Development Associate, DG

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the day-to-day development of assigned solar and energy storage projects from early-stage development through Notice to Proceed (NTP) or project sale.
• Coordinate closely with real estate, permitting, interconnection, engineering, construction, legal, finance, and operations teams to achieve key project milestones.
• Manage utility interconnection applications and studies, including schedules, deliverables, deposits, upgrade requirements, and regulatory compliance.
• Oversee local, regional, and state permitting activities by managing consultants, preparing application materials, facilitating public meetings, and tracking permit approvals and conditions.
• Maintain project schedules, development budgets, risk registers, and action-item trackers.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with utilities, municipalities, landowners, project neighbors, and other key stakeholders.
• Monitor legislative, regulatory, and market developments that may impact project economics, timelines, or viability.
• Develop project budgets, expense requests, and materials for internal review and investment decisions.
• Represent the organization at industry conferences, community meetings, utility engagements, and other stakeholder forums.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required.
• Minimum of 2+ years of experience in utility-scale or community-scale solar and/or energy storage project development.
• Demonstrated experience advancing renewable energy projects through key development milestones.
• Experience bringing at least one project to NTP, portfolio sale, or a comparable late-stage milestone is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with Illinois community solar programs, permitting processes, and utility interconnection procedures is highly desirable.
• Experience managing development schedules, budgets, risk registers, and project tracking tools.
• Ability to interpret zoning ordinances, utility requirements, technical studies, contracts, and permit conditions.
• Experience coordinating external consultants, including civil engineers, environmental consultants, land-use attorneys, and interconnection specialists.
• Strong ability to work independently while maintaining proactive communication within a remote team environment.
• Excellent problem-solving, organizational, and stakeholder management skills.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build consensus among diverse parties.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and project management platforms; experience with Smartsheet or similar tools is preferred.
• Willingness to travel to project sites, municipal meetings, community engagements, and utility meetings as required.

Why This Role / Selling Points

• Join a rapidly growing renewable energy platform with substantial financial backing and a long-term commitment to clean energy development.
• Gain hands-on ownership of both distributed generation solar and energy storage projects in one of the most active community solar markets in the United States.
• Exposure to the full project lifecycle, including permitting, interconnection, stakeholder engagement, commercial strategy, and project execution.
• Enjoy the agility and entrepreneurial environment of a lean development team while benefiting from the resources and stability of a larger institutional platform.
• Strong opportunity for career progression as the development pipeline and renewable energy business continue to expand.