awareness of one's quirks and appreciation for those of teammates.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation package commensurate with experience.
• Excellent health insurance, 100% of premiums covered by employer.
• 401k plan.
• Highly flexible PTO and sick leave policy.
• Hybrid working arrangements (combination of in-office (Chicago) and work-from-wherever).
• Company retreats, fully stocked pantries, in-office music performance space.