Director, Field Operations and Installer Network

Emporia Energy•Littleton, CO

16h•$140,000 - $190,000•Hybrid

About The Position

We are standing up a high-growth residential energy and finance program inside Emporia, with a target of scaling to 300+ battery installations per month. Field Operations is the execution engine that makes this happen, and this is a key role that helps build it. The company is led by successful, proven entrepreneurs and operators who have rapidly scaled energy businesses in the past. This is a high-impact, ground-floor operational leadership role in a program building from zero. You will be responsible for the end-to-end execution of Emporia’s battery installation program — developing the installer partner network, supporting the permitting and interconnection process, building the installation playbook, and delivering the quality field experience that defines Emporia’s brand in the home. At launch, the scope is focused on Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and Colorado, with a June 2026 target of approximately 50 installations. The growth expectation from there is aggressive — reaching 200 installs per month within four to six months. This role grows with that trajectory. We are looking for someone who can execute with urgency at a small scale today and demonstrate the operational judgment and leadership to take on a larger command as the program proves itself. The COO owns the program strategy and the overall deployment machine; this role owns the field execution layer that makes it run. You will work directly with the COO on all key decisions, operating as the primary field-facing representative of Emporia’s installation program. As volume and geography expand, this role will likely build and deploy small regional teams of W-2 Emporia Field Project Managers — but in the near term, the priority is getting the right installer partners in place, the playbook built, and the first installations done right. You will have exposure to and occasionally work closely with other key business leaders including the CEO.

Requirements

5–10 years in residential distributed energy — solar, battery storage, or EV charging — with hands-on experience building or managing subcontractor installer networks, contractor relationships, or field operations
Direct experience negotiating labor or service contracts with independent electrical contractors, including pricing, scope, and quality accountability
Working knowledge of the residential battery or solar installation process: panel configurations, interconnection types, commissioning, and safety protocols
Operational discipline: you can manage multiple open workstreams, meet hard deadlines, and surface risks before they become crises
Strong commercial instincts with an understanding of installer economics and installed-cost drivers in home energy storage
Genuine comfort with AI productivity tools and a track record of adopting technology to extend your individual capacity

Nice To Haves

New England market experience — ideally Connecticut — including familiarity with state fire codes, AHJ permitting processes, and utility interconnection in the region
Existing relationships with regional electrical contractors, solar installers, or EV charging contractors who could become Emporia installer partners
Experience with residential battery storage product installation: EG4, Tesla Powerwall, Enphase, SunPower, or comparable
Familiarity with VPP, demand response, or utility DER program enrollment workflows
Experience working alongside or coordinating with a permitting and interconnection function — understanding where the electrical contractor’s responsibility ends and the regulatory process begins
Experience building small field teams: hiring, training, deploying, and managing W-2 employees in a field operations context

Responsibilities

Installer Partner Network Development
Recruit, evaluate, and onboard regional third-party electrical contractors as Emporia’s installer partners across the four launch markets
Help or lead the design, negotiation and execution of contracts with installer partners, governing volume commitments, critical responsibilities, quality standards, payment terms, and liability provisions
Validate that the installer economics work for both parties: confirm that partner pricing supports Emporia’s sub-$400/kWh total installed cost target while providing fair economics and exciting upside for the contractor
Build and manage a performance tracking and job dispatch system, assigning installations to the installer network based on capacity, quality scores, and geography
Manage ongoing commercial relationships with installer partners: performance conversations, escalations, renegotiations, and when necessary, terminations
Permitting, Interconnection & Program Enrollment Support
Work alongside Emporia’s Permitting & Interconnection Manager to ensure that installer partner responsibilities are clearly defined for each market: who pulls the permits, who submits interconnection applications, and who manages AHJ relationships
Ensure installer partners are equipped with the documentation, single-line diagram templates, and process knowledge they need to execute permitting efficiently in their jurisdiction
Support the enrollment of each completed installation into the relevant state and utility VPP or demand response programs as a prerequisite to the system generating grid services revenue
Flag permitting or interconnection risks that are emerging from the installer partner network before they become deployment blockers
Field Project Manager Team (Near-Term Build)
As installation volume grows, this role will likely recruit and deploy a small number of regional W-2 Emporia Field Project Managers — on-site Emporia employees who greet customers, supervise third-party crews, capture TPO agreement signatures, commission systems to the Emporia cloud, and deliver the white-glove customer experience
Define the Field PM role clearly: the electrician handles the electrical panel; the Field PM handles everything the customer sees and everything the Emporia platform needs to go live
Build onboarding and training for Field PMs as that team is assembled
Installation Playbook & Quality Standards
Develop Emporia’s national installation playbook: site assessment criteria, battery placement and mounting standards, electrical connection protocols, safety requirements, and system commissioning procedures
Create market-specific adaptations for CT, MA, ME, and CO — reflecting local fire codes, AHJ requirements, and utility program enrollment workflows — in coordination with the Permitting & Interconnection Manager
Define quality inspection standards that Field PMs apply on every install and that are used to audit and score installer partner performance
Help build all the necessary components of battery install, ie: laborer delivery and platform placement
Build the installer training and certification program to be delivered before each market launch
Develop the warranty and defect reporting process for Emporia-owned equipment installed in customer homes
Deployment Execution
Own deployment readiness gate assessments: confirming that equipment certification, utility interconnection, installer agreements, and VPP program enrollment are all in place before each market launch
Drive first installations in CT, MA, ME, and CO beginning June 1, 2026, and own the ramp to 200+ installs per month within four to six month
Build the scheduling, dispatch, and QA photo audit infrastructure to support a growing installation program without proportional headcount growth
AI-Native Operations Expectations
Emporia is transitioning to an AI-engineer model. This role is expected to build and supervise AI-assisted agent workflows — not just execute tasks.
Experienced and/or willing to adapt AI skills in everyday workflow
Build AI-assisted workflows for installer candidate research, vetting, and scorecard generation across target markets
Use AI tooling to draft playbook content, training materials, market-specific adaptations, and contract templates — then own the review and finalization
Implement agent-assisted job dispatch and quality monitoring that allows one person to manage volume that would traditionally require two or three operations coordinators
Design the workflows you build today to scale with AI assistance, so the operational model does not require proportional headcount growth as installation volume increases