Solar Engineer
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
A Solar Engineer designs and develops technologies that produce and store energy from solar power.
Job Outlook
There were 106 Solar Engineer job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 2711 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Solar Engineer industry, which includes the Solar Engineer career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2015:
Salary
Many new Solar Engineer jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $88,944.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $94,472.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Solar Engineer postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $75,578.
Education and Experience
Posted Solar Engineer jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 85.61% |
| Master's Degree | 17.34% |
| Doctoral Degree | 2.18% |
| Other | 2.99% |
Posted Solar Engineer jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 24.43% |
| 3 to 5 years | 43.44% |
| 6 to 8 years | 18.5% |
| 9+ years | 13.63% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Solar Engineer positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Communication (60.72%)
- Management (41.57%)
- Customer Service (33.31%)
- Operations (27.7%)
- Coordinating (22.94%)
- Quality Control (22.1%)
- Writing (21.95%)
- Planning (21.58%)
- Relationship Building (20.25%)
- Courage (19.37%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Solar Engineering (13.59%)
- PVsyst (16.27%)
- Solar Photovoltaic Design (9.69%)
- Solar Design (19.83%)
- Project Schedules (24.54%)
- Electrical Engineering (55.21%)
- AutoCAD (27.3%)
- Engineering Calculations (23.47%)
- Passive Solar Building Design (18.38%)
- Project Management (42.38%)
- Energy Production (9.88%)
- Cable Sizing (18.26%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- Bill Of Materials (11.41%)
- Design Software (3.14%)
- Medium Voltage (18.57%)
- Project Engineering (11.87%)
- SKM (Power System Software) (18.99%)
- Project Implementation (7.85%)
- Computer-Aided Design (7.81%)
- Continuous Improvement Process (4.44%)
- Electrical Systems (4.98%)
- Engineering Support (3.87%)
- Field Service Management (5.86%)
- Arc Flash (17%)
- Change Management (10.95%)
- Business Development (19.91%)
- Relays (17.23%)
- Construction (42.84%)
- Distributed Generation (8.88%)
- Market Research (3.48%)
- Engineering Design Process (20.14%)
- National Electrical Codes (8.65%)
- Constructability (8.42%)
- Renewable Energy (10.8%)
- ETAP (20.21%)
- Feasibility Studies (6.01%)
- Due Diligence (10.64%)
- High Voltage (2.57%)
- Electrical Equipment (18.53%)
- Mechanical Engineering (8.42%)
- Procurement (14.93%)
- One-Line Diagram (6.24%)
- Conceptual Design (10.11%)
- Switchgear (16.92%)
- Low Voltage (16.96%)
- Short Circuits (19.14%)
- Project Coordination (8.77%)
- Systems Design (17.34%)
- Load Flow Analysis (17.5%)
- Transformers (Electrical) (18.61%)
- Process Improvement (7.89%)
- Network Switches (16.65%)
- Performance Management (10.15%)
- Fiber Optic Cable (15.74%)
- Resource Planning (18.34%)
- Risk Analysis (2.64%)
- Subcontracting (31.66%)
- Submittals (Construction) (6.01%)
- Commissioning (8.88%)
- Electric Power Systems (7.12%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Solar Application (4.9%)
- Helioscope (Software) (4.33%)
- Photovoltaic Systems (7.16%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed.
- Solar Photovoltaic Design (16.11%)
- PVsyst (27.07%)
- Solar Design (32.99%)
- Solar Engineering (22.61%)
- Passive Solar Building Design (30.57%)
- Photovoltaic Systems (11.91%)
- Cable Sizing (30.38%)
- Energy Production (16.43%)
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Solar Engineer skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Lead Electrical Design Engineer
- Solar Project Manager
- Electrical Engineer
- Solar Electrician
- Solar Design Engineer
- PV System Designer
- Solar Pv Installer
- Multifamily Project Manager
- PV Designer
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Electrical Design Manager
- Electrical Engineering Manager
- Electrical Engineer (General)
- Utilities & Power Distribution Engineer
- Renewable Energy Engineer
- Electrical Project Engineer
- Engineering Project Manager
- Design Engineering Manager
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Solar Engineer jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Black & Veatch (743)
- Sunrun (203)
- DNV (113)
- NextEra Energy (89)
- GPAC (52)
- First Solar (45)
- Nextracker (30)
- Kimley-Horn (29)
- Res Agency (27)
- Hanwha Q Cells America (23)
North Carolina
- Black & Veatch (70)
- Cypress Creek Renewables (5)
- Sunrun (3)
- Act Power Services (2)
- Kimley-Horn (2)
- Blue Ridge Power Agency (2)
- Emerson Electric (1)
- Mott MacDonald (1)
- PCL Construction (1)
- Pine Gate Renewables (1)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Electrical Engineering Master's Degrees
- Engineering – 2+2 Undergraduate Degrees
- Renewable Energy Assessment and Development Graduate Certificates
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.