Preconstruction Manager

Supervisor: Director of Preconstruction

Classification: Full-time, exempt

Passionate About Renewable Energy? Then we’re looking for you!

For more than 10 years, California Solar Integrators, Inc. (Cal Solar Inc) has developed multi-family and commercial solar projects throughout California. Our systems reliably deliver low-cost solar energy to businesses and multi-family housing communities. We are revitalizing the solar industry with the help of Utility Incentive Programs as well as supporting the state and federal legislative push towards renewable energy. Our experienced sales and estimating teams, engineers and installers, combined with our post-installation system support, provide complete turn-key solutions for new construction and retrofit properties. Service streams include Solar Photovoltaic, Solar Hot Water, EV Chargers, and Energy Storage.

Summary Description:

The Preconstruction Manager is responsible for actively supporting the sales team in winning new work and providing technical/operational expertise for new construction and retrofit projects throughout the estimating, engineering, and permitting efforts. The goal is to effectively partner with the Design Project Manager to ensure projects have properly addressed and fully captured constructability aspects, complete scopes of services, and built-out schedules to ensure they are setup for successful execution in the field. The Preconstruction Manager is also responsible for scheduling and leading efficient pre-permitting submission review meetings and preconstruction-to-construction hand-off meetings.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES

• Provide technical and operational subject matter expertise (SME) to the sales, estimating, and engineering teams during bidding & engineering processes to properly identify risks/opportunities, ensure seamless coordination, and help create strong solution-based outcomes that lead to winning bid strategies.
• Help draft Schedule of Values (SOVs) and Design/Construction Schedules for the sales, estimating and estimating teams during bidding & engineering processes.
• Review & QC designs for each project to ensure they align with client scope/requirements, plans/specifications, industry standards, etc.
• Collaborate with the Design Project Manager to drive constructability principles and practices into the design and scope of services being offered to help ensure efficient/effective designs are created and lead to high quality and profitable projects. Solicit input/advice from the Director of Construction throughout this process.
• Perform pre-contract site investigations to validate bidding &/or engineering assumptions and potential field-conditions that could affect the effectiveness and timeliness of executing the work.
• Monitor design schedules to ensure timely completion and submission to contracts department occurs.
• Monitor engineering schedules to ensure timely completion and submission for design permitting and IX application approval.
• Prepare preliminary project schedules during bidding phase and update schedules until handoff to project management team occurs to ensure required milestones/deadlines are achievable and met.
• Help ensure design changes that create cost and/or schedule impacts are documented and acted upon timely (ie. pricing & schedule updates).
• Partner Procurement Manager to influence early product selection (especially for long-lead procurement items) to properly align-on customer needs, internal specifications, and vendor options/availability. Maintain and communicate project-specific material requirements prior to mobilization.
• Monitor design team’s adherence of established equipment standards to help optimize procurement processes and project execution.
• Partner with the Design Engineers to ensure receipt of main electrical single-line diagrams (SLDs) and equipment switchgear submittal package from GC, Electrical Contractor and/or Architect, and perform an independent review of the package to ensure alignment with the Cal Solar SLD.
• General Conditions / General Requirements (GC/GR) review of estimates before contracting, especially on retrofit bids where we’ll need fencing, bathrooms, etc.
• Schedule & participate in Design Review “Page Turn” Meetings (pre-permitting submission) and in Pre-Mobilization Meetings (preconstruction-to-construction hand-off) to ensure accurate and high-quality designs and plans have been established.
• Visit projects during construction and participate in post-mortem meetings to collect lessons learned, “closing the loop” by preparing and implementing improvements for future projects.
• Act as a liaison between the design and construction teams, fostering effective communication and resolving issues that may arise during the construction phase. Provide feedback to help improve efficiency and accuracy continually.
• Support outreach and pre-qualification to help grow base of sub-subcontractor partners and help the project management team with sub-subcontract buyout process.

• Create, implement, and continually evaluate the effectiveness of preconstruction processes, capturing best practices within Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

• Stay current with material/equipment and sub-tier subcontractor industry trends to ensure Cal Solar is utilizing and/or working with high-quality, cost-effective, and efficient suppliers/vendors/sub-tiers.

TEAM BUILDING & CULTURE

• Embody and promote the Cal Solar core values and demonstrate those values in interactions with internal and external stakeholders.

• Foster open communication, team building, and sharing of best practices amongst all employees, to help create a continuous learning environment that drives team knowledge & preparedness.
• Encourage employees to take an active role and be accountable for their career growth.
• Oversee the training and development of all direct reports through the performance planning process and maintaining1:1 meetings/check-ins, coordinating with HR to help identify available programs and training that may assist in their professional and personal development.

Key Qualifications & Required Skills/Abilities

• Strong understanding of grid-tied PV system electrical and structural design & installation.
• Proficient in computer-assisted design (CAD) and other design, data recording, and analyzation software.
• Experience with construction and project management, ideally in both self-performing and subcontracting structures.
• Knowledge of estimating and budget management for construction projects.
• Strong organizational skills, able to support multiple concurrent projects.
• Ability to read, understand and mark-up (redline) electrical, plumbing, and structural plans.
• Understanding of NEC codes (wire sizing, equipment ratings, installation requirements, etc.), and NFPA 70E electrical safety guidelines.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong interpersonal and customer service skills/mindset.
• Excellent organizational, attention to detail, analytical/problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent time management skills - ability to meet deadlines, prioritize tasks, and delegate when appropriate.
• Strong supervisory and leadership skills with the ability to effectively train others.
• Confident and capable of holding others accountable.
• Strong experience with Dropbox, SCOOP, Sage Intact Accounting, and Microsoft Applications Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, etc.) or similar software.
• Some travel required within California.

Benefits:

• Competitive hourly and salary rates DOE
• Health, vision and dental insurance
• 401(k) plan
• Paid holidays
• Flexible PTO

The starting annual base pay for this role is between USD $115,000 and $135,000. The actual base is dependent upon many factors, such as: location, training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs and market demands. The base pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future.

CalSolarInc is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.