Lead Preliminary Design Engineer

Moss & Associates (Construction)•Fort Lauderdale, FL

About The Position

The Lead Preliminary Design Engineer on our Engineering Services team in Moss’s Solar Division will demonstrate a deep understanding of Preliminary Design and oversee the day-to-day technical tasks, including review of owner documents and preliminary project designs to ensure development of engineering design work is accurate, aligned with specifications, and consistent with Moss’s standards for our solar energy and battery storage projects. They will support preconstruction and cross-functional processes by leading new initiatives, focusing on process improvement and value engineering, and providing a critical layer of quality control.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in engineering, technical field, or related discipline.
Minimum of 3+ years of direct and relevant experience .
Willingness to travel as needed to support project execution (5%).
Proficient knowledge of electrical systems, layouts, civil considerations, and AC and DC collection strategies; emphasizes scoping assumptions and early constraints.
Understands sequencing and hand-offs from estimating preliminary design and downstream partners.
Recognizes risks early and escalates scope/alignment issues for resolution.
General budget awareness understands how Preliminary Design scope, materials, and assumptions affect cost and field execution.
Clearly conveys recommendations, risks, and design changes; makes Preliminary Design decisions visible and traceable.
Articulates rationale in reviews; ensures key details carry into downstream packages.
Proficiency in Excel and design/drafting tools for site constraints and layout trade-offs.
Strong analysis and problem-solving for option evaluation and early conflict resolution.
Organizes technical data for efficient review of assumptions and decisions.
Effective written/verbal communication across disciplines and partners.
Manages time to balance tasks and review cycles against RFP/pipeline timelines.
Reliable task/project owner; reviews/approves PE outputs with minimal oversight.
Demonstrate an execution mindset; proactively identify opportunities to improve workflows and deliverables.
Anticipates constructability issues; provides input to prevent downstream risks.
Think critically and escalate when the scope, schedule, or cost is impacted.
Balances detail with forward-looking solutions for clean handoffs.
Collaborates across disciplines to align electrical with civil/mech constraints.
Accurately estimate effort and duration for preliminary design tasks; prioritize review cycles to unblock PE production and meet pipeline/RFP timelines.
Coordinate with Engineering Services trades to resolve interface conflicts and close open items.

Nice To Haves

Utility-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

Review and provide feedback on PE-developed preliminary layouts and project book inputs.
Ensure preliminary designs comply with the Scope of Work, owner requirements, and internal standards, flag deviations and missing inputs early.
Drive continuous improvement by integrating lessons learned into preliminary design practices.
Ensure the selected DC collection approach and preliminary design decisions are aligned with Engineering Services Electrical guidance and applicable standards, flag deviations and unresolved assumptions early.
Follow all Moss and Engineering Services safety protocols.
Escalate potential safety risks in project designs or deliverables.
Own timely completion of the preliminary design package and clean handoffs to downstream teams with clearly documented assumptions and decisions.
Accurately estimate effort and duration for preliminary design tasks; prioritize review cycles to unblock PE production and meet pipeline/RFP timelines.
Coordinate with Engineering Services trades to resolve interface conflicts and close open items.
Maintain organized version control and change tracking for preliminary design deliverables; ensure the current approved set is clearly identified.
Make cost-aware preliminary design choices that minimize exposure to commercial risks.
Reduce rework and downstream change orders through scope compliance, clarity of assumptions, and early resolution of ambiguities before handoff.
Coach and mentor PEs/SPEs on preliminary design standards, workflows, and deliverable quality; provide timely, actionable feedback during reviews.
Foster effective cross-disciplinary collaboration by clearly communicating decisions, trade-offs, and their rationale.
Proactively surface resourcing or capability gaps with proposed solutions; support onboarding and upskilling on Preliminary Design workflows and quality checks.
Contribute to refining Preliminary Design workflows, checklists, and templates to improve team speed, consistency, and handoff quality.