Job Description Summary:The Senior Commissioning Project Manager is accountable for integrated commissioning delivery across a portfolio of typically four to five concurrent utility-scale projects, with each project containing two to three commissioning scopes such as photovoltaic, high-voltage, battery energy storage, SCADA/controls, and related infrastructure. The role leads commissioning strategy from early project planning through energization, testing, substantial completion, commercial operation, and turnover. This position integrates the work of scope-specific commissioning project managers and field teams; owns portfolio-level scope, schedule, resource, cost, risk, customer, and milestone visibility; resolves cross-scope conflicts; and exercises independent judgment on complex project delivery matters. The Senior Commissioning Project Manager serves as the primary commissioning leader for assigned EPC projects and is accountable for a safe, coordinated, contract-compliant, and commercially successful outcome.
This role is remote with travel required within the Midwest region. Specific location details and expectations will be discussed during the interview process.
Job Description:*This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.
Position Responsibilities and Duties:- Own integrated commissioning delivery across typically 4-5 concurrent EPC projects, each with 2-3 commissioning scopes, from early planning and readiness through energization, testing, acceptance, closeout, and turnover.
- Establish the commissioning strategy, execution model, governance cadence, responsibility assignments, readiness gates, milestone plan, and escalation pathways for each assigned project.
- Translate EPC contracts, customer requirements, interconnection obligations, commercial milestones, technical requirements, and company standards into an integrated commissioning scope and execution plan.
- Exercise independent judgment and decision-making authority on complex commissioning delivery matters within assigned responsibilities; escalate material safety, contractual, commercial, technical, or organizational risks.
- Maintain clear portfolio-level visibility of status, forecast dates, risks, constraints, resources, cost exposure, decisions, corrective actions, and executive support needed.
Portfolio and Integrated Project Leadership
- Lead the integration of PV, HV, BESS, SCADA/controls, network, utility, OEM, testing, and Operations and Maintenance interfaces so that scope-specific plans form one executable project commissioning plan.
- Provide functional direction, priorities, and decision support to scope-specific Commissioning Project Managers, field commissioning leads, technicians, OEM representatives, third-party providers, and project partners.
- Balance priorities and resources across the assigned portfolio; identify overload, sequencing conflicts, specialty-resource constraints, and schedule compression early and implement recovery or mitigation plans.
- Lead project and portfolio commissioning coordination meetings; establish decision logs, action ownership, due dates, escalation paths, and accountability for commitments.
- Coach less-experienced commissioning project leaders, reinforce consistent work practices, and contribute to capability development and succession planning.
Scope, Schedule, Cost, and Commercial Management
- Develop and govern the integrated commissioning plan, detailed P6 schedule logic, milestone and deliverables register, resource plan, forecast, and readiness criteria for each assigned project.
- Validate dependencies among construction completion, engineering deliverables, quality turnover, utility readiness, controls and communications, energization, commissioning tests, performance tests, and contractual milestones.
- Monitor commissioning labor, equipment, testing, OEM, vendor, and third-party commitments; identify variances and support accurate forecasts, accruals, cost-to-complete assessments, and recovery planning.
- Identify scope gaps, design or construction impacts, customer-driven changes, schedule impacts, rework, standby, and other potential change events; preserve records and coordinate timely commercial evaluation with project leadership.
- Protect contract notice, witness, acceptance, documentation, milestone, liquidated-damages, and turnover requirements by ensuring issues are identified and addressed early.
- Evaluate competing project needs and recommend or authorize resource, sequence, and execution adjustments within assigned authority to protect safety, quality, schedule, and margin.
Technical Governance and Readiness
- Review technical, contractual, regulatory, and interconnection requirements and ensure appropriate commissioning plans, procedures, test forms, acceptance criteria, and approval paths are established for every scope.
- Facilitate technical alignment among Commissioning Engineering, subject-matter experts, Engineering, Quality, Construction, OEMs, utilities, SCADA/controls, and field execution teams.
- Lead cross-scope readiness reviews and confirm construction, quality, engineering, documentation, communications, controls, staffing, equipment, safety, and operational prerequisites are satisfied before energization or testing.
- Ensure pre-commissioning, cold, warm, and hot commissioning; protection and control; functional; synchronization; utility capability; performance; reliability; and acceptance testing are properly planned, sequenced, witnessed, documented, and closed.
- Direct resolution of complex technical issues and cross-scope conflicts; establish owners and deadlines, obtain required technical decisions, and verify corrective action and retesting.
Safety, Energization, and Operational Transition
- Demonstrate visible safety leadership, stop work when necessary, and ensure schedule pressure never overrides safe-work requirements or system readiness.
- Govern alignment of energization plans, switching procedures, LOTO, tagging, grounding, permit-to-work, red-rope, System Under Test, energized-work, care/custody/control, and operational-authority requirements.
- Confirm roles, boundaries, approvals, communications, emergency response, and control-of-plant expectations are understood before energization and throughout the transition to operations.
- Ensure commissioning activities comply with company procedures, project requirements, applicable codes and standards, environmental requirements, and site-specific safety plans.
