SunPower Jobs Blog

“At SunPower we’re committed to making clean, renewable solar energy available worldwide.”

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

4078 - Senior Staff Applications Engineer, Utility Systems - Richmond, CA

The Senior Staff Applications Engineer (SSAE) will report to the Manager of Systems Application Engineering & Development. The SSAE will provide senior‐level engineering, consultation and design in support of utility solar generation facility assessment and interconnection. The SSAE will interface and collaborate with Independent System Operator (ISO) or Transmission System
Operator (TSO) representatives, electricity suppliers and other electrical agencies during the interconnection approval process and system commissioning to ensure complete system compliance. The SSAE will also consult as an industry expert with customers, advise on policy
development, planning and implementation.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities:
• Responsible for completing and reviewing technical documentation for all interconnection applications and agreements including Large Generator Interconnection Applications (LGIA’s) and Small Generator Interconnection Applications (SGIA’s) in support of the Utility Power Plant division of SunPower
• Responsible for the development and implementation of a system level positive sequence load flow model for utility scale grid interactive inverter systems
• Works closely with Utility Power Plant division of SunPower to assess project feasibility based on local transmission capacity
• Works directly with external consultants to provide engineering details and design to
support large generation interconnection documentation and budgeting
• Technical representative at utility, ISO meetings and industry related committees, boards and work groups
• Technical expertise on SCADA and security system design relevant to photovoltaic systems control
• Collaborate daily with internal and external customer(s) to determine specific needs and requirements and to counsel within the expertise area; including oversight and task execution.
• Execute project planning with attention to setting and meeting project design milestones. Work closely with the business development team to ensure they are meeting/delivering the most complete and cost effective proposals for potential future projects.
• Position will require some travel.

Education:
BS degree in Electrical Engineering required (MS, Ph.D preferred), PE required

Required Skills:
• PE required with 10+ years experience in electrical power systems engineering
• Working experience with utility grid operation, load flow studies, transmission planning and knowledge of feasibility, system impact and facility studies
• Discrete working knowledge of NERC, FERC, WECC standards and orders as they apply to renewable generation interconnection and compliance
• Knowledge of PLSF, PSS/E, ETAP, SKM Software is required

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.

Monday, February 8, 2010

4413 - Associate Patent Attorney (Intellectual Property Counsel) - San Jose, CA

We’re looking for an experienced Associate Patent Attorney/Intellectual Property Counsel to join our team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Maintain a substantial and active prosecution docket of U.S. and foreign patent applications, including some hands on drafting, and managing outside counsel in patent preparation and prosecution.
• Collaborate with SunPower’s departments in expanding and strengthening the IP portfolio, including identification of patentable inventions.
• Provide strategic patent advice to internal clients reflecting team objectives, and identify patent opportunities and risks. Diligence work, including freedom-to-operate, infringement and validity analyses, and licensing support.
• Operating within IP team to improve operational and strategic IP issues.

Education, Experience, and Qualifications
• J.D. degree from an ABA Accredited law school required.
• Undergraduate degree (graduate degree preferred) in Physics, Mechanical or Electrical engineering.
• Active state bar membership. Licensed to practice as a registered patent attorney before the United States Patent Office.
• Minimum of 3 years related job experience.
• At least three to five years of full time practical experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications.
• Additional experience drafting, reviewing, negotiating IP related agreements (including collaboration, joint development, license contracts is a plus.
• Ability to provide functional guidance to paralegals and/or support professionals within legal department (with no direct reporting structure).
• Motivated and proactive self starter with a demonstrated ability to work efficiently with teams under minimal supervision.
• Strong knowledge of patent law. Some litigation experience a plus but not required.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work closely with members of different business groups and functions at all levels.
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment, adapt to rapidly changing priorities, manage heavy workflow, set priorities and deliver results.
• Ability to promote positive cooperation and clear communication within IP team and with internal clients.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Must be able to engage in domestic and international travel as needed.

SunPower offers an attractive compensation package that consists of a competitive salary and equity. The company offers an array of employee benefits.

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.

4441 - Senior Counsel - Richmond, CA

We are seeking a Senior Counsel to oversee North American legal affairs. The ideal candidate will have at least 6 years of legal experience, preferably in the energy, construction and/or power project development industries.

This position will report to the Associate General Counsel and be responsible for the following:

• Support the legal needs of the various SunPower departments with emphasis on North American Sales/Utility groups.
• Draft, review and negotiate Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts, subcontracts, operation and maintenance (O&M) agreements, solar power purchase agreements (PPA), equipment sales agreements , service agreements, supply chain agreements, consulting agreements, non-disclosure agreements, affiliate/value added reseller agreements, government grant agreements, and other company contracts.
• Maintain and implement company contracts and licensing processes.
• Advising on construction law matters, including risk mitigation, externalizing liabilities, optimizing change order provisions, warranty exposures, insurance, etc.
• Supervise legal matters associated with the early stage development of solar power projects, including land acquisition, permitting, and regulatory compliance.
• Supervise legal matters associated with rooftop residential and commercial solar installations.

