We are looking for a
Development Associate
Houston, TX (Hybrid)
Job Summary
As the
Development Associate, you oversee key aspects of project development and due diligence for utility-scale renewable energy projects. This role operates within a fast-growing development group of a global energy company and offers the opportunity to shape processes and influence team growth. The position leads cross-functional project teams, manages issues proactively, and drives progress through structured communication, analytical decision-making, and strong stakeholder engagement. Candidates with three to five+ years of experience in any area of the renewable energy sector are encouraged to apply, particularly those ready to step into a project leadership role within an expanding organization.
Join us to drive the right power forward and make clean energy the natural choice for all!Key Responsibilities:
Project & Due Diligence Team Leadership (Primary Focus)
- Lead cross-functional development and due diligence teams spanning engineering, land, environmental, permitting, interconnection, legal, finance, commercial, and external developers.
- Drive team alignment, set priorities, manage timelines, and ensure accountability across all workstreams.
- Facilitate structured and efficient team meetings; monitor action items; escalate key issues with clear recommendations.
- Provide concise, strategic updates to senior leadership regarding project needs, decisions, risks, and status.
Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
- Act as the central point of coordination for both internal and external stakeholders.
- Maintain strong working relationships with utilities, consultants, external developers, permitting agencies, landowners, and cross-functional teams.
- Present complex technical and commercial issues in a clear and actionable manner.
- Engage with senior leadership regularly to communicate resource needs, project decisions, and risk mitigation strategies.
Problem-Solving & Decision-Making
- Identify issues, involve relevant stakeholders, and develop solutions collaboratively using logic, structured reasoning, and data.
- Make informed recommendations quickly and escalate when appropriate.
- Maintain measured, professional, and thoughtful decision-making in fast-moving situations.
Process Building & Continuous Improvement
- Help identify, create, refine, and implement development processes, tools, and workflows as the organization grows. Contribute to building a scalable, repeatable development model for a rapidly expanding team.
- Be effective in environments without rigid or well-defined processes and navigate ambiguity effectively.
Acquisitions Due Diligence
- Lead development-focused due diligence for project acquisitions, coordinating technical, environmental, legal, commercial, financial, and land reviews.
- Evaluate land control, permitting, environmental studies, interconnection status, engineering completeness, and regulatory requirements.
- Prepare red-flag reports, risk assessments, and investment committee inputs.
- Provide development assumptions and constraints for valuation and financial modeling.
Targeted Greenfield Initiatives
- Help inform greenfield strategy.
- Participate in early-stage screening of new project opportunities using GIS, constraints analysis, and market research.
- Work with land teams on targeted outreach and site evaluation where appropriate.
Qualifications and Skills:
Your profile is a natural match if you have:
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Business, Finance, Environmental Science, Economics, Renewable Energy, or related field.
- 3-5 years of renewable energy industry experience, not limited to development (engineering, procurement, interconnection, finance, accounting, valuation, permitting, etc.).
- Demonstrated ability to self-direct and lead project teams effectively.
- Comfortable with project budgets, models, and other analytical knowledge base
- Strong problem-solving abilities and a structured, logical approach to decision-making.
- Action-oriented and proactive, with the ability to drive projects forward while maintaining measured and professional responses under pressure.
- Preparing and presenting updates, presentations, and recommendations to senior leadership.
- Ability to succeed in an organization with evolving processes and help build and improve systems as the team grows.
- Familiarity with U.S. ISO/RTO markets (ERCOT, CAISO, SPP, PJM, MISO, NYISO); experience in multiple markets preferred.
- Willingness to travel ~25% of the time.
What drives your application forward:
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent projects in a dynamic environment.
