What does a solar designer do?
Solar designer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real solar designer resumes:
- Modify SRV-1 source code using JavaScript software to attain tracking at any instantaneous time.
- Use of SalesForce, SketchUp, Pictometry & SunCalc to complete design to local AHJ requirements.
- Base on previous data, optimize the amount of cushioning material for balancing battery protection and weight.
- Design electrical and structural plans for permitting and commissioning at multiple AHJ's and utility companies in AZ.
- Determine roof pitch, azimuth, obstructions, BOM & conduit routing for optimum lifetime performance & cost.
- Provide AutoCAD drawings and support electrical engineers in construction and renovation of custom homes.
- Develop library files and custom AutoCAD menus standardizing drafting procedures, resulting in increase drafting productivity and efficiency.
- Initiate and oversee development from initial concept sketch to final production, working closely with Chinese engineering and manufacturing vendors.
- Evaluate them and the switchboards.
Solar designer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 36% of Solar Designers are proficient in CAD, System Design, and Solar Power. They’re also known for soft skills such as Initiative, Math skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Solar Designers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CAD, 36%
Design and accurately calculated pv production for residential homes with system as large as 20kW using Cad tools.
- System Design, 24%
Worked with customers to achieve their budget goals, while providing the highest possible efficiency products and system designs.
- Solar Power, 13%
Expected to offer accurate project consultation and annual design efficiency and solar power analysis as well as cost estimation.
- Solar PV, 8%
Design of Solar PV appliances like LED Street lights, portable lanterns, and home lighting systems
- Solar Panels, 6%
Work on a team of 5+ designers to arrange solar panels on roofs of the customer s house using AutoCAD.
- Line Diagrams, 4%
Developed single line diagrams and performed electrical calculations for power and lighting systems that aligned with NEC code.
Most solar designers use their skills in "cad," "system design," and "solar power" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential solar designer responsibilities here:
Initiative. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a solar designer to have is initiative. Their role and responsibilities require that "electrical and electronics engineers must apply their knowledge to new tasks in every project they undertake." Solar designers often use initiative in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "create banners, and other graphics for the website, facebook and other external marketing initiatives. "
Math skills. Another essential skill to perform solar designer duties is math skills. Solar designers responsibilities require that "electrical and electronics engineers must use the principles of calculus and other advanced math in order to analyze, design, and troubleshoot equipment." Solar designers also use math skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "design processes for casting design requires use of surfacing, merge, solidify, and published geometry and external copied geometry. "
Speaking skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of solar designers is speaking skills. This skill is critical to many everyday solar designer duties, as "electrical and electronics engineers work closely with other engineers and technicians." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "presented these concepts to the product development and sales management, as well as the international sales teams"
Writing skills. For certain solar designer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "writing skills." The day-to-day duties of a solar designer rely on this skill, as "electrical and electronics engineers develop technical publications related to equipment they develop, including maintenance manuals, operation manuals, parts lists, product proposals, and design methods documents." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what solar designers do: "oversee website, create product categories & descriptions, photography, and copywriting. "
The three companies that hire the most solar designers are:
- Florida Power and Light 2 solar designers jobs
- PetersenDean
2 solar designers jobs
- BHI Energy1 solar designers jobs
Compare different solar designers
Solar designer vs. Electrical engineer lead
An electrical engineer lead is an engineering professional who works with clients and internal engineers to establish project requirements and work on multiple electrical projects. Electrical engineer leads provide the cost estimation of electrical projects and prepare budget proposals as well as assign personnel with the capabilities required to complete the assigned tasks. They are required to review the calculation methods to ensure that they comply with all regulatory and project requirements. Electrical engineer leads must also accurately check the electrical design calculations for electrical loads, short circuit, and voltage drop using standard electrical engineering software.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a solar designer are more likely to require skills like "solar pv," "solar panels," "ppa," and "design software." On the other hand, a job as an electrical engineer lead requires skills like "electrical engineering," "autocad," "engineering design," and "renewable energy." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Electrical engineers lead tend to make the most money working in the construction industry, where they earn an average salary of $109,030. In contrast, solar designers make the biggest average salary, $60,375, in the professional industry.The education levels that electrical engineers lead earn slightly differ from solar designers. In particular, electrical engineers lead are 6.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a solar designer. Additionally, they're 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Solar designer vs. Instrumentation & control engineer
An instrumentation and control engineer is responsible for installing and designing technical components for engineering systems that would support production and manufacturing processes. Instrumentation and control engineers inspect control systems, modify features and infrastructure, configure controllers, and run multiple quality checks to ensure stability and optimal performance. They must have excellent communication and technical skills, especially in developing system codes and analyzing programming languages to serve control functions and development. An instrumentation and control engineer also resolves system issues and write resolution reports for reference.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that solar designer responsibilities requires skills like "cad," "system design," "solar power," and "solar pv." But an instrumentation & control engineer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "plc," "hmi," "scada," and "p id."
On average, instrumentation & control engineers earn a higher salary than solar designers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, instrumentation & control engineers earn the most pay in the energy industry with an average salary of $98,177. Whereas solar designers have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $60,375.instrumentation & control engineers earn similar levels of education than solar designers in general. They're 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Solar designer vs. Electrical project engineer
Electrical Project Engineers have licensed engineers involved in a project which specifically works on electrical or electricity-related concerns. They design the electrical systems that are needed for the success of the project. They draw up these systems using software and identify the materials needed to create these. They would then develop these systems by creating them using the materials and test if their design is working. Once they validate the design works and address the project's needs, electrical project engineers would work on controlling, maintaining, and repairing these systems as needed.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a solar designer is likely to be skilled in "solar pv," "solar panels," "ppa," and "design software," while a typical electrical project engineer is skilled in "project management," "autocad," "plc," and "engineering design."
Electrical project engineers earn the highest salary when working in the hospitality industry, where they receive an average salary of $86,779. Comparatively, solar designers have the highest earning potential in the professional industry, with an average salary of $60,375.Most electrical project engineers achieve a similar degree level compared to solar designers. For example, they're 2.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Solar designer vs. Instrumentation engineer
An instrumentation engineer specializes in designing and developing equipment to optimize business processes. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the needs of a company, coordinating with different departments to gather data, devising strategies to create new processes, and preparing reports and presentations for the executives. An instrumentation engineer mostly performs installations and repairs; they also conduct regular maintenance to ensure the efficiency of facilities. Furthermore, they must answer inquiries and resolve issues and concerns, all in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between solar designers and instrumentation engineers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a solar designer might have more use for skills like "system design," "solar power," "solar pv," and "solar panels." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of instrumentation engineers require skills like "plc," "autocad," "analyzers," and "troubleshoot. "
Instrumentation engineers enjoy the best pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $80,269. For comparison, solar designers earn the highest salary in the professional industry.In general, instrumentation engineers hold similar degree levels compared to solar designers. Instrumentation engineers are 0.4% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of solar designer
Updated January 8, 2025