Experience in the legal fields of construction, energy, and/or project finance preferred. We offer competitive cash and stock option compensation and benefits. Must be self-motivated and comfortable in a faced-paced, high growth-company environment.

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.

Friday, February 5, 2010

4415 - Sr. Staff R&D Reliability Engineer - Richmond, CA

The solar electric industry is an exciting and rapidly growing business, providing excellent career opportunities and the great satisfaction of having a positive impact on the environment. SunPower Corp. (www.sunpowercorp.com) designs, manufactures and deploys the world’s highest efficiency solar panels, and is a leading global provider of large-scale solar power systems, with over 350 megawatts contracted or in construction.
SunPower’s R&D team developed the original 20% all-back contact solar cell in 2005, released the 22% cells in 2007 and is presently working on the next generation technology. Enabling this high rate of innovation while maintaining world-class reliability requires a deep understanding what makes efficiency degrade over time. The ideal candidate is motivated by solving the highly complex puzzles embodied in the physics of cell and module degradation.

We are looking for an exceptionally smart and motivated candidate who has demonstrated a capacity for scientific innovation and leadership. This person should have experience that spans laboratory and field experiments, computer modeling, and manufacturing support.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities
• Develop reliability qualification methods for PV cell and module products, as well as solar field infrastructure (inverters, tracking systems, etc.), for the 25 year warranty in various field conditions.
• Manage and mentor other engineers, and lead cross-functional teams with a strong drive for results.
• Innovate, and provide technical leadership for solving challenging technical problems with a positive, solution-oriented approach.
• Develop new cutting-edge diagnostics, to support manufacturing ongoing reliability testing.
• Drive design-for-reliability principles throughout the organization, and provide clear assessments of reliability risks.

Education, Experience, and Qualifications
• PhD in Engineering, Chemistry, Material Science, Physics or related fields, plus at least 4 years related experience required.
• Demonstrated capability in experimental design, uncertainty analysis, instrumentation and statistical interpretation.
• Demonstrated ability to manage other engineers, and to lead cross-functional teams to deliver large projects to plan.
• Clear communication style, with the ability to create compelling presentations for varied audiences, from scientists and engineers to executives.
• Familiarity with silicon solar cells, characterization of PV cells and panels, degradation models, acceleration factors, etc., is preferred.
• Familiarity with semiconductor reliability physics of failure is a big plus.
• Creative, self-motivated and self-directed, and able to multi-task a large variety of projects in a fast-paced environment.

SunPower offers an attractive compensation package that consists of a competitive salary and equity. The company also offers an array of generous employee benefits.

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.

Friday, January 29, 2010

4402 - Product Management: Rooftop Systems - San Josse, CA or Richmond, CA

This job description covers multiple available positions within the rooftop systems product management team. The individual titles and areas of responsibility are:
• Inverter Product Manager: inverters and other electrical balance-of-system (BOS) equipment associated with rooftop PV systems, with focus on residential and commercial PV market segments.
• Residential Rooftop Systems Product Manager: residential rooftop mounting systems for the residential PV market.
• Commercial Rooftop Systems Product Manager: commercial rooftop mounting systems for the commercial and utility PV markets.
In all cases, the individuals filling these positions will have product management responsibility for their respective product areas. You will work closely with Sales, R&D and other product managers to deliver industry leading products and solutions for customers. You will represent the voice of the customer for market needs both current and future, in order to define new products and to tactically manage existing products. You will be knowledgeable of industry trends in commercial and/or residential photovoltaics (PV) systems. You will own your product line from conception through development, deployment and end of life.

RESPONSIBILITIES
• Inverter Product Manager:
o Work with R&D to develop and maintain SunPower’s inverter and electrical BOS product strategy by engaging with customers on their system requirements, examining competitive offerings, tracking industry trends, and establishing a successful product roadmap.
o Manage our existing inverter product lines with an eye toward reducing product cost, enhancing product functionality, and improving product quality and yield.
• Residential and Commercial Rooftop Systems Product Managers:
o Work with R&D to develop and maintain SunPower’s residential or commercial rooftop product strategies by engaging with customers on their system requirements, examining competitive offerings, tracking industry trends, and establishing a successful product roadmap.
o Manage our existing rooftop product lines with an eye toward reducing product cost and driving further market adoption.
• General:
o Work with engineering teams in developing make / buy recommendations and the associated vendor analyses.
o Document product strategy (including technical requirements and business cases) in product requirements documents.
o Play an active role in cross-functional product team meetings by guiding product trade-off decisions and otherwise assisting R&D and Manufacturing to ensure successful, on-schedule product development.
o Develop and implement go-to-market plans with cross-functional teams.
o Lead preparation of product-specific sales training and sales support collateral.
o Reconcile sales forecasting and operations build planning with market share goals.
o Travel domestically and internationally to customer, vendor and internal company sites.
RELATED EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Required
• BS/MS in technical field (electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, or equivalent) from a leading engineering program.
• Minimum 5 years experience in a technical capacity with PV system vendors, or in the case of the Inverter Product Manager role, electrical system vendors targeting the residential or commercial markets. This experience may come from a traditional product management role or from technical support or sales engineering roles.
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral.
Preferred
• Experience in energy fields such as PV, wind or conventional fossil fuel technologies.
• Inverter role: Knowledge of inverter systems and technologies (e.g. AC/DC and DC/DC conversion) and electrical power distribution.
• Mounting systems roles: Knowledge of PV rooftop mounting systems, residential or commercial roofing materials (e.g. tile, membrane, steel, concrete), and associated technologies.
• MBA.
LOCATION
• Positions will be based in either San Jose, CA or Richmond, CA.

