Website:
dhaaran-international.com
Job details:
About Dharan International
Dharan International is an EPC contractor delivering turnkey utility-scale solar PV, battery energy storage, solar manufacturing and associated infrastructure projects in Africa. Our projects are financed by development finance institutions and multilateral lenders, which means our engineering is read, tested and relied upon by lenders' technical advisers before capital is committed.
The role
- We are building out our Solar Department and are appointing a Principal Solar PV Engineer to own detailed design and the preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) across our utility-scale PV and PV+BESS pipeline.
- The standard is simple: every design and every DPR that leaves this desk must pass Lender's Technical Adviser / Independent Engineer review without material findings.
- We are looking for someone who has sat on the other side of that table, as Owner's Engineer, Lender's Technical Adviser, Independent Engineer or technical due-diligence reviewer on DFI-financed projects, and who now wants to build the design rather than audit it.
What you will own
Energy yield and resource
- Bankable P50/P90 (one-year and ten-year) energy yield assessments in PVsyst on lender-grade resource data (Solargis-class), with losses, degradation, soiling, availability and uncertainty stacked and defended line by line.
- Specification of on-site measurement campaigns and site adaptation of satellite data where lenders require it.
Detailed design
- Plant layout and DC architecture: module, inverter and tracker/fixed-tilt selection, DC/AC ratio optimisation, string and cable sizing, and loss optimisation.
- Electrical design: LV/MV collection, step-up substation, protection, earthing and lightning protection (IEC 62305, IEEE 80), auxiliary supply, SCADA and power plant controller architecture.
- Grid integration in weak grids: load flow, short-circuit, reactive capability and dynamic stability studies (PowerFactory or PSS/E), grid code compliance and the utility interface.
- BESS: sizing against the use case (firming, shifting, frequency response), integration, augmentation strategy and fire-safety design (IEC 62933, NFPA 855).
- Civil and structural interface: geotechnical programme, pile pull-out testing, wind loading, hydrology and drainage.
DPRs and lender interface
- DPRs structured to lender requirements: design basis, energy yield, CAPEX and OPEX estimates, construction programme, O&M strategy, technical risk register and clean inputs to the financial model.
- Design that reflects ESIA commitments under the IFC Performance Standards and World Bank Group EHS Guidelines.
- Lead technical responses to LTA/IE due diligence and close out findings through to financial close.
Contract and delivery
- Employer's Requirements and technical schedules under FIDIC (Silver and Yellow Books), performance guarantees (performance ratio, availability, capacity) and test procedures to IEC 61724, and the link from guarantee to liquidated damages.
- Equipment technical due diligence: OEM bankability, IEC 61215/61730 certification, factory audits and pre-shipment inspection.
- Review and QA of subcontractor and OEM deliverables; establish the department's design standards, templates and checking procedure.
What you bring
Essential
- Degree in electrical or power systems engineering; Chartered Engineer, PE or equivalent professional registration.
- 12+ years in utility-scale solar PV, including detailed design of multiple plants of 50 MWp or larger taken through to operation.
- Direct experience as Owner's Engineer, Lender's Technical Adviser or Independent Engineer on at least two DFI- or multilateral-financed projects taken to financial close.
- Expert PVsyst user, with working proficiency in PowerFactory or PSS/E and PVcase or AutoCAD (or equivalent).
- Command of the relevant IEC, IEEE and grid code standards, and of lender E&S frameworks (IFC Performance Standards, Equator Principles).
- Sub-Saharan Africa project experience and willingness to spend extended periods on site.
Advantageous
- Utility-scale BESS design and integration.
- Weak-grid or island-grid integration, including hybridisation with thermal or hydro generation.
- Solar manufacturing facility or industrial power supply experience.
- Professional working French for Francophone West Africa.
- Working knowledge of project finance models and how technical assumptions drive DSCR and debt sizing.
What success looks like in the first twelve months
- A department design basis, DPR template and design-checking procedure adopted as the single standard across all projects.
- At least one DPR taken through lender technical due diligence with no unresolved material findings at financial close.
- Energy yield, CAPEX and programme figures that reconcile across the DPR, the EPC technical schedules and the lenders' financial model.
Why this role
- You set the engineering standard for a growing solar department rather than inheriting one.
- Direct exposure to DFI transactions from design basis through financial close and into construction.
- Senior visibility: you report to the Head of the Solar Department and work directly with project sponsors and lenders' technical advisers.
Click on Apply to know more.
