Frontier Energy is a professional consulting firm that specializes in energy efficiency technology evaluation, advanced building codes, and community-based program design for residential single-family, multifamily, industrial, and commercial buildings, food service, transportation, and next generation grid. We are committed to a single mission: To pioneer the intelligent use of energy today for a sustainable and resilient tomorrow.
We are seeking an experienced Senior Engineer to lead and support energy efficiency programs for a range of customers, including utilities, national laboratories, private industry, and state/federal/local governments. The position will support Frontier's operations by leveraging deep industry knowledge to anticipate and meet client needs, leading cross-disciplinary teams to develop and manage complex project plans, enhancing operational efficiency and quality assurance, driving collaboration and continuous improvement through mentorship and detailed analysis, and fostering professional growth and effective communication to align with strategic objectives and client expectations. This position will be based out of Frontier Energy’s office in downtown Davis, California—an energetic and charming bicycle-friendly college town ideally situated between the San Francisco Bay area and the state’s capital, Sacramento.
Though each project will have its own specific set of goals and objectives, the expectations of a Senior Engineer will generally include:
- Manage medium complexity projects, delegating work to junior engineers and providing mentoring as needed.
- Actively pursue collaborations with partners, subcontractors, and stakeholders.
- Anticipate client needs through understanding of their business goals, and advocate for Frontier's solutions with a focus on how they align with specific client needs and industry wide trends.
- Write strong proposals that showcase Frontier's value proposition to the client and industry.
- Coordinate cross-disciplinary teams to execute task and program level assignments.
- Demonstrate application of expertise to advanced technical problems that present industry level challenges.
- Conducts root-cause analysis on identified execution issues, proposing and implementing solutions.
- Review budget and scope of work break-downs with program staff and direct reports to ensure deliverables, milestones, and budgets are met.
- Stays current with trends affecting building science, energy efficiency, and decarbonization.
- Manage conflict and extract opportunities between parties and stakeholders with varying interests and objectives.
- Consistently use effective communication styles to foster collaboration.
- Address issues of equity and access in energy efficiency programs, with a focus on a more equitable distribution of program benefits, and greater program design inputs from communities that have been historically underserved or underrepresented.
Depending on the applicant’s skills and current Frontier staffing needs, work will focus on one or more of the following technical areas:
- Developing and analyzing proposed Title 24 energy code improvements and reach codes
- Performing or overseeing building energy modeling activities,
- Supporting federal, state, and local efforts to decarbonize buildings through energy codes, pilot programs, and other policy mechanisms,
- Planning and executing field or lab testing in support of research projects, and
- Applying technical analysis to support policies and programs.
This position can be on-site or remote. The position is a full-time (exempt) position. Overnight travel several times per year will be required.
Qualifications:
- Possess a solid understanding of the operation and performance of building mechanical systems, as well as an understanding of technical topics such as engineering physics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, building energy efficiency measures, grid-responsive technologies, decarbonization, and renewable energy.
- 8 years of engineering experience in the energy efficiency space, 6 years with a Master’s Degree or Professional Engineering License, or 4 years with a PhD.
- Experience recruiting applicants for program participation.
- Experience supervising direct reports and or managing teams
- Excellent skills with MS Word®, MS Excel®, MS PowerPoint®, MS Outlook®, Adobe Acrobat, and Windows® operating systems
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, with the ability to create written work product that requires minimal review by senior staff.
- Bachelor's degree in a relevant field from ABET/EAC/ANSAC/ACS - accredited program institution.
Highly Desirable Skills/Experience:
- Solid understanding of energy efficiency and building science fundamentals
- Strong engineering data analysis skills, including scripting
- Experience with local, state, and federal government agencies, and regional and state level utility stakeholders
- Familiarity with the California regulatory environment, including California Title 24, Part 6; utility/third party energy efficiency programs; and grid flexibility and electrification policies.
- Proficiency with building energy modeling software including EnergyPlus, OpenStudio, and the CEC-recognized residential and non-residential energy compliance tools.
