Senior Solar PV Design Engineer

Sunbird Design Standard

• Maintain Sunbird’s design standard, templates, calculation tools, equipment ranges, and QA checklists, with the Head of Engineering and the Lead Solar PV Designer.
• Keep the design logic identical across markets, with country-specific requirements layered on top, and feed lessons from site and operations back into the standard so each failure is fixed once.

In-Country Engineering Interface

• Work alongside in-country engineers and local consultants, who own local permitting, grid-connection applications, and statutory sign-off. The core design team owns design quality to the Sunbird standard; in-country engineering owns local compliance. The post-holder makes sure the two fit together.
• For Poland, review design documentation, grid-connection conditions, and fire-safety inputs prepared locally, and make sure they align with Sunbird’s design before submission.
• As new markets open, identify which local requirements need to be captured in the standard, and brief local partners and EPCs on how Sunbird designs.

Team Development

• Mentor and develop the design engineers and graduates, using structured redline feedback and regular design reviews to raise the standard of first submissions, and support recruitment and onboarding as the team grows.

Project & Technical Delivery

• Resolve complex technical issues during procurement, construction, and commissioning, and respond to contractor RFIs.
• Carry out site visits, design verification, and commissioning performance reviews, and represent Sunbird's design to insurers, lenders’ technical advisers, and independent engineers.

Collaboration

• Work closely with Project Management, Procurement, and Asset Management, and share lessons learned across the portfolio and between countries.

Person Specification

Essential

• Degree (BEng, MEng, or BSc) in Electrical, Energy, Renewable Energy, or a closely related engineering discipline, minimum RQF Level 6.
• Around five years’ or more experience in solar PV system design, including at least two years reviewing, checking, or approving other engineers’ designs.
• Fluent professional English, and willing and able to travel frequently across Europe.
• Expert, hands-on PVsyst energy-yield modelling, and strong LV electrical design: single-line diagrams, cable sizing, protection coordination, and earthing. Working knowledge of MV connections.
• Experience delivering C&I or distributed-generation PV across the full lifecycle, preferably in more than one country or regulatory regime.
• A track record of writing or improving design standards, templates, or QA processes, rather than only working to them.
• The judgement and confidence to reject a design, and the patience to teach the engineer how to fix it; methodical, with strong documentation discipline.

Desirable

• Polish at professional working level, strongly preferred, given the size of our Polish portfolio.
• Familiarity with Polish PV permitting and grid-connection processes, including building permit, fire-safety agreement, and distribution network operator (DSO) connection requirements.
• Polish building design qualifications (uprawnienia budowlane) in electrical installations, or another national design sign-off qualification.
• Chartered Engineer (CEng) or IEng status, or working towards it.
• AutoCAD and VirtoSolar (Virto CAD), drone or point-cloud survey models, and carport, ground-mount, or battery storage (BESS) design experience.
• Additional European languages, particularly German, Spanish, Italian, or Croatian.

What We Offer

• Design authority and influence in a growing pan-European solar PV business.
• A clear route into engineering leadership as the core design team grows.
• Travel support, including visa costs where required and generous living-out allowances.
• All tools and IT equipment required to perform the role.
• A collaborative, entrepreneurial team culture.