Project Design Engineering Director
US$185,000 – US$200,000 / yr base salary
Posted 4 Sep 2026
Advertised as “Director, Project Design Engineering”
BranchFactor Summary
The original posting with the fluff stripped out
- Expected experience
- 10+ yrs
- Management level
- People management
- Employment
- Remote
- Contract
- Full-time
| Base salary | US$185,000 – US$200,000 / yr |
|---|
Field of studyElectrical Engineering (or related)
Study levelBachelor's
CertificationsProfessional Engineer, Master of Business Administration
Field of studyEngineering
Study levelMaster's
About Us Highland Electric Fleets’ mission is to make electric fleets accessible and affordable for all, enabling communities to realize the benefits of cleaner, quieter and healthier fleets. Highland is North America’s leading provider of Electrification-as-a-Service (EaaS). Founded in 2019, Highland partners with school districts, municipalities, and fleet operators to make the transition to electric fleets simple and affordable. Highland proudly serves as the Official Electric School Bus Provider of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA. From pioneering vehicle-to-grid technology to managing some of the nation’s largest electric school bus fleets, Highland delivers reliable, cost-effective solutions that support local communities and drive the future of transportation.
Role Summary
The Director of Engineering leads Highland's engineering and design team — drafting, project engineering, and utility interconnection — that supports a fast-moving portfolio of EV charging, battery energy storage (BESS), and edge compute sites from qualified sites through construction-ready.
This leader owns the engineering standards, the design package content and quality gates, and the throughput of the entire function, and partners with Project Development to deliver build-ready sites at portfolio scale and on an aggressive timeline.
Reporting to the Vice President, Development & Construction, the Director builds and leads a team of internal and external engineering resources. The Director serves as Highland's senior technical authority on utility and Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) requirements, owns the engineering inputs to project schedule and budget, and builds the standards, playbooks, and tooling that make design faster, more repeatable, and more cost-effective.
This position is remote with an expectation of approximately 10-15% travel.
Responsibilities Overview:
- Lead and scale Highland's project engineering function — drafting, design engineering, and utility interconnection — with end-to-end accountability for taking a large portfolio of EV charging, BESS, and edge compute sites from qualified site to permit-ready and construction-ready.
- Own the engineering function's throughput and quality: define the design package content and the internal approval gates for every stage — conceptual, 30%, Issued-for-Permit (IFP), and Issued for Construction (IFC) — and keep packages moving on an aggressive, portfolio-wide timeline.
- Build, develop, and retain a high-performing team of internal engineering resources
- Own Highland's external engineering-partner strategy — select, contract, scale, and manage the performance of engineering design and interconnection consultants so that internal and external capacity flex with portfolio volume.