Director, Software Product Strategy (San Francisco)

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Qcells North America

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San Francisco, CA, United States

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Director, Software Product Strategy at Qcells North America

Lead the software product portfolio within the residential energy ecosystem, overseeing products such as the Installer commissioning app and portal, Fleet Manager, Homeowner mobile app, API services, and grid services software enabling Virtual Power Plant (VPP) and other energy services. This role defines the vision for how software enhances and differentiates our energy solutions, ensuring that software is a core part of the product value proposition.

Base Pay

$220,000.00 / yr $260,000.00 / yr

Description

This position is based in San Francisco or Santa Clara, CA, with 20% business travel (domestic and international). The Director of Software Product Strategy balances innovative feature roadmap planning with rigorous execution, aligning software development efforts across U.S., India, and Korea teams with market needs and the hardware roadmap. The leader converts the software strategy into an ownership model inspired by Single-Threaded Owner (STO) principles, ensuring every major software product has clear, focused leadership.

Responsibilities

  • Define an ambitious vision and strategy for the suite of software products that support our energy solutions.
  • Develop a clear roadmap for each major software offeringfrom mobile apps for system owners and installers to cloud-based monitoring, analytics, and grid integration servicesensuring the roadmap addresses customer needs and keeps us ahead of competitors.
  • Implement a Single-Threaded Owner model for software projects, assigning dedicated product owners for key software products or features, mentoring them to take end-to-end ownership while maintaining overall strategy coherence.
  • Act as the chief product liaison with software engineering, UX/UI design, and CS teams, translating product requirements into development plans and participating throughout the software development lifecycle.
  • Ensure requirements are well understood and engineering efforts remain tightly aligned with product goals, driving crossfunctional alignment and coordinating with firmware/hardware teams for hardwaresoftware spanning features.
  • Engage with users of our softwareinstallers, homeownersto gather feedback, identify pain points, and translate industry trends into innovative features that keep our products on the cutting edge.

Required Qualifications

  • 12+ years of product management experience focused on software products, with at least 5 years in a leadership capacity (director or equivalent). Proven track record leading product strategy for complex software or cloudbased services, ideally in energy management or IoT software.
  • Bachelors or Masters degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related field (or equivalent experience). Deep understanding of modern software development practices, cloud architectures, APIs, and agile methodologies.
  • Solid grasp of the energy industry as it pertains to softwarehome energy monitoring, installer operation software, grid services platformsand familiarity with Virtual Power Plants, demand response, net metering, and relevant protocols (e.g., OpenADR, IEEE 2030.5, SunSpec Modbus).
  • Demonstrated ability to set a strategic vision and drive execution to deliver measurable results.
  • Experience managing and mentoring product managers or product owners, inspiring team performance and delegating effectively while maintaining oversight.
  • Excellent collaboration skills in a matrixed environment, synthesizing input from design, engineering, data science, marketing, and operations across multiple time zones.
  • Proficiency in product analytics tools (Google Analytics, Mixpanel, etc.), A/B testing frameworks, and driving databased decision making through KPI tracking.
  • Fastevolving mindset: continuously curious and quick to adapt to emerging technologies such as AI, edge computing, UI/UX trends.
  • Strong understanding of North American solar and ESS market dynamics and regulatory frameworks.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Direct experience at a company that develops software for solar or energy.
  • Experience implementing an STOtype model, demonstrating focus and ownership in product teams.
  • Good eye for user experience and design; experience collaborating with UX teams or conducting user research.
  • Experience building developeroriented products (APIs, integrations) or engaging with opensource communities.
  • Deep knowledge of PV, Microinverter, ESS, Fleet Management, API, and grid integration technologies.
  • Experience in strategic planning, product commercialization, or sales in the North American solar and ESS market.

Physical, Mental & Environmental Demands

Mobility: Standing 20% of time, Sitting 70% of time, Walking 10% of time.

Strength: Pulling, Pushing, Carrying, Lifting up to 10 pounds; Dexterity: Typing, Handling, Reaching frequently.

Agility: Turning, Twisting frequently; Bending occasionally; Crouching occasionally; Balancing, Climbing, Crawling, Kneeling never.

Salaries are required by the California Pay Transparency Act

This target salary range is for CA positions only and should not be interpreted as an offer of compensation.

Seniority Level

Director

Employment Type

Fulltime

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