Director, BESS Services

AESCOn-siteFull-timePrincipal, 12–15+ yearsListed 4 days ago

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About this role

Job Description

AESC is seeking a senior service leader to build and operate the U.S. service organization for its growing battery energy storage system (BESS) business. This leader will own the installed-base customer experience and the safe, reliable, and profitable delivery of commissioning support, long-term service agreements (LTSAs), field service, warranty, remote support, spare parts, and lifecycle performance.

The role spans the full post-sale lifecycle, from design-for-serviceability and commissioning readiness through commercial operation, planned and corrective maintenance, major incident response, upgrades, warranty closeout, and contract renewal. It requires a hands-on builder who can establish a geographically distributed team and partner network while serving as the senior escalation point for customers and internal executives.

Core mandate: Build a safety-first, scalable U.S. BESS service platform that protects customers, maximizes fleet availability, fulfills contractual commitments, converts field learning into product improvement, and develops service into a durable source of revenue and margin.

About AESC

AESC is a global battery technology company developing and manufacturing high-performance batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. AESC reports more than 100 GWh of shipped capacity for battery energy systems across more than 60 countries. The U.S. BESS Service Lead will help translate AESC's technology and manufacturing capabilities into dependable, long-term operating outcomes for North American customers.

Key Responsibilities

- Service strategy and organization. Define the U.S. service operating model, organization, regional coverage, make-versus-buy strategy, headcount plan, partner network, systems, procedures, and multi-year capability roadmap. Recruit, develop, and retain commissioning, field service, technical support, performance, and service-operations talent.
- Safety leadership. Own the service safety culture and field execution standards. Establish governance for LOTO, energized work, switching, arc-flash controls, permit-to-work, job hazard analysis, emergency response, stop-work authority, contractor safety, incident reporting, and lessons learned.
- Commissioning-to-service transition. Establish service-readiness gates, handover criteria, punch-list closure, documentation, training, asset registration, baseline performance, warranty activation, spare-parts readiness, and customer acceptance requirements before commercial operation.
- Field service and fleet reliability. Lead preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance across utility-scale BESS assets. Plan outages, deploy resources, supervise service partners, standardize work execution, and continuously improve system availability, capacity, reliability, first-time fix rate, and mean time to repair.
- Technical escalation and incident management. Direct 24/7 escalation coverage for critical events. Lead structured troubleshooting, containment, root-cause analysis, corrective and preventive action (CAPA), management of change, recovery plans, executive communications, and closure of repeat-failure mechanisms.
- Remote operations and performance. Build remote monitoring, alarm triage, fleet analytics, condition-based maintenance, performance reporting, and case-management capabilities. Use BMS, PCS, EMS/SCADA, controls, communications, thermal management, and fire-system data to identify risk and improve lifecycle performance.
- Warranty, spares, and supplier recovery. Own warranty administration, claims, RMA/return processes, failure evidence, cost recovery, field campaigns, spare-parts forecasting, regional inventory, repair strategy, obsolescence planning, and supplier/OEM escalation.
- LTSA and commercial performance. Ensure compliance with SLAs, availability and capacity guarantees, response times, reporting obligations, maintenance scope, and liquidated-damages exposure. Own the regional service budget/cost center and, as assigned, service P&L, pricing inputs, lifecycle cost models, change orders, renewals, and service growth.
- Customer leadership. Serve as the executive service owner for strategic customers. Establish governance, performance reviews, escalation protocols, transparent communications, recovery plans, and a consistent experience that supports satisfaction, retention, references, and repeat business.
- Quality and product feedback. Partner with Engineering, Product, Quality, Project Delivery, Supply Chain, Software, Sales, Finance, and Legal to improve serviceability, reliability, documentation, training, warranty terms, contract assumptions, and future product design based on field evidence.
- Operating discipline. Implement CMMS and case-management workflows, asset hierarchy, work orders, controlled procedures, skills certification, service bulletins, audit routines, KPI dashboards, financial controls, data quality, and executive reporting.

Qualifications

- Experience. 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in BESS, electric utility generation, renewable power, power conversion, critical power, industrial field service, or adjacent high-voltage asset operations, including at least 5 years leading service or O&M teams.
- BESS lifecycle depth. Direct leadership experience with utility-scale BESS commissioning, post-COD support, preventive and corrective maintenance, warranty, root-cause investigations, and long-term service delivery.
- Distributed operations. Proven success building or leading a geographically dispersed field organization and managing third-party service providers across multiple sites and jurisdictions.
- Technical credibility. Working knowledge of battery racks/containers, BMS, PCS/inverters, medium-voltage equipment, transformers, switchgear, protection, EMS/SCADA, PLCs, communications, HVAC/thermal management, fire detection/suppression, and grid-interface functions.
- Safety and compliance. Demonstrated leadership of operational safety programs and working familiarity with applicable OSHA requirements, NFPA 70E, NEC, NFPA 855, LOTO, arc-flash, electrical switching, emergency response, and relevant U.S. codes and standards.
- Commercial accountability. Experience managing service budgets, forecasts, cost centers or P&L; interpreting LTSAs, warranties, SLAs, performance guarantees, and LD exposure; and negotiating or administering third-party service contracts.
- Customer and crisis leadership. Ability to lead complex technical escalations and communicate calmly and credibly with site teams, asset owners, utilities, insurers, authorities having jurisdiction, and senior executives.
- Business systems. Experience with CMMS/EAM, ERP, financial reporting, case-management, document-control, and fleet-performance systems; disciplined use of data and structured problem-solving methods.
- Education and mobility. Bachelor's degree in electrical, mechanical, controls, energy systems, or another relevant engineering/technical discipline, or equivalent experience; valid driver's license and ability to travel up to 50%, including urgent field response when necessary.

