Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Highland Electric Fleets provides Electrification-as-a-Service solutions that help communities transition to cleaner electric fleets. The Director of Project Design Engineering leads the engineering and design function supporting EV charging, battery energy storage, and edge compute sites from site qualification through permit-ready and construction-ready stages. This role owns engineering standards, quality gates, external engineering partnerships, technical requirements, schedules, budgets, and team development.
Responsibilities
- Lead and scale Highland's project engineering function — drafting, design engineering, and utility interconnection — with end-to-end accountability for taking a large portfolio of EV charging, BESS, and edge compute sites from qualified site to permit-ready and construction-ready
- Own the engineering function's throughput and quality: define the design package content and the internal approval gates for every stage — conceptual, 30%, Issued-for-Permit (IFP), and Issued for Construction (IFC) — and keep packages moving on an aggressive, portfolio-wide timeline
- Build, develop, and retain a high-performing team of internal engineering resources
- Own Highland's external engineering-partner strategy — select, contract, scale, and manage the performance of engineering design and interconnection consultants so that internal and external capacity flex with portfolio volume
- Set and enforce Highland's engineering, CAD, and design specifications and standards, and own the repositories of utility and AHJ requirements that make design compliant, consistent, and repeatable across the portfolio
- Serve as Highland's senior technical authority on utility interconnection and AHJ permitting across EV charging, BESS, and edge compute; resolve the most complex technical and jurisdictional issues and represent Highland's engineering position externally
- Own the engineering inputs to project schedule and budget — sequence and resource design, interconnection, and permitting milestones so each site is build-ready when construction needs it, and contribute to Highland's repeatable unit-cost installation model
- Partner cross-functionally with Development, Execution, Origination, Procurement, and Fleet Operations to align engineering with portfolio priorities and continuously improve the site-to-energized process
- Drive continuous improvement through tooling and process automation (e.g., Procore, Bluebeam, template- and data-driven design) to increase design velocity and improve unit economics as the portfolio scales
- Provide engineering leadership on technical due diligence, estimating, and risk for new opportunities, supporting Origination and Development on feasibility, buildability, and cost
Skills
- Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering or a related engineering discipline, or 12+ years of directly related professional experience
- 10+ years of progressive engineering experience in EV charging, renewable energy, power/electrical infrastructure, or utility-scale development, including design management from concept through construction
- 5+ years leading engineering teams, including managing managers and building or scaling a design organization
- Demonstrated ownership of engineering standards, design package content, and QA/QC across a portfolio of concurrent projects
- Proven experience selecting, contracting, and managing external engineering consultants at scale
- Deep working knowledge of utility interconnection, new electrical service, and AHJ permitting requirements
- Familiarity with interconnection standards and processes (e.g., IEEE 1547, utility tariffs, and interconnection rules)
- Expertise with CAD-based design delivery (AutoCAD) and design/review tooling (Procore, Bluebeam)
- Professional Engineer (PE) license
- Experience delivering EV charging infrastructure, BESS, and/or edge compute / data-center power projects
- Experience building repeatable, unit-cost-driven design programs in a high-growth environment
- Master's degree in engineering or an MBA
Benefits
- Performance-based bonus program
- A supportive, highly collaborative, team-oriented environment
- Ability to work with bright, innovative, and forward-thinking colleagues
- Health, Vision, and Dental coverage for employees & their dependents
- Generous Paid Time Off
- 401(k) program and company match
- This position is remote
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