Senior Manager, HVAC & Geothermal Quality Programs at Palmetto
Department Description
Palmetto Home is a branch of Palmetto focused on the democratization of the renewable energy and HVAC industries. We provide homeowners with financial products to benefit from solar power, energy storage systems, and home efficiency through advanced heating and cooling technologies. We empower solar and HVAC sales professionals and installation companies with access to our proprietary platform, financing, customer management system, and milestone quality control system. Our #1 focus is a phenomenal experience for our customers and partners, evidenced in our growing financial product adoption.
Location
This position will be based in Charlotte, NC.
Reporting
This position will report to the VP, Operations Program; dotted-line relationship to the VP of Comfort Program Management.
Summary of Role
The Quality Program Manager, Comfort is responsible for building and scaling the quality assurance framework that supports Palmetto’s expansion across multiple residential energy technologies—including HVAC, geothermal, water heaters, and generators. This role owns the standards, training, and review processes that ensure high-quality, code-compliant installations by Certified Contractors across all Comfort product lines.
The ideal candidate is deeply anchored in residential HVAC and/or geothermal systems, with the ability to extend that expertise to adjacent technologies as the platform grows. You will lead the QC Technician team, oversee daily milestone review throughput, and partner cross-functionally to optimize processes, reduce friction, and ensure volume and SLA goals are achieved. This role operates within a matrixed management structure, reporting directly to the VP of Quality Programs with a dotted-line relationship to the VP of Comfort Program Management. Success requires the ability to navigate shared priorities, align with multiple leaders, and drive outcomes across organizational boundaries.
Strategic & Tactical
Multi-Technology Program Development (60%)
Develop and maintain quality standards, documentation, and contractor approval requirements for HVAC, geothermal, water heater, and generator installations—adapting them as new partners, products, and technologies are added.
Lead the build-out of quality review frameworks for emerging product lines, leveraging lessons learned from established verticals.
Collaborate with the product development and after market services teams to develop service & maintenance warranty programs.
Balance project rigor with system performance metrics and contractor feedback, refining standards based on data across all technologies.
Establish performance benchmarks and feedback loops to reduce project rejections while maintaining system quality standards.
Provide feedback and insights to internal stakeholders and contractors, creating training materials to ensure compliance across product lines.
Collaborate with the product development team to streamline processes, reduce external friction, and support platform expansion.
Develop and deploy Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for each technology vertical to guide consistent program execution.
Conduct onboarding calls with new contractors and support ongoing training and pipeline reviews across all Comfort products.
Identify contractors needing additional support, develop tailored training solutions, and provide structured aid.
Maintain and expand the contractor knowledge base covering program standards and best practices for all supported technologies.
Collaborate with Business Development to drive best practices & feedback loops to Installers and maintain pipeline throughput efficacy.
Optimize end to end process to streamline partner experience.
Continuous improvement and development of all comfort technologies.
Pipeline & QC Tech Team Management (30%)
Oversee project review queues across all product lines, ensuring timely approval and rejection processing.
Provide direct oversight of the QC Tech team, including workload allocation across technology verticals.
Monitor queue volume, age, and functionality, providing guidance to the Comfort QC Team for improved efficiency.
Ensure a positive contractor experience with proactive feedback and resolution of project issues.
Manage communication platforms to ensure timely, optimized feedback to contractors.
Partner with account managers to conduct business reviews with key contractors.
Track and report on job closeout and approval metrics by product line, identifying trends and areas for improvement.
Collaborate with data analytics teams to refine reporting and provide executive summaries of KPIs.
Provide insights on milestone completion rates, speed, and common quality issues to contractors and stakeholders.
Platform Expansion & Cross-Functional Partnership (10%)
Partner with tech teams to identify and implement platform improvements that support multi-technology milestone reviews.
Serve as the quality subject matter expert during product scoping for new technology verticals.
Refine presentation materials to reflect the latest standards and guidance across all supported products.
Evaluate industry trends and code changes across HVAC, geothermal, water heater, and generator sectors to keep quality standards current.
Qualifications
7+ years of experience in a technical or construction-based role with a strong foundation in residential HVAC and/or geothermal systems.
4+ years of demonstrated experience developing and operationalizing programs and SOPs.
Demonstrated ability to extend technical expertise across adjacent mechanical or energy system technologies.
Experience in data analytics and performance reporting.
Strong collaboration with tech enablement teams.
Exceptional oral and written communication skills with the ability to influence third parties.
Demonstrated ability to drive product and operations excellence while supporting business growth and commercial objectives
Proven ability to operate effectively in a matrixed management environment with multiple stakeholders and reporting relationships.
Highly organized with a strong attention to detail.
Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, HVAC Engineering, Energy Systems Engineering, Building Services Engineering, or a related field.
Preferred
Direct experience with geothermal, water heater, or standby generator installations.
Familiarity with residential building performance standards, Manual J/D/S calculations, or energy modeling.
Experience scaling quality or inspection programs across multiple product categories.
EPA 608 Universal Certification, NATE, or equivalent industry credentials.