Customer, Executive, and Cross-Functional Coordination
- Serve as the primary commissioning leader for assigned projects with owners, utilities, project executives, project managers, Engineering, Construction, Quality, Safety, Operations and Maintenance, OEMs, and other affected parties.
- Provide concise, decision-oriented status and risk reporting to customers and senior leadership; clearly communicate impacts, alternatives, recommendations, and support required.
- Facilitate timely decisions on project readiness, execution sequence, resource allocation, technical issue resolution, recovery strategies, and turnover.
- Maintain productive working relationships during high-pressure commissioning periods and resolve conflicts while protecting contractual and organizational interests.
Documentation, Closeout, and Continuous Improvement
- Ensure complete and auditable commissioning records, including plans, procedures, test records, daily reports, issue logs, deficiencies, redlines, approvals, witness documentation, turnover packages, training, and closeout deliverables.
- Support and validate documentation for mechanical completion, energization, substantial completion, commercial operation, final completion, and owner or Operations and Maintenance acceptance.
- Lead lessons-learned reviews and convert findings into improved estimating assumptions, schedules, readiness gates, templates, procedures, dashboards, training, and standards.
- Contribute to department resource planning, workload forecasting, performance metrics, process standardization, and strategic improvement initiatives.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Advanced knowledge of utility-scale commissioning delivery across multiple technical scopes, including PV, HV substations, BESS, SCADA/controls, communications, and utility interfaces.
- Ability to interpret and integrate EPC contracts, scopes of work, specifications, IFC drawings, interconnection documents, control narratives, OEM requirements, schedules, test requirements, and acceptance criteria.
- Strong project and portfolio management capability in scope, schedule, resource, cost, risk, change, quality, stakeholder, issue, contract, and document management.
- Working knowledge of HV and MV systems, electrical testing, protection and control, SCADA/communications, switching and grounding concepts, LOTO, energized-work controls, and power-plant operational interfaces.
- Ability to identify critical-path and cross-scope dependencies, challenge unrealistic assumptions, develop recovery plans, and make sound decisions with incomplete information.
Safety
- Sets clear expectations for safe commissioning execution across all assigned projects and reinforces accountability through visible field leadership.
- Understands electrical safe-work practices, PPE, job hazard analysis, LOTO, switching, grounding, permit-to-work, and control-of-plant requirements.
- Intervenes in at-risk conditions or behaviors, verifies corrective actions, and promotes learning, reporting, and continuous improvement.
Minimum Skills or Experience Requirements:- Minimum 8 years of progressive experience in commissioning, startup, testing, construction, operations, engineering, or project delivery for utility-scale electrical facilities.
- Minimum 5 years leading complex commissioning or project-delivery activities, including responsibility for multiple concurrent projects, multiple technical scopes, or a comparably complex portfolio.
- Demonstrated accountability for integrated scope, schedule, resources, risk, stakeholders, issue resolution, documentation, and contractual or commercial delivery commitments.
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence outcomes across organizational boundaries without relying solely on direct authority.
- Strong business judgment, problem-solving, planning, organization, negotiation, written communication, and executive stakeholder-management skills.
- Valid driver's license and ability to satisfy project access requirements.
Preferred Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in engineering, construction management, project management, business, or related discipline; equivalent relevant experience may be considered.
- Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Construction Manager, NETA certification, electrical license, or other relevant technical or project credential.
- Experience with EPC contracts, utility interconnection, commercial milestones, project controls, P6 scheduling and reporting tools, change management, cost forecasting, owner or utility witness testing, and executive customer reporting.
- Prior experience coaching, mentoring, or supervising commissioning project managers or technical project leaders.
Physical Demands and Environmental Conditions- Regional and national travel is required to oversee multiple project sites; frequency and duration vary by project phase and portfolio needs.
- Work may occur outdoors in variable weather, around construction equipment, and near energized medium- and high-voltage systems.
- Requires the ability to walk active project sites, climb ladders or stairs, access equipment areas, bend or crouch, and lift or carry up to 50 pounds with or without reasonable accommodation.
- Must be able to wear required PPE and work varied hours, including early mornings, nights, weekends, or outage windows when critical project activities require.
Benefits:Employees (and their families) are eligible for medical, dental, vision, basic life and disability insurance. Employees can enroll in our company's 401(k) plan and are provided vacation, sick and holiday pay.
Compensation Range:$128,230.00 - $160,287
Pay Rate Type:Salary
SOLV Energy does not accept unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals or resumes from third-party recruiters or staffing agencies. We require all third-party recruiters to communicate exclusively with our internal talent acquisition team. SOLV Energy will not pay a placement fee to any third-party recruiter or agency that has not coordinated their recruiting activity with the appropriate member of our internal talent acquisition team.
In addition, candidate introductions or resumes can only be submitted to our internal talent acquisition recruiting team if a signed vendor agreement is already on file and the third-party recruiter or agency has received formal instructions from our internal talent acquisition team to submit candidates for a particular job posting.
Any unsolicited candidate introductions, referrals or resumes sent by third-party recruiters to SOLV Energy or directly to any of our employees, or received through our website or career portal, will be considered property of SOLV Energy and will not be eligible
