Solar Operations & Maintenance Manager

Job Title: Solar Operations & Maintenance Manager

Reports To: Solar Regional Manager

Direct Reports: Yes

Functional Unit: Asset Management & Operations

FLSA Status: Exempt

Position Type: Full-Time

Location: Bakersfield, California

Onward Energy is an independent power platform that owns and operates over 7 GW of utility-scale wind, solar and natural gas generation projects across the U.S. Our Vision is to reliably power a sustainable future. Our Mission is that as North America’s premier independent power generator, we will deliver renewable and reliable power to our customers, opportunities to our employees, sustainable returns to the families who invest in us, and a better world to the next generation.

Corporate offices are in Denver, New York and Charlotte, and we are where renewable meets reliable. See  for more information.

This position reports to the Solar Regional Manager. The Solar O&M Manager provides leadership and oversight for assigned PV plant sites, with responsibility for safe, reliable, compliant, and cost-effective operations. This role owns overall site performance, budget execution, workforce development, contractor strategy, reliability improvement, compliance execution, process development, and coordination with cross-functional support teams. The Solar O&M Manager ensures that plant objectives are achieved through effective leadership of supervisors and site personnel, strong operational discipline, and continuous improvement of safety, reliability, availability, and cost performance.

• Ensure the highest level of health, safety, and environmental performance through strict adherence to company policies, procedures, and operational standards.
• Provide leadership, direction, and oversight for assigned solar facilities to ensure safe, reliable, and cost-effective operations.
• Lead and develop Solar O&M Supervisors and site personnel through coaching, mentoring, training, and performance management.
• Establish performance expectations and drive accountability for safety, plant performance, compliance, employee development, and operational excellence.
• Foster a culture of safety, ownership, teamwork, continuous improvement, and employee engagement.
• Ensure compliance with all company policies, environmental requirements, NERC requirements, and applicable regulatory obligations.
• Own overall operational performance for assigned facilities, including availability, reliability, generation performance, safety metrics, maintenance execution, and budget performance.
• Develop annual operating budgets and manage site expenditures within approved financial plans.
• Monitor spending trends, forecast operating expenses, and identify opportunities for cost optimization while maintaining reliability and safety expectations.
• Establish facility goals, key performance indicators (KPIs), and operational objectives aligned with company targets.
• Lead reliability improvement initiatives through equipment performance monitoring, root cause analysis, corrective action programs, and predictive maintenance strategies.
• Partner with Asset Management, Engineering, Supply Chain, Compliance, and the Remote Operations Center (ROC) to improve plant performance and operational efficiency.
• Ensure maintenance programs are implemented in accordance with PV industry best practices, manufacturer recommendations, and company standards.
• Provide oversight of CMMS processes to ensure work order quality, data accuracy, maintenance compliance, and asset history integrity.
• Lead annual maintenance planning, outage planning, major maintenance campaigns, and long-term asset preservation strategies.
• Develop contractor performance expectations and oversee strategic vendor relationships to ensure safe, cost-effective, and high-quality service delivery.
• Review and approve scopes of work, contractor performance metrics, and major maintenance activities.
• Ensure contractor and third-party services are properly managed in accordance with company procurement, safety, and operational requirements.
• Ensure compliance with contractual obligations including PPAs, LGIAs, service agreements, warranties, landowner agreements,…