Company Description

ZOLA Electric (formerly Off Grid Electric) is the leading renewable energy brand in Africa, helping customers to light their homes, power small businesses, stay connected and expand opportunities for work and study.  We are a growth-stage start-up that’s on track to light a million homes in Africa with clean, affordable solar energy. ZOLA Electric combines Silicon Valley technology with local expertise to offer African homes and businesses a long-term solar solution to an unreliable grid.

We are looking for a Field Quality Engineering Manager with strong experience in this capacity.  

If you are successful, you will play a critical role in our strategic plans for growth and will be an integral part of the Product team.  This is your dream job if you’re someone who dreams of combining your knowledge, experience, passion and skills to transform the renewable energy landscape. You’ll need to be ready to tackle the unique challenges that come with working in an emerging market and building a truly epic business.  The company was founded in 2012, and investors include Tesla, Vulcan Capital, DBL Partners, Helios Investment Partners, EDF, Total, and GE Ventures.  ZOLA Electric is a recipient of the UN Momentum for Change Award, the Zayed Future Energy Prize and is a member of the Global Cleantech 100. For more information, CLICK HERE

Position

The Field Quality Engineering manager will lead a team that works to make sure all Zola products meet customer and company quality requirements. He/she will be responsible for championing the Zola core values: Customer, People, Product, and Performance by guiding a team of Engineers and technicians in determining the overall product quality based on evaluation of detailed requirements, customer feedback, and test results. 

The job also involves both technical and people management skills. Technical functions involve designing and troubleshooting processes and products that explore future technologies & test existing products. The candidate will be responsible for guiding both the engineering and technical teams in proper design for testing and quality procedures.

The Field Quality Engineering Manager will work with Design Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, and Operations to address and improve: quality, reliability, and manufacture-ability issues. Work will require leadership of cross-functional teams.

The ideal candidate will have great technical writing skills, people management skills and some experience in lean manufacturing methodology and/or Design for Excellence (DFx). Additional relevant skills are: data collection and analysis, renewable energy knowledge, and proficiency in English plus Swahili and/or French.

Technical skills

• Take lead during new product field testing by setting up a sustainable system to run field testing and provide feedback to the Product Design Engineering team

• Use data analysis tools to track field failure rate and drive resolution through leveraging the cross functional team for in-market products

• Lead the team in providing training for in-market product repair and maintenance processes for debugging and repair of products

• Track and manage Quality Improvement projects to ensure consistent high product quality

• Lead the development of test plans in association with the Product Design Engineering team to validate design intent and product performance

Management skills

• Train and manage a team of technicians to support field testing and provide workshop repair guidelines for products

• Provide guidance and manage contractors during projects that need to be outsourced

• Lead weekly meetings with different department heads and SMEs to discuss quality issues and utilize quality analysis tools to provide recommendations and drive consensus on product issue resolution

• Lead meetings with the Product Management team to discuss proposed changes to existing product line and determine proper qualification testing requirements to ensure successful product deployment

• Be the point of contact for the Business Commercial team to provide necessary technical support for potential supplier partners during product demonstrations and proof of concept testing

Additional Relevant Experience

• Experience in C, Python or other embedded system languages

• Experience with schematic and PCBA design tools such as OrCAD, Altium

• Experience using project management tools such as JIRA, git, Confluence

• Experience working with products through test and reliability standards such as IEC

• Working proficiency in English, Swahili and/or French

Generic Competencies

• Strategic Thinker

• Communication Skills

• Planning and Organizing Skills

• Time Management Skills

• Self-motivated

• Breakthrough Thinking

Requirements

• Proven 3+ years experience leading a team in an engineering organization

• 5+ years of experience in Electrical Engineering or Electronics Engineering in roles that included testing & troubleshooting complex hardware and software systems

• Experience with project and people management and proven ability to drive issues to closure and influence change

• Hands-on experience in prototyping, troubleshooting, and manufacturing support for embedded systems

• Proven data analysis and reporting skills using tools such as MS Excel, SQL & Looker

• Detail oriented candidate with strong recordkeeping, technical writing and organizational skills 

• Experience working with renewable energy technologies (familiarity with AC/DC inverters a plus)

• Proficient with test equipment such as oscilloscopes, protocol analyzers, electronic loads, spectrum/network analyzers and other common lab instruments

• Ability to travel locally and overseas as necessary (about 25%+ travel may be necessary)

• Bachelors of science in Electrical, Electronics or Computer engineering

Other information

This role is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Approximately 25% travel time required. 

Are you interested? Please send your updated resume.

Zola Electric is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

CLICK HERE to apply