Preferred Qualifications

- 15+ years of relevant experience and 7+ years leading multi-site service, O&M, commissioning, or asset-performance organizations.
- Experience supporting a large utility-scale BESS fleet under availability, capacity, response-time, or performance guarantees.
- Experience with LFP battery systems, containerized BESS, grid-forming or advanced inverter controls, and U.S. utility interconnection/commissioning requirements.
- Demonstrated success launching a regional service organization, control/monitoring center, technical support function, or new service business line.
- Professional Engineer (PE), PMP, OSHA 30, NFPA 70E, NERC, electrical license, or equivalent relevant credential; master's degree or MBA is a plus.
- Experience collaborating across U.S. and global engineering, manufacturing, quality, and supply-chain teams in a fast-growing matrix organization.

Performance Measures

- Safety: leading indicators, training/certification completion, audit closure, recordable incidents, high-potential events, and contractor performance.
- Fleet: availability, capacity/performance guarantee attainment, alarm recurrence, forced outage hours, MTTR, first-time fix rate, and preventive-maintenance compliance.
- Customer: SLA response, escalation aging, reporting timeliness, acceptance/closure rate, satisfaction, references, renewals, and repeat business.
- Quality and warranty: repeat failures, RCA/CAPA cycle time and effectiveness, warranty cost, supplier recovery, field campaign completion, and technical-document quality.
- Financial and operational: service revenue and gross margin, cost per site/MWh, budget accuracy, overtime and travel efficiency, spare-parts availability/turns, backlog, and workforce utilization.

What Success Looks Like

- First 90 days. Assess the installed base, contracts, open issues, safety risks, team capability, partners, spares, systems, and customer commitments; establish escalation governance and a prioritized U.S. service roadmap.
- Within 12 months. Implement standard service-readiness, maintenance, incident, warranty, spares, training, CMMS, customer-reporting, and KPI processes; close critical capability gaps; improve response and fleet performance; and produce a credible service budget and staffing plan.
- Within 24 months. Operate a scalable regional service platform with strong safety and customer outcomes, predictable LTSA execution, improving fleet reliability, disciplined warranty recovery, and a clear path to sustainable service revenue and margin.

Level Calibration

Director is appropriate for a proven regional service leader who can build and operate the U.S. function with significant executive exposure. Senior Director is appropriate when the candidate brings broader North American portfolio ownership, substantial service P&L responsibility, a record of building multi-layer organizations, and repeated executive leadership through major fleet events and strategic customer relationships.

Candidate Evidence Expected

Finalists should be prepared to discuss the following while respecting prior-employer confidentiality:

- Fleet size, technology scope, contract model, geography, team size, and safety/availability/customer outcomes personally owned.
- Examples of a major BESS or power-system incident, the candidate's role, containment, RCA/CAPA, customer communication, and sustained corrective action.
- A service organization or process built from the ground up, including staffing, partner strategy, systems, procedures, spares, KPIs, and economics.
- Experience managing LTSAs, warranty claims, supplier recovery, performance guarantees, cost centers/P&L, and executive customer escalations.

What We Offer

Welcome to AESC, where you'll have the opportunity to tackle the world's most fascinating challenges alongside exceptionally talented individuals who are driven to make a difference. We strive to ensure that our employees are well taken care of, enabling them to focus on their work and contribute to our collective mission.

We offer:

• Comprehensive compensation packages including a competitive salary and a rewarding bonus program.

• An inclusive and diverse work environment that fosters and encourages professional and personal development.

• Highly automated, clean, safe, and temperature-controlled production environment

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance

• HSA and Flexible Spending Accounts

• 401K with company match

• Life Insurance (Company paid and additional voluntary life available)

• Paid Vacation and 14 Paid Holidays

• Short term and long-term disability coverage (Company Paid)

• Tuition reimbursement

Application Process

Even if you don't meet every requirement, we encourage you to apply. Your application allows us to learn more about you and find potential fits within our team. We strive to respond to all applicants promptly, though times may vary with submission volume. If you don't receive an immediate response, it doesn't reflect on your candidacy; we'll keep your application for future opportunities. Thank you for your patience and enthusiasm as we improve our application process.

Equal Employment Opportunity

At AESC, we are committed to providing Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) to all individuals. We participate in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S Join us in our passion to design, manufacture, and sell high-performance products, contributing to a sustainable and zero-carbon emission future.

Physical Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential job functions.

• Ability to sit for extended periods of time.

• Ability to read, write, speak, hear; stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach and lift with hands and arms frequently throughout the day.

• Required to occasionally lift, push, pull and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally required to lift, push, pull and/or move up to 35 pounds.

Work Environment

This role requires up to 50% travel to construction and operating sites, work around industrial and electrical equipment, and occasional after-hours response. Site access requires appropriate PPE, safety training, and compliance with customer and regulatory rules. Final compensation, benefits, physical requirements, work authorization, reporting line, and location must be confirmed before posting.

The work environment is primarily an automated manufacturing plant with a concrete floor and is characterized by some temperature extremes, moderate noise, and forklift traffic. The individual must be able to perform all essential functions as appropriate on the plant floor, in meetings, and with employees, management, customers and suppliers.

Candidate must perform the essential duties and responsibilities with or without reasonable accommodation efficiently and accurately, and without causing significant safety threat to self or others. The statements made herein are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this job classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive and inclusive list of all responsibilities, duties, and/or skills required of personnel so classified.

Hiring is contingent upon successful completion of drug screen and background check. AESC US LLC is a drug-free workplace.