What does a solar engineer do?
Solar engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real solar engineer resumes:
- Install and test PLC in client own equipment on site - solve some logical and hardware issues to accomplish goal
- Test, debugging and operation.
- Can draw in any state with many different AHJ requirements.
- Have extensive knowledge if NEC solar codes along with PGE or utility codes.
- Utilize Google Sketchup and Solidworks to create 3D model of PV system design.
- Design, fabricate and debug PC board test fixtures for production PC boards.
- Develop long-term and annual solar analysis using PV software, Solmetric, Skelion, PVsyst.
- Develop and write work instructions for PCB rework as well as programming and test procedures.
- Comply with building codes, engineering practices, safety codes, regulatory codes and NEC standards.
- Apply understanding of technical drawings along with QA requirements to minimize issues with part manufacturing and inspection.
- Design and install solar thermal and solar electric (PV) grid-ty systems for commercial and residential applications.
- Work in a research and development environment, designing print circuit board (PCB) assemblies from concept to production.
- Work with building departments, utilities and local AHJ to insure design compliance with local and national electrical and building codes.
- Perform appliance s component and runaway temperature tests per UL agency certification request.
- Work with final QA testing department and inspect printed circuits boards and other relate electronics components with require specifications.
Solar engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 41% of Solar Engineers are proficient in Renewable Energy, System Design, and Solar PV. They’re also known for soft skills such as Speaking skills, Writing skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Solar Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Renewable Energy, 41%
Assess the potential for developing renewable energy and energy efficiency Projects.
- System Design, 9%
Worked with customers to achieve their budget goals, while providing the highest possible efficiency products and system designs.
- Solar PV, 8%
Perform site surveying for roof mount commercial and residential solar PV projects.
- Solar Projects, 7%
Completed set up and tuning to accomplish optimal efficiency of solar projects in accordance of the specification set forth by customers.
- Pvsyst, 7%
Experience in PV system design using PVsyst, Helioscope, Aurora Solar.
- Solar Design, 4%
Contributed to create solar design packages for residential houses and commercial photo-voltaic systems.
Most solar engineers use their skills in "renewable energy," "system design," and "solar pv" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential solar engineer responsibilities here:
Speaking skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a solar engineer to have is speaking skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "electrical and electronics engineers work closely with other engineers and technicians." Solar engineers often use speaking skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "presented analysis results and solution to management that reduced solar project design time per customer. "
Writing skills. Another essential skill to perform solar engineer duties is writing skills. Solar engineers responsibilities require that "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." Solar engineers also use writing skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "used troubleshooting tools such as ip tracing and cisco router debugging tools designed technical writing for training purposes and customer reporting. "
Math skills. This is an important skill for solar engineers to perform their duties. For an example of how solar engineer responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "electrical and electronics engineers must use the principles of calculus and other advanced math in order to analyze, design, and troubleshoot equipment." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a solar engineer: "used working knowledge of nec to perform mathematical and electrical calculations. ".
The three companies that hire the most solar engineers are:
- AECOM16 solar engineers jobs
- Florida Power and Light 6 solar engineers jobs
- Aerotek3 solar engineers jobs
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Compare different solar engineers
Solar engineer vs. Electrical & instrumentation designer
An electrical instrumentation designer's main job is to design instruments that can be used in various areas such as laboratories, power plants, or research institutes. They work together with a team or individually to design instruments, create a prototype, and test its functions. They can even install these instruments in different establishments and locations. They are tasked with repair and training engineers. At other times, they are assigned to record expenses and other documentation.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between solar engineers and electrical & instrumentation designer. For instance, solar engineer responsibilities require skills such as "renewable energy," "electrical engineering," "system design," and "solar pv." Whereas a electrical & instrumentation designer is skilled in "plc," "instrumentation design," "control systems," and "p id." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, electrical & instrumentation designers reach lower levels of education than solar engineers. Electrical & instrumentation designers are 18.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 2.7% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Solar engineer vs. Electrical designer
An electrical designer designs and develops electrical circuit and system layouts for electric power distribution. The responsibilities of an electrical designer include assembling electrical panels and leading a team of document control personnel in-charged to identify and organize facility maintenance drawings. The position requires good initiative, writing, speaking, and mathematical skills to accomplish such responsibilities. The job's education requirements include possessing a college degree in electrical engineering, design, or a related field.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, solar engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "renewable energy," "electrical engineering," "system design," and "solar pv." Meanwhile, an electrical designer has duties that require skills in areas such as "revit," "electrical design," "autocad electrical," and "ul." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, electrical designers earn a lower salary than solar engineers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, electrical designers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $72,768. Whereas solar engineers have higher pay in the utilities industry, with an average salary of $87,742.In general, electrical designers achieve lower levels of education than solar engineers. They're 15.8% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Solar engineer vs. Senior electrical designer
A Senior Electrical Designer is in charge of creating electrical schematics, layouts, and other grid plans for their organization, as well as providing the best solution for improvements. They supervise the material, construction, labor costs, and project timescales.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, solar engineers are more likely to have skills like "electrical engineering," "system design," "solar pv," and "solar projects." But a senior electrical designer is more likely to have skills like "electrical design," "revit," "electrical systems," and "autocad electrical."
Senior electrical designers make a very good living in the manufacturing industry with an average annual salary of $90,234. On the other hand, solar engineers are paid the highest salary in the utilities industry, with average annual pay of $87,742.senior electrical designers typically earn lower educational levels compared to solar engineers. Specifically, they're 15.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 2.7% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Solar engineer 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.
Types of solar engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
