Director- Corporate Development USA

About the role

The Director of Corporate Development is responsible for building, executing and managing First Solar’s corporate development function, serving as a critical architect of the company’s inorganic growth engine that compleplements our organic expansion. Reporting directly to the EVP of Corporate Affairs, this role is instrumental in translating First Solar’s long-term strategic objectives into actionable M&A and investment frameworks, building institutional capability in corporate development, and serving as a trusted advisor to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT).

Responsibilities

• Process Standardization, Governance & Roles
• Design and implement the Market Mapping/Screening and Company Screening/Analysis; Diligence; Deal Room phase-gated operating models for the Corporate Development function, establishing the standardized end-to-end M&A processes required to support First Solar’s M&A strategy as set by the ELT.
• Define the functional architecture, team structures, decision authorities, and resource requirements for each phase, ensuring alignment with corporate growth ambitions and capital deployment priorities.
• Develop transition plans, milestones, and success metrics to evolve the function from current maturity phase (foundational build) to matured phase (scaled, repeatable capability).
• Design and implement a governance framework for investment decisions, including stage-gate approvals, committee structures, escalation protocols, and documentation standards — spanning opportunity identification and initial screening through due diligence, deal structuring, and close.
• Define and communicate clear roles and responsibilities across Corporate Development, Finance, Legal, Operations, and business unit stakeholders throughout the M&A lifecycle.
• Drive continuous improvement of process maturity, incorporating lessons learned from completed transactions.
• Strategic Investment Playbook
• Build, own, and maintain a comprehensive Strategic Investment Playbook that codifies First Solar’s investment thesis, target criteria, deal archetypes, valuation frameworks, and integration principles.
• Align the Playbook with ELT-approved corporate strategy and ensure it is actionable for both deal teams and business leadership.
• Build and maintain a dynamic, proprietary opportunity pipeline, tracking market developments, competitive activity, and potential targets that fit the strategic profile, including white space mapping.
• Organizational Design Advisory for Integration Readiness
• Advises the ELT and functional leaders on organizational design requirements necessary to successfully integrate inorganic acquisitions and investments.
• Partner with HR, operations, and business unit leaders to assess integration readiness, identify talent gaps, and define operating model changes required post-close.
• Develop integration playbooks and frameworks that address cultural alignment, reporting structures, systems integration, and Day 1 / Day 100 planning.
• Serve as an internal expert on integration best practices, drawing from external benchmarking and prior transaction experience.
• Cross-Functional Leadership & ELT Engagement
• Lead cross-functional working groups across Finance, Legal, Strategy, Operations, and Technology to coordinate transaction execution and integration activities.
• Prepare and present high-quality board-level and ELT-level materials including investment memos, strategic analysis, and market intelligence briefings.
• Build and maintain relationships with investment banks, advisors, target company management teams, and other external stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated track record of leading or managing complex M&A transactions from origination through close, including deal structuring, financing and due diligence, ideally within technology industries/markets.
• Deep expertise in opportunity identification, financial modeling, valuation methodologies (DCF, comparable companies, precedent transactions), and deal economics.
• Strong command of strategic market analysis, competitive intelligence, and investment thesis development.
• Prior experience building or significantly maturing a corporate development function, including process design, governance frameworks, and playbook development.
• Proven ability to communicate effectively with C-suite and board-level stakeholders — in both written and verbal formats — including high-stakes investment presentations.
• Experience advising on organizational design and post-merger integration strategy.
• Strong planning, project management, and cross-functional coordination skills.
• Self-directed and capable of managing multiple workstreams simultaneously in a fast-paced environment.
• Global mindset with sensitivity to cross-border deal dynamics and international regulatory considerations.
• Leads through credibility and expertise; earns trust across functions; collaborates with and builds agreement among senior stakeholders.
• Begins with why: brings a genuine drive to understand new industries, technologies and business models.
• Operates effectively in situations where strategy remains dynamic, data is incomplete and organizational priorities respond to changing environments.