Technical Support Engineer / Field Engineer Save

Community Energy Labs (CEL) is looking for a California based Technical Support Engineer / Field Engineer to help deliver our innovative, money- and carbon-saving solutions to our customers. In this role, you’ll be a main point of contact for our customers, supporting site integrations, troubleshooting, debugging, and onboarding of new sites, both remotely and on-site. You’ll also collaborate closely with our product and engineering team to improve our technology and customer experience. The role is about 75% customer operations and technical support and 25% field engineering. Occasional travel is required (especially in spring and summer) for site visits, installation and troubleshooting. If your colleagues describe you as disciplined, organized, and a great communicator of technical information then we want to hear from you.

WHAT WE DO

Community Energy Labs enables buildings to use energy when clean sources of power are available and to use less energy overall by making smart decisions about when and how energy is used.  We primarily work with communities and schools, whose buildings make up nearly 30% of the commercial floor space in the US! 

Community Energy Labs, its employees, and its customers are driven to be a part of the solution to saving our planet. Our software combines cutting edge control algorithms, machine learning, and traditional control techniques to lower cost and manage energy.  We combine that with an intuitive user interface that doesn’t require a PhD in mechanical engineering to make saving money and the planet easy for everyone - even cash-strapped schools with overworked building operators.

CEL's core AI-powered clean building control platform concept was a regional winner of  CleanTech Open's 2020 international accelerator, an overall winner in the  2020 Madrona Venture  Labs Go Vertical challenge, a three time SBIR winner with the Department of Energy, USDA, and NSF. CEL is a community member in Elemental Excelerator, Google for Startups and other prestigious accelerators. Follow CEL on LinkedIn.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES

// PRODUCT & CUSTOMER SUPPORT

• Act as a project manager for new site onboarding.
• Work with customers and control vendors to integrate HVAC systems and thermostat APIs with CEL’s platform.
• Configure and monitor local services, validate data flows, and monitor system performance.
• Install and commission gateway devices, electrical meters, and sensors at customer sites to enable secure, two-way communication between HVAC control systems (e.g., BACnet/IP, Modbus, proprietary thermostats) and the CEL cloud backend.
• Document site-specific integrations, IP assignments, network diagrams, and device configurations.
• Collaborate with the development team to test, report technical issues, solve problems, and improve product functionality.
• Join customer meetings to provide insight and address technical and occupant concerns about product implementation.
• Understand and use CEL’s internal software tools, observability, and admin systems.

// FIELD RESPONSIBILITIES

• Travel to customer sites to meet with facility and energy managers, electricians and controls technicians.
• Walk the facility, enter mechanical & electrical rooms and climb up ladders to the roof to document building equipment using a tablet/phone.
• Provide excellent on-site customer support and communicate respectfully with customers.
• Coordinate with multiple stakeholders (customers, vendors, internal teams) for scheduling site work and updating technical documentation.
• Keep customer onboarding moving forward with clarity and efficiency.
• Coordinate with the Operations team to order, prepare and commission parts, schedule labor & equipment, update inventory, and prepare reports.
• Propose bill of materials (BOM), manage inventory processes, and report on site performance.

QUALIFICATIONS

// REQUIRED EXPERIENCE

• 2+ years in customer service or client-facing work (or equivalent experience) in a technical support or technical project management role.
• This role requires travel to customer sites. A valid driver's license and reliable transportation are necessary for this portion of the job.

// NECESSARY SKILLS/ABILITIES

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to effectively communicate technical information to non-technical audiences.
• Expertise in using methodical approaches to problem-solving, organization, and project management to develop, maintain, and optimize software solutions systematically.
• Comfortable working with Linux systems such as Debian or Ubuntu, and with common secure connection tools like SSH and SFTP. 
• Basic understanding of network setup, such as IP addresses, DHCP, and VLANs.
• Familiarity with working with APIs, whether on local networks or in the cloud, and interpreting structured data formats such as JSON and XML.

// NICE TO HAVE BUT NOT REQUIRED

• Experience working in the trades, construction management,  field operations or similar experience.
• Scripting ability (Bash, Python) for automating common tasks.
• Experience with configuring and integrating networked HVAC interfaces (BACnet/IP, Modbus, cloud thermostat APIs).
• Experience as a Controls Engineer or Technician.
• Experience with HVAC, building automation systems (BACNet or Modbus), control logic and terminology (setpoints, schedules, economizers, VAVs, RTUs).

ROLE BASICS

// WORKSPACE REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTED HOURS OF WORK & TRAVEL

• This position is currently only open to Candidates in CA.
• Dedicated workspace with two (2) monitors. Reliable and fast internet connection.
• This is a fully remote role with some travel responsibilities. Occasional overnight trips for site visits and on-site installation, customer prospect visits.
• This position is a full-time, exempt position that may occasionally require extra hours and weekend work that is not compensated as overtime.

// SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

• This position initially has no supervisory responsibilities. As an integral part of CEL's product team, you'll operate with a high degree of autonomy while actively collaborating with the product team and senior engineers for direction, support and mentorship.

// SALARY

• The annual salary for this position is expected to be $75k-$100k per year commensurate with experience for a 40 hours per week work schedule.

// PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• This role may involve physical activity during site visits:
  • Ability to stand for extended periods and navigate rugged/unstable conditions (reasonable accommodations will be made where possible).
  • Work in outdoor or adverse weather during site visits.
  • Enter mechanical/electrical rooms, climb ladders, crouch/kneel as needed.
  • No heavy lifting expected.

ATTRIBUTES

// Ideal CEL community members demonstrate:

• Curiosity
• High accountability
• Empathy for customers and team
• Transparency
• Ability to task switch and stay focused
• Attention to detail
• Intrinsic drive to achieve results
• Willingness to communicate and teach
• Willingness to listen and learn
• Solid work habits and organization

YES, THAT MEANS YOU!

We’ve read the research and we know that certain underrepresented groups in tech might read our post and think “Oh, gee, well I only have nine out of ten qualifications.” If our mission and this job speak to you and you have the interest and ability to work smart, learn, and grow with us then we want you to apply for this job!

Community Energy Labs is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.

APPLY NOW

Click 'Apply' to find the application. To ensure your application is considered, kindly submit it through the CEL website. Applications submitted through other means will not be reviewed.