Commissioning Manager

At Canadian Solar, our vision is to make lives better by bringing electricity powered by the sun to millions of people worldwide. As a leading manufacturer of solar panels, inverters, and energy storage solutions, we’ve been an industry front-runner since our founding in 2001. Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in all parts of our organization as we navigate the complexities of a booming industry.

Throughout Canadian Solar’s subsidiaries, e-Storage, Recurrent Energy, MSS and CSI Solar Co., we invest in our employees’ growth. Our training programs and promotional opportunities ensure we all can continue to learn. We understand the importance of work-life balance and provide various flexible work options to support our employees’ well-being. Join our team to “Make the Difference” by creating a lasting positive impact on the world and the communities where we operate.

The Commissioning Manager leads a team of commissioning engineers and technicians responsible for executing all the commissioning activities of utility-scale Battery Storage projects. The candidate will organize and manage the team to work as the key technical liaison with the Client and EPC partners during the commissioning phase of the projects. Working closely with the project and product engineering teams and suppliers, the candidate will plan the commissioning activities and work through day-to-day issues. The candidate will need to travel to the project sites to kick off the commissioning activities and support their team members.

Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute commissioning plans, including resourcing, logistics, and scheduling.
• Develop plans and procedures for quality inspection and commissioning tasks.
• On-site lead for commissioning and acceptance testing.
• Lead daily commissioning plan of day meetings during the commissioning phase and update progress schedule on a regular basis.
• Manage the day-to-day commissioning activities of the commissioning team (4 to 5 direct reports commissioning engineers and technicians).
• Assign team members to specific projects and activities and organize the overall commissioning activities.
• Ensure that commissioning processes and tools are established and standardized.
• Ensure that proper documentation is established for commissioning and testing records.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to define and execute testing protocols to achieve commercial operation, based on market rules, local AHJ/utility requirements, and contracts.

Oversee commissioning and acceptance testing of the entire plant in a safe manner, including:

• Controls and communication networks
• Balance of plant relay protection, metering, and MV and LV electrical systems
• PCS
• Batteries
• EMS
• Auxiliary systems like fire detection, HMI, and UPS
• Create professional commissioning and testing reports for internal stakeholders and external customers.
• Drive continuous improvement in developing and capturing technical problem-solving knowledge to enable other organizations to resolve customer problems and inquiries effectively.
• Ownership of administrative responsibilities including, but not limited to: service reports, issue logging/tracking, job safety analysis, quality compliance.
• Develop and maintain relationships with various subcontractors.
• Hold weekly team meetings to encourage information sharing and keep staff informed.
• Show leadership, resolve conflicts, and act as a mediator.
• Participate in client update meetings to update on engineering status and issues.
• Travel required up to 50% and the ability to stay on-site for two to three weeks at a time during commissioning activities.

Qualifications and Experience:

• Masters’s degree in electrical engineering or related engineering discipline,
• Minimum 5 years’ direct technical experience from any of the following industries: Substation or Solar EPC, Engineering firm, Energy Storage integrator or similar.
• Minimum 2 years team management experience.
• Minimum 2 years of commissioning experience.
• Previous battery system experience is a plus.
• Deep knowledge of power system installation, construction, design phase engineering, local jurisdiction requirements, project scheduling, system layout design, SLD, etc.
• Proficiency in scheduling tool such as Microsoft Project or Smartsheet.
• Good technical writing skills and be able to draft working instructions, etc.
• Exceptional ability to simplify and report complicated scenarios to the management team, with outstanding judgment and decision-making abilities.
• Solid and effective interpersonal and communication skills (including oral, written, and visual)
• Strong organizational and time management skills; the ability to multi-task and meet deadlines.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships internally and externally with staff, management, clients, suppliers, community partners and external stakeholders.
• Demonstrated sound judgment and the ability to be decisive in crisis situations.
• Demonstrated independent thinking, initiative, and creativity.
• Ability to work flexible hours (evenings, weekends) and travel to project sites as required.

Compensation & Benefits:

Canadian Solar offers a competitive salary plus fully comprehensive benefits and performance bonus package based on an annual objective achievement. Our generous benefits package includes a 401(k) Retirement Plan, medical/dental/life/disability program, vacation, and sick days. Canadian Solar Inc. 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.