Chef for Engineering

Job Description

Nevados is the premier solar tracker company for PV power plants built on sloped and rolling terrain. We offer innovative all-terrain trackers paired with a comprehensive software suite in an integrated technology platform that optimizes solar performance, improves plant reliability and respects the natural landscape. Headquartered in Oakland and backed by institutional capital, Nevados is transforming utility-scale PV deployment with our tracking solutions and partnership approach.

Nevados is a distributed organization with many team members working remotely, while other roles require an in office and on-site presence. Specifics of the work location, travel expectations and other role requirements are outlined in the position overview. Ideal candidates are self-motivated and able to manage their time effectively.

Position Overview

Reporting to the COO, the Head of Engineering is the senior-most technical authority at Nevados, responsible for end-to-end product integrity, engineering, execution, and organizational effectiveness. This role ensures our products meet the highest standards of performance, reliability, and manufacturability while aligning engineering efforts with business objectives.

This is a hands-on leadership role requiring deep systems thinking, strong technical judgment, and the ability to drive clarity, speed, and accountability across a multidisciplinary engineering organization.

Location: Hybrid-with expectation of majority time spent in our Oakland office to work alongside our C-Suite and engineering teams.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Governance

• Serve as the final technical authority on product design, performance, and engineering standards
• Lead design reviews, ensuring rigor, cross-functional alignment, and timely decision-making
• Own system-level integration across mechanical, structural, electrical, and software components

Engineering Organization & Structure

• Optimize engineering team structure to improve speed, clarity, and accountability
• Evolve the engineering organization and team structure to support clarity, alignment, and effective execution as the company scales, including thoughtful placement of key functions (e.g., embedded systems, structural engineering)
• Serve as a mentor and partner to engineering leaders, supporting their continued growth in leadership, strategic thinking, and cross-functional collaboration while fostering a culture of accountability and continuous improvement
• Guide leaders in prioritization, resource planning, and team development within a resource-conscious environment, ensuring focus on the highest-impact work while building a scalable, resilient organization

Product Development & Execution

• Drive product strategy and roadmap to amplify market competitiveness
• Drive cost reduction initiatives across the product portfolio
• Implement a design sprint approach to accelerate development cycles and time-to-market
• Ensure strong alignment between engineering, product, and commercial priorities
• Provide quantitative, informative and frequent department and product development reporting

Innovation & Technical Strategy

• Institute rapid and lean design methods with an AI-forward mindset
• Ensure engineering decisions are grounded in data, testing, and real-world conditions

DFM & Commercialization

• Oversee design for manufacturing (DFM) to ensure products are scalable, cost-effective, and production-ready
• Partner with operations and supply chain to accelerate product launches

Fundraising & External Support

• Support fundraising efforts by articulating technical strategy, product roadmap, and differentiation to investors and stakeholders

Qualifications

• 15+ years of engineering experience, with deep expertise in mechanical, structural, and/or systems engineering
• Proven track record as a technical lead or Chief Engineer/Head of Engineering on complex hardware systems from concept through commercialization
• Demonstrated ability to act as a final decision-maker on critical technical tradeoffs
• Experience leading multidisciplinary teams (mechanical, structural, electrical, software, embedded systems)
• Strong background in system-level design, reliability, and performance optimization
• Proven success driving cost reduction, DFM, and scalable product development
• Experience integrating testing and validation (e.g., wind tunnel or similar studies) into product design
• Solar, solar tracker, or adjacent renewable/infrastructure experience strongly preferred
• Strong communication skills with the ability to engage executive leadership and external stakeholders

What Success Looks Like

• Engineering operates with clear ownership, speed, and accountability
• Product development cycles are faster, with improved cost and manufacturability outcomes
• New products are delivered on schedule and perform reliably in the field
• Technical credibility is strengthened with customers, partners, and investors

$250,000 - $300,000 a year

Benefits & Total Compensation Package

Nevados offers competitive base salary, bonus, commission (if applicable to the role) and stock options commensurate with qualifications and experience. Full time employees and their eligible dependents are offered medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long term disability and vol life. We also offer 401(k) participation, unlimited PTO, generous sick leave, paid company holidays and additional benefit offerings as we continue to grow.

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice.

Unless otherwise explicitly stated as a requirement of the role, candidates must be willing to travel at least 10-20% of the time for company off-sites, conferences, trade shows, site visits, and other potential events as needed.

Inclusion at Nevados

Not sure you meet every qualification? We encourage you to apply anyway. We're committed to building a team that reflects a variety of backgrounds, identities, and perspectives. This includes uplifting women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others who are underrepresented in cleantech and the broader tech industry. Nevados is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Interview Process

At Nevados, our interview process is designed to be comprehensive and thorough to ensure the best fit for both the candidate and our team. It typically entails 3-5 conversations over the course of 3-4 weeks. This timeline and format may vary based on the role as well as availability of team members and the candidate. The process is subject to change at any time.

To ensure a fair and consistent experience for all candidates, we ask that interviews be completed without the use of real-time AI tools, scripts, or external assistance during live conversations, unless explicitly discussed and approved in advance.

Nevados provides reasonable accommodations for candidates who need them. Please let us know in advance if any adjustments are required.