Senior Systems Engineering Manager, Operability (m/w/d)

Fluence is seeking a Senior Systems Engineering Manager, Operability to lead the global Hypercare organization responsible for post-deployment technical stabilization, fleet operability, issue resolution, and continuous product improvement across Fluence's Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) portfolio.

This role leads a multidisciplinary team of Systems Engineers and technical specialists focused on ensuring successful product deployment, customer adoption, operational readiness, and transition to long-term support organizations. The Senior Manager serves as the primary leader responsible for driving technical issue resolution, reducing deployment risk, improving fleet performance, and establishing closed-loop feedback mechanisms that accelerate product maturity and operational excellence.

The ideal candidate combines strong systems engineering expertise, technical leadership, customer focus, and organizational influence to drive cross-functional execution across Product Engineering, Software, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Delivery, Services, and Customer Success organizations.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and continuously improve Fluence's Hypercare operating model and governance framework.
• Establish Hypercare entry, readiness, and exit criteria across product platforms.
• Own the technical stabilization process from deployment through substantial completion and operational handoff.
• Prioritize resources and activities across multiple concurrent customer projects and global deployments.
• Drive accountability across organizations to ensure timely issue resolution and closure.
• Build, lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of Hypercare and Operability Engineers.
• Establish organizational goals, KPIs, operating rhythms, and engineering best practices.
• Drive a culture of ownership, accountability, systems thinking, and customer focus.
• Support workforce planning, succession planning, technical development, and capability growth.
• Serve as executive technical leader for critical customer issues and high-priority fleet events.
• Lead cross-functional incident response efforts and recovery activities.
• Establish escalation paths, communication plans, and executive reporting mechanisms.
• Ensure containment, corrective actions, and permanent solutions are executed effectively.
• Coordinate technical decision-making during complex operational events.
• Own fleet-level operability and performance improvement initiatives.
• Establish performance dashboards and fleet health monitoring processes.
• Drive prioritization of the highest-impact technical and operational issues.
• Establish a structured lessons learned process connecting deployment, operations, and product development.
• Lead initiatives that improve product operability, serviceability, reliability, and scalability.
• Partner with Product Management and Engineering leadership to influence future product direction.
• Resolve technical ownership gaps and remove execution barriers impacting customers and projects.
• Lead executive-level reviews related to product performance, deployment readiness, and fleet health.
• Provide leadership visibility into emerging risks, mitigation plans, and strategic improvement initiatives.
• Establish enterprise-wide lessons learned and knowledge management processes.
• Drive integration of Hypercare findings into Fluence's Product Development Process (P2D).
• Develop standards, technical playbooks, troubleshooting guides, and engineering best practices.
• Promote continuous improvement across engineering and operational organizations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Systems Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, or related technical discipline.
• 10+ years of engineering experience in complex technical systems and critical infrastructure environments.
• 5+ years of leadership experience managing engineering teams and technical programs.
• Strong background in Systems Engineering, Reliability Engineering, Product Engineering, Fleet Engineering, Operability Engineering, or equivalent disciplines.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional technical initiatives and driving organizational change.
• Experience managing customer escalations and high-severity technical issues.
• Strong understanding of:
  • Systems Engineering
  • Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
  • Corrective Action Processes
  • Reliability Engineering
  • Product Lifecycle Management
  • Risk Management
• Excellent executive communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Proven ability to influence organizations without direct authority.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), renewable energy systems, utility-scale power systems, industrial automation, data centers, aerospace, defense, or other mission-critical infrastructure.
• Experience with reliability methodologies including:
  • FMEA
  • Fault Tree Analysis
  • 8D
  • CAPA
  • Reliability Growth Analysis
  • Weibull Analysis
• Experience with requirements management, verification and validation, and engineering change management.
• Experience using fleet analytics and reporting tools such as Power BI, SQL, Python, Tableau, or equivalent.

Location: Houston (Global Support Scope)
Travel: Up to 40% as required for customer engagements, fleet events, product launches, and critical escalations.

Our Culture

At Fluence, our culture is the foundation that drives our ambitious growth strategy and fuels our mission to transform the future of energy. Our core cultural pillars empower us to innovate, collaborate, and lead with purpose, ensuring we continue to deliver unparalleled value to our customers and the world.

Unleash Voices

We believe every voice matters. We encourage openness, active listening, and decisive action to create a culture where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to our success. We foster an environment where diverse perspectives are heard and valued, driving innovation and progress.

Customer Fluent

Our customers are at the heart of everything we do. We're committed to delivering exceptional value that exceeds expectations by understanding our customers' needs and adapting swiftly to meet them. Our deep focus on customer satisfaction drives us to continuously improve and innovate.

Infinite Impact

We are committed to creating the impossible. We push boundaries to deliver sustainable, game-changing solutions that shape a brighter, more energy-efficient future for all. Our team is passionate about making a lasting impact that will resonate for generations to come.

All In

We are all in for growth. Our teams are relentlessly focused on identifying and seizing opportunities that propel us forward. We embrace an ownership mindset, pushing ourselves and each other to accelerate progress and create lasting success.

Equal Opportunity Employer
At Fluence, we believe great teams are built on a collaborative and connected culture. We're proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and welcome qualified applicants of all backgrounds. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or any other status protected by law.

Work Authorization
To join our team, you'll need to be legally authorized to work in the United States at the time of application and throughout your employment, without the need for employer sponsorship. Please note that Fluence does not sponsor work visas for this position.