Lead PV / BESS Master Technician
Commercial Solar | Utility-Scale Solar | Battery Energy Storage | Commissioning | O&M
Location: Multiple Sites / Regional Travel Required
Job Type: Full-Time
Level: Senior / Lead / Field Authority
Job Summary
We are hiring a Lead PV / BESS Master Technician with proven field authority, advanced troubleshooting capability, and the ability to lead commissioning and service execution on complex renewable energy systems.
This position is built for a high-level field professional who can own technical performance from installation turnover through energization, commissioning, troubleshooting, remediation, and long-term operational reliability.
This is not an entry-level role.
This is not a helper position.
This is not a role for candidates who require step-by-step instruction.
We are looking for the technician who gets called when systems will not commission, performance is off target, communication networks fail, punch lists stall, or energization is at risk.
Primary Responsibilities
- Serve as the technical field lead for solar PV and BESS commissioning, service, troubleshooting, corrective maintenance, and remediation
- Lead field crews, direct technical workflow, and enforce workmanship standards
- Execute cold commissioning, hot commissioning, functional testing, startup, energization, and performance verification
- Troubleshoot live DC and AC electrical systems under field conditions
- Diagnose and resolve inverter faults, production losses, communication failures, protection issues, and control integration problems
- Validate installation quality against drawings, single-line diagrams, OEM documentation, and commissioning procedures
- Interface directly with owners, utilities, AHJs, EPCs, OEMs, engineers, and commissioning authorities
- Produce detailed turnover packages, commissioning reports, punch lists, corrective action reports, and deficiency documentation
- Support project closeout, warranty investigations, recommissioning, and operational performance optimization
PV Master Technician — Required Technical Competencies
PV System Architecture
- Advanced knowledge of commercial and utility-scale PV systems
- Full understanding of:
· String inverter systems
- Central inverter systems
- MLPE systems
- DC collection systems
- AC collection systems
- transformer and switchgear integration
- protection and interconnection architecture
Advanced Electrical Troubleshooting
Must be capable of independently diagnosing:
- Ground faults
- Arc faults
- Insulation resistance failures
- Current mismatch
- Voltage imbalance
- String underperformance
- clipping and curtailment issues
- failed terminations
- polarity errors
- nuisance trips
- communication loss
- intermittent production faults
Test Equipment Proficiency
Must have hands-on field experience with:
- Digital multimeters
- Clamp meters
- IV curve tracers
- Insulation resistance testers (Megger)
- Thermal imaging cameras
- continuity and polarity testing equipment
- torque verification tools
Must be able to interpret test data, not simply perform the tests.
Inverters / Power Conversion
Hands-on commissioning, startup, troubleshooting, and service experience with:
- string inverters
- central inverters
- microinverters
- DC optimizers
Required abilities:
- fault code diagnostics
- firmware upgrades
- parameter configuration
- protection verification
- grid support function setup
- inverter replacement and recommissioning
Monitoring / SCADA / Communications
Hands-on experience configuring and troubleshooting:
- Ethernet networks
- fiber communications
- cellular gateways
- RS-485
- Modbus TCP
- Modbus RTU
- remote monitoring platforms
- data acquisition systems
- inverter telemetry validation
- communications fault isolation
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Required Working Knowledge
Candidates with strong BESS field experience are strongly preferred.
Must understand:
- AC-coupled and DC-coupled architecture
- PCS (Power Conversion System)
- BMS (Battery Management System)
- EMS (Energy Management System)
- SCADA integration
- battery racks and containerized systems
- control and protection interfaces
- functional startup logic
- fault isolation and safe shutdown procedures
BESS Commissioning Tasks
- pre-functional inspection
- startup readiness verification
- battery communications verification
- PCS commissioning support
- alarm verification
- sequence-of-operations testing
- functional control testing
- operational verification
- capacity validation support
- troubleshooting communication and controls faults
Growing utility-scale storage deployment is increasing demand for technicians who can support field energization, controls integration, commissioning documentation, and safe turnover.
Safety & Compliance
Must demonstrate working knowledge of:
- OSHA
- NFPA 70E
- Lockout / Tagout
- arc-flash practices
- fall protection
- job hazard analysis
- energized work planning
- NEC Article 690
- NEC Article 705
- NEC Article 706
- basic familiarity with NFPA 855 and UL 9540 / 9540A preferred for storage systems
Leadership Expectations
The Lead PV / BESS Master Technician is expected to:
- lead crews in the field
- mentor junior technicians
- identify issues before they become delays
- maintain technical discipline during commissioning
- communicate clearly with field management and clients
- make sound technical decisions without escalation
- protect schedule, quality, and system performance
Required Experience
- 5+ years of hands-on commercial or utility-scale PV field experience
- proven lead technician, commissioning technician, or senior service technician experience
- demonstrated success diagnosing live system failures
- ability to work independently under field pressure
- ability to travel to project sites
Preferred Qualifications
- NABCEP PV Installation Professional
- NABCEP PV Commissioning & Maintenance
- OSHA 10 / 30
- NFPA 70E
- manufacturer certifications:
- SMA
- Sungrow
- SolarEdge
- Enphase
- Tesla
- Fluence
- Powin
- Sungrow storage platforms
What This Role Is Not
- Not entry-level
- Not a helper role
- Not a remote position
- Not a training seat
If you need daily instruction to perform technical work, this role is not a fit.
Compensation & Opportunity
- Competitive compensation based on experience
- Leadership-level field responsibility
- Exposure to complex commercial, utility-scale, and storage systems
- Opportunity to work on high-value commissioning, startup, and O&M projects
The current U.S. solar market is facing a skilled labor shortage, especially for senior field and commissioning roles, which is pushing greater value toward technicians who can independently lead energization and turnover.
How to Apply
Submit your resume with:
- years of hands-on PV experience
- system sizes worked on
- commissioning experience
- inverter platforms supported
- BESS experience
- examples of major troubleshooting work personally completed
Only candidates with proven field capability will be considered.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $30.00 - $45.00 per hour
Benefits:
- Dental insurance
- Health insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Vision insurance
Work Location: On the road
