Solar Plant Specialist

Solar Plant Specialist
 
Sukari is located approximately 750km from Cairo and 25km from Marsa Alam on the Red Sea. First gold was poured in June 2009 and commercial production began in April 2010, making Sukari the first modern gold mine in Egypt, a country which in ancient times was a prolific producer of the precious metal. Sukari conducts both open-pit and underground mining operations, each employing specialised mining methods tailored to the orebody characteristics and operational requirements.

 
The Role

 
The Solar Plant Specialist leads the operations and maintenance of the Sukari Hybrid PV Plant, comprising 36 MWp photovoltaic generation and a 7.5 MW battery energy storage system, to deliver safe, reliable, and cost-effective renewable power to Sukari Gold Mine. The role monitors plant performance through SCADA and analytics to maximise energy yield and diesel displacement, while ensuring asset integrity, accurate technical records, and timely reporting.
The position plans and executes preventive and corrective maintenance across PV, BESS, electrical, and control systems, and coordinates OEM and contractor support, warranties, and spare parts. It also ensures compliance with SGM HSE, electrical safety, and environmental requirements, while supporting continuous improvement in plant reliability, availability, and operational performance.

 

Location: Sukari Gold Mine Egypt

Contract Type: Full Time

Roaster: 20/10 Days

Schedule: Standard schedule aligned to power station and mine operational requirements, with shift coverage, overtime, and on-call support as required during outages, maintenance campaigns, commissioning activities, and severe weather events

 
The Key Responsibilities
 

PV Plant Operations & Dispatch Control: Operate the hybrid PV/BESS plant through SCADA and plant controller systems to maintain stable power contribution, maximise renewable generation, and coordinate operational windows with mine demand and planned maintenance.

Performance Monitoring & Loss Analysis: Monitor production, performance ratio, and availability, analyse loss drivers, validate metering and sensor data, and ensure solar panel cleaning is maintained to protect plant performance.

Preventive & Corrective Maintenance Planning: Develop and manage preventive and predictive maintenance schedules, create and control work orders in SAP/CMMS, coordinate specialised testing, and ensure calibration of critical equipment and tools is completed by a third party.

Fault Response & Control Systems Support: Diagnose outages and trips, lead root-cause analysis, implement permanent corrective actions, maintain SCADA and control configurations, and manage firmware and parameter updates under change control.

HSE, Electrical Safety & Compliance: Enforce isolation, LOTO, earthing, permit-to-work, and test-before-touch practices, support incident reporting and emergency preparedness, and maintain compliance with SGM HSE standards and ISO 14001 environmental requirements.

Leadership & Contractor Coordination: Lead and supervise solar plant O&M staff and contractors, assign priorities, verify work quality and documentation, coach personnel, and coordinate OEM and specialist service providers.

Budget, Spares & Warranty Management: Manage the O&M budget, track expenditure and diesel displacement savings, forecast critical spare parts, coordinate procurement and inventory readiness, and manage warranty claims and contractor performance.

 
The Requirements

 

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering or equivalent

Certified Electrical Engineer or professional registration where applicable

Valid driving licence

Electrical switching or authorisation permits for MV/HV as required by site electrical rules where duties demand

Minimum 8 years’ experience in electrical maintenance in power systems or heavy industrial environments, including MV/HV substations

Minimum 3 years’ experience in commissioning or O&M of a utility-scale PV plant, including central inverters, tracker systems, and BESS exposure

Experience with SCADA, industrial communication networks, and SAP/CMMS for work control and reporting

Strong knowledge of PV systems, BESS, hybrid plant control, electrical protection, power quality, maintenance planning, and technical reporting

Professional Arabic and English language capability for safety communication, supervision, reporting, documentation, vendor interaction, and system use

Prepared for shifts, overtime, and on-call support, and physically fit for field work in remote desert site conditions