Field Operations Specialist
Heliolytics
Operations
Toronto, ON, Canada
Posted on Friday, December 23, 2022
Over the last two years, we’ve seen a massive increase in global demand for our services. As a team, we are working to set new standards on how to build and run solar energy sites at peak efficiency. To help scale our team effectively and achieve our goals in 2023, we’re looking for a Field Operations Specialist to join our Field Operations Team.
Our Mission: Improve Renewable Energy Performance 🌱
As a climate-friendly and cost-effective energy solution, solar has the potential to drastically reduce our global CO2 emissions, helping to meet the world’s climate obligations for a clean energy transition. However, getting sites up and running is only the beginning. Once solar projects are built, many factors can interfere with performance. What we know from a recent industry report is that solar projects are underperforming by up to 6.3% on average. This number may seem inconsequential, but if these facilities continually perform shy of targets, this could interfere with private investment causing a ripple effect. Aligning financial risk and reward with low-carbon energy investments is critical for shifting the economy in the direction of reduced emissions. Without substantial private sector investment in clean energy, it will be more difficult, more costly, and more time-consuming to address climate change on a global scale.
At Heliolytics, we’re working with our client partners to close that performance gap in order to enable a sustainable transition to clean energy and secure the future of our industry. We’re building a suite of industry-leading tools and services to enable our clients, which include some of the largest solar energy producers in the world, to maximize their energy output each year. Every marginal increase in efficiency is a huge win for our team, our client partners, and the environment. To date, our optimizations have resulted in increased energy production equivalent to 130,500 car-years of CO2 reductions.
Our Field Operations Team:
Every day is different as our team is responsible for the collection of our in-field imagery data, whether by working with third party contractors or performing the collection themselves. We are a diverse and dynamic team working to gather massive amounts of primarily solar PV inspection data worldwide, and as a Field Operations Specialist you will be a key component of this.
Field Operations Team Values: Contribution, Collaboration, Adaptability, Unity
As a Field Operations Specialist at Heliolytics, you'll have the opportunity to:
- Join a rapidly growing start-up making an impact in the renewable energy sector
- Be surrounded by a diverse team of leading experts in Solar energy
- Grow your technical skills and become a trusted expert on our team
- Travel across North America and abroad
In this role, you'll be relied upon to:
- Operate and maintain data acquisition software and hardware
- Performing data collection from an aircraft
- Coordinating with pilots to plan field operations and adjusting based on changing conditions
- Help oversee third party aerial surveying providers, across North America and globally
- Support the rest of the Field Operations team in mission logistics planning
- Organize and transfer data to our Analysis team
- Document operations and maintaining clear records
Of course, if this role speaks to you, you are:
- Operations focused: The success of this position depends on operational excellence. A keen understanding of how to triage what’s important and what’s required later is key, as there are frequent obstacles like differing time zones, bad weather, and airspace restrictions that will need to be overcome.
- Able to work autonomously: You get a call from our provider that the system won’t turn on. They are in the Mojave Desert, where it's 40°C. The scan needs to get done today. You need to be able to navigate situations like this will ease as the field work that we perform regularly intersects with Murphy’s Law. You will be expected to learn all the technical aspects of our sensor system and be able to reliably solve problems in field situations.
- An excellent communicator: A big part of this role is effectively communicating with our providers, our clients, team members and the rest of Heliolytics. Knowing how to succinctly convey critical information to the right people is very important.
- Technologically proficient: You should show a clear ability to learn and adapt to new software and technologies. Our tools are constantly in flux, and you should be able to keep up with the latest software and hardware, while actively participating in the design of our next generation systems. It would be great if you could give us an example of when you had to solve or work around a technical problem.
- Interpersonal: You will be frequently engaging with different personalities while performing this job and you will be required to work with them to ensure successful missions, whether they be coworkers, third party providers, or clients. The ability to work with a variety of people in stressful situations is key.
- Comfortable with Change: This work’s dependence on weather means sometimes you’ll have to quickly change plans. This role is best suited to someone with a desire for new experiences who loves solving problems on the fly.
- Able and excited to work in small aircraft: A portion of this position involves taking precise measurements with our proprietary data acquisition tools while in a small aircraft. If you get carsick, seasick or motion sick, this is not the career for you.
- Able to travel: This position will involve travel to client sites in Canada and internationally. This position could involve travel in teams of two to client sites. Does flying around France at 2000 ft above ground sound exciting to you? Is the feeling of accomplishing a successful “mission” or going on an adventure something you strive for? Sometimes flight schedules need to be changed or expedited, but we accommodate Field Operations Specialists’ schedules whenever possible. We also cover all costs of travel: accommodations, a sweet cell phone plan, transportation and food.
- Additional requirements: You will need to have a valid driver's license (G-Class Ontario Driver's License or equivalent) and be comfortable driving on highways, in large cities, and internationally. You will need to have a valid passport and have no international travel restrictions. You should not have a criminal record and have no known impediments to receiving security clearance. You should also be comfortable with handling equipment up to 50lbs.
Bonus points if you have experience with:
- Have an engineering/technical/mechanical background and/or work experience
- Logistics and field operations experience; tell us how you have worked effectively to lead a team to achieve a goal
- Languages (French/Spanish are strong assets. Japanese, Mandarin, Hindi, or German are a plus)
- Programming or advanced spreadsheet knowledge - this position will not require coding; however, you will be expected to work closely with our developers to communicate and test improvements to the system
- An understanding of how to troubleshoot an electrical system
Working @ Heliolytics:
Heliolytics is a mosaic of talented people with different interests and goals united by our mission to build a sustainable transition to clean energy. As a remote-first organization, we work hard to optimize all of our systems and processes to operate remotely whenever possible, however, we do like to meet in person on occasion.
We value employee life outside of work and provide many ways to accommodate and support our staff in achieving their goals. You'll find a few ways we enact this below:
Remote-First Environment
Extended Health Benefits
Paid Vacation Policy
Team Socials
Experience comes in many forms, many skills are transferable, and passion goes a long way. If the job description gets you pumped but your background isn’t exactly what we’ve described above, or if you strongly believe you bring qualifications beyond what we’ve outlined that would help you excel in this position, please consider applying.
Heliolytics is committed to providing accommodations for people with disabilities. If you require accommodation, we will work with you to meet your needs.
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