How To Become A PV Design Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a pv design engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Libby Toping

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a pv design engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $39.24 an hour? That's $81,618 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 2% and produce 6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a pv design engineer?

Libby Toping

Engineer intern, Crafton Tull

It has definitely been a unique time to start my first job. COVID-19 has caused many of my peers to struggle to find a job, so I think it has caused me to recognize how thankful I am to have a job that I enjoy working and that allows me to improve my community, even in the midst of a pandemic. There are certainly struggles with virtual meetings and mask-wearing, but learning to be flexible and adaptable are skills that I think will make me a better engineer in the long run!

ScorePV Design EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.4

Avg. Salary $81,618

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.29%

Asian 22.04%

Black or African American 4.12%

Hispanic or Latino 10.25%

Unknown 4.69%

White 58.62%

Gender

female 13.82%

male 86.18%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress level

5.4

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a pv design engineer

Explore pv design engineer education requirements

Most common pv design engineer degrees

Bachelor's

68.0 %

Associate

17.2 %

Master's

11.5 %

Start to develop specific pv design engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Renewable Energy	16.46%
CAD	14.98%
Residential Clients	14.04%
NEC	12.17%
PV Systems	8.58%

Complete relevant pv design engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New pv design engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a pv design engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real pv design engineer resumes.

Research pv design engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage the BOM and control the revisions of engineering drawings for each PV design generate.
Size systems, wiring, and structures to comply with NEC, NFPA, and IBC code standards.
Utilize Ansys FEA modeling to provide``real time"feedback throughout design process.
Complete structural and electrical calculations to ensure safety and compliance with national code and AHJ requirements.

Prepare your pv design engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your pv design engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a pv design engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable pv design engineer resume templates

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