Off-Grid Solar Engineer, Technical Lead

ABOUT FLUIDSTACK

We exist to make humanity more free. For most of human history, you farmed or you starved. Technology gave people more time for the things they wanted to do, instead of things they had to do. Powerful AI will be the biggest lever for human choice we've ever built - but only if models are aligned with what humanity actually wants. There are groups building AI who don't share these goals. Whoever deploys frontier compute infrastructure fastest will decide whether AI expands human freedom or shrinks it.

We're singularly focused on delivering 10 to 100s of GWs of compute faster than anyone else, rethinking every layer of the stack. We acquire power, design and build data centers, and operate them - with teams spanning hardware and software. Speed and scale are our key differentiators. Come be a part of building civilization-scale infrastructure for AI.

We hire people who care deeply about this problem space. If that is you, please apply!

HOW WE OPERATE

• Be a barrel. Full autonomy. Own things end to end, take on scope without being asked, no permission required to operate outside your core role.
• Insane urgency. We drive everything forward as fast as possible.
• Reason from first principles. Challenge every assumption. Zero analogy thinking, no egos, the best idea wins.
• Love of the game. The frontier of AI is the most interesting problem of our time. We put in long hours at high intensity to push the frontier forward.
• Build something that actually matters. If you're going to spend your time, spend it on something that matters to the world.

THE POWER GENERATION TEAM

The Power Generation team designs, sources and builds the generation that runs Fluidstack's AI infrastructure.

Examples of key problems the team is working on

• Put solar, storage and gas in the ground at an install rate no one in the construction market has hit. We are building generation across multiple gigawatt sites at once, on a schedule traditional EPC delivery cannot meet.
• Secure supply at a scale and timeline the supply chain cannot meet, and reshore it ourselves. Cells, containers, transformers and turbines are all constrained, so we qualify new suppliers and stand up domestic capacity instead of waiting in line.
• Make solar, gas and storage combine into power steady enough to run AI workloads. A training run does not tolerate a dip, so the hybrid plant has to behave like firm generation even when the resource behind it does not.
• Clear balancing authority certification, firm load rights, permits and interconnection against long clocks and a shifting policy environment. These approvals sit on the critical path to every gigawatt, so we work them years ahead of the build.

ROLE SCOPE

• Own how we build solar. Choose the technology, layout and installation method for each site, judged first on time to energization.
• Pilot new deployment methods. Test automated installation, prefabricated systems and new mounting systems, move installation work out of the field and into the factory, and make the methods that work our standard build.
• Run the vendors. Lead technical selection and pilot partnerships with suppliers ranging from early-stage technology companies to established module, inverter and EPC firms.
• Size and design the arrays. Work with the storage and gas teams so each solar design meets the power needs of a site running off-grid and behind the meter.
• Energize the first sites. Lead the first field deployments, measured on days to first energized block, MW installed per week and labor hours per MW, and turn the results into a repeatable playbook.
• Build the team. Hire and lead PV engineers across design, performance, quality and installation automation.

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

The below is a starting point. We always make space for exceptional people, so if you don't fit this role exactly, tell us where you would. https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/fluidstack/05c2e69c-42f9-4fcb-9cf0-a467aaf98f1c

• 10+ years of experience engineering and delivering utility-scale solar arrays, including PV design, energy yield modeling and field commissioning.
• You’ve personally engineered and delivered large solar arrays, and you can name the sites and the megawatts.
• You’ve changed how solar gets built, through faster installs, new methods or prefabricated approaches, and you can show the schedule or labor numbers that moved.
• You’ve made energy yield and the economics of design trade-offs the basis for a layout or technology decision.
• You’ve selected vendors and run pilots with them, and you’ve held them to a specification through acceptance.
• You’ve made fast calls on site with incomplete data, and you can explain the reasoning behind the ones that mattered.
• People leadership experience, you’ve hired and led engineers through multiple projects and performance cycles.
• You're comfortable with regular travel: expect 25% or more, depending on business needs.
• Most of our engineering team, stakeholders, and work are based in Austin, TX, and we value working in person. We have a strong preference for Austin and run a hybrid model, but we're open to other locations for the right role and candidate.
• Bonus: Solar automation or robotics (automated module installation, robotic piling or racking). Off-grid or behind-the-meter projects (islanded sites, on-site generation for large loads). Hybrid solar, storage and gas plant design.

We are committed to pay equity and transparency.

Fluidstack is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability and protected veterans’ status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Fluidstack will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to applicable law.

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You will receive a confirmation email once your application has successfully been accepted. If there is an error with your submission and you did not receive a confirmation email, please email careers@fluidstack.io with your resume/CV, the role you've applied for, and the date you submitted your application-- someone from our recruiting team will be in touch.