Director, Product Development

SolFocus is a leading supplier of Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) systems. Featuring a reflective optical system to concentrate sunlight at 650 times onto very small high-efficiency multi-junction PV cells, the company's high efficiency and high performance systems provide the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) in high sun regions. These CPV systems are certified to IEC 62108 industry standard, and have been designed for high reliability in extreme operating environments with very low maintenance requirements.

Due to the incorporation of primarily glass and aluminum, a robust passive thermal management system, and a dependable dual-axis tracking system, SolFocus CPV systems have been field-proven to deliver energy at projected levels. SolFocus CPV panels come with a power performance warranty that is backed by Munich Re. With the lightest environmental footprint of any solar technology, SolFocus CPV meets the need not just for clean energy, but a superior cradle-to-cradle footprint.

Position Overview:

The Director of Product Development leads product development and manufacturing release of concentrator solar modules, trackers and supporting components. He or she will lead a team of mechanical, optical, and electrical engineers to design, validate and establish manufacturing of product. He or she will define business processes for structured product release, budgeting, project organization, and communication of performance requirements.

Responsibilities:

• Team leadership, development and management, organization of priorities, management briefings
• Product definition, concept, design for reliability, manufacturability and installation
• Define manufacturing and test processes, identify and develop manufacturing partners with required expertise
• Develop and lead product release process, phase gates, design reviews, project budgeting

Qualifications:

Skills:

• Demonstrated performance in design for reliability, manufacturability
• Hands-on leadership style, personnel development and cross-functional team organization
• Rigorous detail in documentation of requirements, specifications, BOMs, procedures.
• Evaluation and definition of product requirements
• Failure analysis and problem resolution, ability to lead, drive and track actions to closure
• Development of products for high-volume, cost effective, high yield manufacturing
• Experience in products covering mechanical, optical, electrical, and software disciplines
• Analytical rigor, usage and development of performance models, data driven decision making.
• Preparation of budgets and schedules, good negotiation skills
• Management-quality reporting, concise summation of data, highlighting of key actions

Qualifications:

• B.S. Engineering
• 15 years Product Development experience spanning mechanical, optical, electrical and software
• 5 years Product Development Management experience.
• Experience in concentrated photovoltaic panel and tracker development
• Experience in international manufacturing and outsourced manufacturing models