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

4395 - Electrical Engineer II - Richmond, CA

The Electrical Engineer is responsible for the electrical design from PV modules to utility point of interconnection on projects ranging from 100kW to 10MW. The role involves project design and construction support, implementation of new technologies and products with an understanding of NEC requirements, and electrical engineering support of projects from development to operation. Candidates will have strong problem solving skills, being able to apply professional concepts to resolve complex issues and unexpected engineering barriers. Candidates will have strong design, communication, and creative problem solving skills.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
• Preparation and oversight of project electrical design drawings complete with supporting calculations, including single line schematics, DC wiring schematics, electrical site plans, and equipment layouts.
• Project development activities: Site audits, identification of electrical design opportunities and constraints, preparation of proposal and project specification documents, evaluation and recommendation of major electrical components.
• Interaction with existing and prospective vendors of major equipment, such as inverters, transformers, switchgear, electrical cable, etc.
• Interaction with electrical contractors on job sites to answer questions, review change requests, revise designs as needed to accommodate unanticipated field conditions, etc.
• Interaction with field inspectors and plan checkers to evaluate proposed design methodology
Education and Experience
• Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering or Architectural Engineering with an emphasis in power systems
• Minimum 3 years experience in Power Systems Design
• Commercial power systems design and NEC background preferred
• PE license preferred
Knowledge/Skills
• Knowledge of the NEC as it relates to commercial power systems design
• Knowledge of electrical design, materials and methods of installation in power systems
• Knowledge of NEC Article 690 is a plus
• Proficient in power systems analysis software is a plus
• Proficiency with AutoCAD and generating detailed construction drawings
• Highly organized and capable of working on multiple projects
• Good communication skills

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

4351 - Senior Performance Engineer/Meteorologist/Atmospheric Scientist - San Jose, CA

SunPower’s System Performance Group is responsible for characterizing and estimating the performance of installed PV systems. The group creates and maintains specialized computer simulation software to model the energy output of SunPower products and systems, analyzes the long-term energy performance of a large fleet of grid-connected PV plants, and performs targeted field and lab tests to characterize the performance of both new and existing technologies.

The candidate will be responsible for (1) understanding the impact of weather on PV system performance and its importance in simulating PV performance, (2) locating the most reliable and accessible sources of relevant weather data in SunPower’s market regions and managing SunPower’s access to this data, (3) understanding the criteria necessary for evaluating the quality of available weather data, and (4) communicating this knowledge to the Performance Group, to other groups within SunPower, and to our external customers. A strong understanding of the influence of atmospheric conditions on solar irradiance is preferred.

The position involves work within a dynamic, cross-departmental team of engineers, technicians, analysts, and internal customers to identify research needs, develop and execute analysis and test plans, and communicate research results to assist in the development of new products and services. Research will involve the use of existing data from SunPower’s operating fleet of PV systems and the acquisition of supplementary data through outside sources. Limited travel may be required.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

•Develop proficiency with available solar radiation resource datasets and models, applications of these data and system models for estimating solar PV performance.
•Develop, test, and validate analytical and engineering meteorological models
•Develop and execute research, analysis and test plans
•Guide the implementation and validation of solar resource forecasting techniques
•Support product development, sales, marketing, and finance departments on system performance-related initiatives
•Prepare reports and presentations to communicate analysis findings, research plans, or plans for product development efforts

Education and Experience

•Bachelors degree in science and/or engineering, or equivalent relevant experience in atmospheric science, physics, applied mathematics, environmental science or computer science.
•Masters degree plus 3 to 4 years of experience working with energy systems.
•1-2 years project experience

Qualifications

•Strong background in climate or atmospheric science
•Familiarity with global solar resource databases: NSRDB, MeteoStat, MeteoClim, MeteoNorm, solar prospector, etc.

Please send resume to David.Sneed@sunpowercorp.com.