Description Qcells is one of the world's leading clean energy companies, recognized for high-performance solar cells and modules, intelligent storage systems, and a growing international pipeline of large-scale renewable energy projects. A flagship company of Hanwha Group - a Fortune Global 500 enterprise - Qcells North America operates manufacturing facilities in Georgia, with commercial headquarters in Irvine, California, and serves utility, commercial, and residential markets across North America.
Commercial AVL Products will drive Qcells product adoption onto Approved Vendor Lists (AVLs) nationwide across Residential, Commercial, and Utility/Data Center segments. This role sits at the intersection of product management, technical sales, and commercial strategy - aligning product readiness, third-party validation, and commercial positioning ahead of each product launch to ensure Qcells modules and systems clear the due-diligence gates that matter most to our customers.
This role will be based in Santa Clara, CA, requiring up to 25% travel.
Responsibilities: AVL Landscape Mapping & Strategy - Map AVL acceptance criteria and key deliverables across Residential TPOs, Commercial sponsors, and Utility/Data Center/hyperscaler procurement programs.
- Maintain a current-state inventory of Qcells products against each target AVL's due diligence gates; identify and own gap-closure paths.
- Prioritize target AVLs by strategic and revenue impact; build a forward-looking adoption roadmap tied to the Qcells product launch calendar.
- Translate AVL trends into actionable intelligence for Product, Engineering, and Commercial leadership.
AVL Technical Account Management - Serve as the primary technical interface with AVL due diligence leads, independent engineering (IE) firms, and approval gatekeepers.
- Drive Qcells products through AVL submission, review, and approval cycles end-to-end.
- Resolve technical objections and gap-closure requests raised by AVL reviewers.
- Maintain post-approval AVL relationships to protect product placement and accelerate next-product acceptance.
DNV IE Reports & Third-Party Testing Strategy - Craft DNV IE report narratives top-down - define the story before the testing matrix is locked.
- Drive internal Testing & Validation, Reliability, and Engineering teams to produce results that support the narrative.
- Scope and manage third-party testing engagements (DNV, PVEL, and others) to align test plans with AVL acceptance criteria.
- Consolidate testing outcomes into a defensible bankability story for AVL audiences.
Pre-Launch Product Influence & Commercial Support - Embed AVL adoption requirements into Qcells product development gates so that testing, warranty, and documentation are launch-ready.
- Influence product roadmap, BOM, and test plan decisions to close known AVL gaps ahead of launch - not after.
- Partner with Commercial leadership to secure special warranty terms, performance guarantees, or commercial concessions needed to clear AVL acceptance.
- Feed AVL feedback into Product, Quality, and Warranty programs as continuous-improvement input.
Required Qualifications: Experience - 10+ years in residential solar and energy storage, with experience in ESS, inverter, or microinverter product management, technical sales, or product qualification.
- Hands-on experience supporting product approval with residential TPOs, installers, financing partners, or other channel partners.
- Demonstrated track record of resolving technical due-diligence gaps and securing customer or partner product approval.
- Experience working with independent engineers or third-party testing organizations on residential energy products is strongly preferred.
Technical Knowledge - Residential energy systems: Knowledge of residential ESS, inverters, microinverters, and their integration, including backup operation and commissioning.
- Safety and grid compliance: Familiarity with applicable UL standards, IEEE 1547, and utility interconnection requirements.
- Reliability and bankability: Understanding of failure modes, validation testing, field data, failure-rate estimates, and warranty assumptions.
- Monitoring and service: Ability to assess telemetry, fleet monitoring, software updates, and API/data availability against AVL requirements.
- Technical due diligence: Ability to turn customer and IE requirements into test plans, evidence packages, and gap-closure actions.
Commercial & Cross-Functional Skills - Ability to engage technical and commercial stakeholders at TPOs, installers, financing partners, and IE firms.
- Track record of translating customer feedback into product requirements and pre-launch priorities.
- Ability to coordinate Engineering, Quality, Warranty, Legal, and Commercial teams to complete AVL submissions and resolve gaps.
Education & Travel - Bachelor's degree in engineering, materials science, physics, or a related technical discipline required.
- MBA or advanced technical degree preferred.
Compensation: In accordance with applicable pay transparency laws, the anticipated annual base salary for this position is:
- Zone 1 (Bay Area, NYC): $198,900 - $248,500
- Zone 2 (CA, NJ, NY): $180,800 - $225,900
- Zone 3 (All others): $164,400 - $205,400
The applicable salary range is based on the employee's primary work location. Individual compensation will be determined based on qualifications, relevant experience, education, skills, internal equity, and other business-related factors.
Hanwha Q CELLS America Inc. ("HQCA") is a Qcells company, one of the world's largest manufacturers and providers of solar photovoltaic (PV) products and solutions. Headquartered in Irvine, California, HQCA has been rapidly expanding its business in North America through the expansion of products and solutions, including distributed energy solutions, direct-to-homeowner solar sales and financing, and EPC services. We provide an opportunity to be part of an exciting and growing world-class global business in an interesting and expanding industry of the future.
This position requires the ability to perform the essential functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation. Periodic travel and site visits may be required.
The salary range is required by the California Pay Transparency Act and may differ depending on the location of those candidates hired nationwide. Actual compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to, skill set, education, licenses and certifications, essential job duties and requirements, and the necessary experience relative to the job's minimum qualifications.
*This target salary range is for CA positions only and should not be interpreted as an offer of compensation.
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