Development Manager- Renewable Energy

About the role

The Development Manager serves as the project and due diligence team lead for utility-scale renewable energy projects focused primarily on solar and energy storage development, with secondary exposure to wind development. This role operates within a fast-growing development group of a global energy company and offers the opportunity to shape processes, influence team growth, and take ownership of select projects while supporting senior developers on larger strategic assets.

Key Responsibilities

• Project & Due Diligence Team Leadership
• Lead cross-functional development and due diligence teams spanning engineering, land, environmental, permitting, interconnection, legal, finance, commercial, and external developers.
• Drive team alignment, set priorities, manage timelines, and ensure accountability across all workstreams.
• Facilitate structured and efficient team meetings; maintain action logs; escalate key issues with clear recommendations.
• Provide concise, strategic updates to senior leadership regarding project needs, decisions, risks, and status.
• Lead strategic evaluation of new development acquisition opportunities and potential greenfield opportunities for feasibility and fit within ContourGlobal’s existing portfolio.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Communication
• Act as the central point of coordination for both internal and external stakeholders.
• Maintain strong working relationships with utilities, consultants, external developers, permitting agencies, landowners, and cross-functional teams.
• Present complex technical and commercial issues in a clear and actionable manner.
• Engage with senior leadership regularly to communicate resource needs, project decisions, and risk mitigation strategies.
• Problem-Solving & Decision-Making
• Identify issues, involve relevant stakeholders, and develop solutions collaboratively using logic, structured reasoning, and data.
• Make informed recommendations quickly and escalate when appropriate.
• Maintain measured, professional, and thoughtful decision-making in fast-moving situations.
• Process Building & Continuous Improvement
• Identify, create, refine, and implement development processes, tools, and workflows as the organization grows.
• Contribute to building a scalable, repeatable development model for a rapidly expanding team.
• Navigate ambiguity effectively and perform well in environments without rigid or well-defined processes.
• Monitor industry trends, market conditions, and regulatory changes to shape development strategy.
• Manage and mentor junior developers on the team, providing guidance and support in their development activities.
• Acquisitions Due Diligence
• Projects may span greenfield origination, acquisition diligence, permitting, interconnection, commercialization, and pre-construction execution across utility-scale solar, storage, and select wind projects.
• Led development-focused due diligence for project acquisitions, coordinating technical, environmental, legal, commercial, financial, and land reviews.
• Evaluate land control, permitting, environmental studies, interconnection status, engineering completeness, and regulatory requirements.
• Prepare red-flag reports, risk assessments, and investment committee inputs.
• Provide development assumptions and constraints for valuation and financial modeling.
• Targeted Greenfield Initiatives
• Participate in early-stage screening of new project opportunities using GIS, constraints analysis, and market research.
• Work with land teams on targeted outreach, site evaluation, and stakeholder engagement where appropriate.
• Conduct preliminary feasibility assessments for priority development zones.
• Interconnection & ISO Coordination
• Cook with the Interconnection team to track interconnection applications, studies, and queue progression across ERCOT, CAISO, SPP, PJM, MISO, and NYISO.
• Support the Interconnection team in engaging with ISOs and utilities on interconnection issues, system impacts, deliverability risks, and negotiation of study assumptions and technical scopes.
• Communicate implications of interconnection results to engineering and commercial teams.

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, Finance, Environmental Science, Economics, Renewable Energy, or a related field.
• 5–10 years of renewable energy development industry experience.
• Other experience including but not limited to engineering, procurement, interconnection, finance, accounting, valuation, or permitting will be considered.
• Demonstrated ability to self-direct and lead project teams.
• Proven ability to manage resources, teams, and deliverables across concurrent workstreams.
• Comfortable with project budgets, financial models, and other analytical tools.
• Strong problem-solving abilities and a structured, logical approach to decision-making.
• Action-oriented and proactive, with strong ownership mentality and the ability to drive projects forward while maintaining measured and professional responses under pressure.
• Experience preparing and presenting updates and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Familiarity with U.S. ISO/RTO markets (ERCOT, CAISO, SPP, PJM, MISO, NYISO); experience across multiple markets preferred.
• Ability to succeed in an organization with evolving processes and help build scalable systems, tools, and workflows as the team grows.
• Houston, TX is the preferred location; however, qualified candidates located elsewhere may be considered for remote work.
• Willingness to travel approximately 25% of the time.
• Strong proficiency in Excel and familiarity with GIS, project management, and development tracking tools preferred.