Director of Operations (Clean Energy)

Location: San Jose, California, USA

Annual target total cash compensation: $200,000–$220,000, including base salary and target commission. Equity may also be available.

Company

Nextpower provides integrated clean energy technology and equipment solutions for utility-scale solar, energy storage, and critical power infrastructure.

What you will do

• Own the operating model from qualified opportunity through contract award and accepted transition to Project Execution.
• Establish readiness gates, bid review processes, decision rights, templates, escalation paths, and performance metrics.
• Lead cross-functional reviews across engineering, sales, estimating, sourcing, product, compliance, logistics, finance, and supply chain.
• Validate designs, configurations, bills of material, product availability, buildability, supplier inputs, costs, tariffs, logistics, and delivery assumptions.
• Identify and escalate technical, commercial, supply, compliance, schedule, and customer-commitment risks.
• Deliver complete handoff packages and improve pre-award processes using post-award corrections and operational data.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, business, or a related discipline; equivalent experience may be considered.
• 10+ years of progressive experience in renewable energy, utility-scale solar, electrical equipment, eBOS, wire management, power systems, or industrial manufacturing technology.
• 5+ years leading cross-functional teams in pre-award operations, project coordination, estimating, sourcing, or commercial operations.
• Experience aligning designs, bills of material, cost estimates, supplier inputs, customer requirements, and delivery assumptions before contract award.
• Working knowledge of utility-scale solar and electrical balance-of-system applications, including combiner and disconnect boxes, harnesses, trunk or IPC systems, and wire management.
• Strong analytical, written, verbal, and executive communication skills in a matrixed organization.

Nice to have

• Experience with photovoltaic systems, battery energy storage, power conversion, critical power, or electrical infrastructure.
• Experience with contract manufacturers, OEM or ODM partners, international suppliers, cross-border sourcing, or supplier transfers.
• Experience establishing readiness gates, bid review processes, cost databases, product rosters, standardized pricing files, or project handoff standards.
• Experience with ERP, PLM, CRM, configure-price-quote, estimating, sourcing, or product data systems.
• PMP, PE, CPSM, Lean Six Sigma, or a related professional certification.

Culture & Benefits

• Health care, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) participation with company matching.
• Company-paid holidays and unlimited paid time off.
• Discretionary company bonuses, life and disability protection, and potential equity compensation.
• Inclusive workplace focused on clean energy infrastructure, data-driven insights, and advanced automation.