Project Valuation Engineer

New Leaf Energy is an experienced clean energy developer that partners with landowners, policymakers, and other stakeholders to accelerate the transition to a world powered by renewable energy. We identify high-value sites, work with landowners and local communities to develop them, and partner with long-term asset owners to bring the most impactful clean energy projects to life.

New Leaf Energy is seeking a highly skilled and collaborative Project Valuation Engineer to lead and enhance our value engineering, performance modeling, and cost estimation practices. This role will support distributed and utility-scale solar, energy storage and wind projects. This team member works closely with cross-functional teams, including Design Engineering, Project Finance, and Regional Project Development Teams, to ensure projects are valued appropriately and optimized for direct profits.

This position may be filled out of our Lowell, MA, Boston, MA, or Chicago, IL, Oakland, CA, or Troy, NY offices. We value in-person collaboration and offer a hybrid work environment. Hybrid employees work in the office at least two out of every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and are free to work from the office or from home on other days.

• Support sizing, optimization and value engineering efforts at both the market level and project level for PV & ESS projects by using internal tools as well as external platforms such as Anza, Fractal, Wood Mackenzie, etc.
• Apply technical knowledge to optimize designs for various metrics such as specific yield, capacity, project costs, levelized cost of energy and direct profit
• Establish and maintain templates for EPC cost estimates for distributed and utility-scale renewable energy (PV, ESS & wind) projects
• Perform EPC pricing model reviews and ensure alignment with market trends
• Collaborate with product teams to ensure optimization results utilize equipment informed by their research and buyer preferences

• Own and maintain New Leaf Energy's photovoltaic (PV) project performance modeling and ESS dispatch modeling standards for distributed and utility scale projects
• Engage with independent engineering firms and industry stakeholders to stay informed of best practices and innovations
• Provide review of performance models when needed
• Support Regional Teams by creating analytical models that optimize for changing policy, incentives and verticals

• Create, maintain, and improve in-house engineering tools for PV performance modeling, ESS dispatch modeling, cost estimation, and optimization for existing and new markets
• Provide training and support on performance modeling software, estimation tools and optimization across the organization, enabling engineers to work independently
• Understand project developer and project finance requirements of design, performance modeling, pricing, and valuation at different stages of development, and identify how scope management and other approaches can be deployed to reduce lead time

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, or a related field
• Minimum 4 years experience in Solar and/or Energy storage project design engineering
• Experience evaluating LCOE, OPEX, CAPEX, etc. for renewable energy projects
• Proven experience with performance modeling software (PVsyst, PVCase, Helioscope etc.) and cost estimation tools
• Excellent use of MS Excel with VBA, and/or additional coding languages
• Ability to interpret complex electrical and mechanical drawings and translate technical insights into actionable recommendations
• Proficiency in developing and maintaining automation tools and prediction models
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, and the ability to deploy these in service of continuous improvement initiatives
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills for cross-functional teamwork, and a service-oriented mindset
• A proactive approach to learning industry trends and integrating innovative solutions

New Leaf Energy compensates all employees in three ways: market-competitive base salary, plus above-market variable compensation, plus an equity-like program such that all employees experience the benefits of ownership. We use a data-driven and transparent methodology to calibrate compensation that is externally competitive and internally equitable, guided by the New Leaf Energy compensation manual, which is available to all employees.

Under our compensation framework, the likely base salary range for this position is $117,180 - $132,360. The on-target annual cash bonus associated with this position is an additional 10% percent of base salary. Your actual salary may be above, in, or below this range, depending on your location and experience.

We value transparency and can share more during the interview process.

New Leaf Energy’s success is driven by our collaborative, long-term relationships based on trust and transparency. We offer a…