About Nightpeak
Nightpeak Energy (“Nightpeak”) was founded in 2022 by four seasoned industry veterans that together have developed, financed, and constructed over 2.9 GWh of utility-scale battery storage projects in the US along with GWs more of other renewable generation facilities. The company is backed by leading venture and private equity investor Energy Spectrum Capital. Our mission is to reliably power communities towards a low-carbon future by developing, repowering, owning, and optimizing a fleet of quick-start and dispatchable power plants. We have a passion for deciphering how the grid will evolve, following the rapidly developing power markets, thinking five steps ahead, uncovering the next big opportunity, and making high-quality power projects.
Nightpeak offers competitive salaried compensation, participation in an annual bonus program, and upside participation in addition to a full suite of benefits and a 401(k).
Job Description
Nightpeak is seeking to bring on a dynamic general counsel to support a rapidly growing company and a maturing portfolio of development projects and operating power plants. This role will oversee all legal functions, governance, and risk management of the company’s corporate and commercial activities including: corporate and project finance, project development, power marketing, procurement, operations, compliance, and more. We are seeking a generalist who will add to our company’s direction and success.
As the first hire on the legal team, the General Counsel will be responsible for managing daily tasks while simultaneously building a core internal function that can efficiently and sustainably scale as the company grows. Prior experience successfully managing many deadline-driven tasks concurrently while effectively utilizing inside and outside resources will be key to this role. The General Counsel will immediately add to the conversation across all company functions and monitor ongoing key risks and obligations with the support of a roster of top outside counsel and other resources with the goal of keeping the internal legal team lean.
The role, like all at Nightpeak, requires an entrepreneurial mindset and an ability to make decisions in a fast-paced environment in one of the nation’s fastest growing industries. The General Counsel will be instrumental in building a strong company culture of integrity, accountability, hard work, collaboration, and success.
Key Responsibilities
- Head the internal legal function within Nightpeak Energy
- Support and in some cases lead commercial negotiations with key counterparties, partners, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders
- Manage outside counsel engagements and billing
- Lead compliance function
- Participate in due diligence for acquisitions of operational power plants, development stage projects, and more
- Advise senior management and board of directors
- Create systems and processes to organize and house agreements and track contracted risks and obligations
Skills and Qualifications
- Juris Doctor or equivalent degree, licensed lawyer in good standing with state bar
- At least 12 years’ experience in energy and/or power industry
- Four-year undergraduate degree
- Entrepreneurial mindset, self-motivated, and proactive
- Familiarity with the various contracts required throughout power project development (real estate, power sales, construction, procurement, finance, etc.)
- Business sense and a commercial mindset
- Ability to translate commercial and risk objectives into clear and concise legal language
- Experience in both traditional and renewable power is strongly desired
- Familiarity with numerous regional power market dynamics with emphasis on western U.S. markets including CAISO, WECC, and ERCOT
- Resourceful and passionate to find answers to tough questions
- Confidence and ability to build trust with counterparties and stakeholders
- Collaborative and open-minded, knows when to seek input
- Highly organized to track numerous counterparties and risks & obligations
- Experience creating or using organizational tools related to the job function is ideal
- Previous experience interfacing with C-level executives, major investors and lenders, and others
