Inside Energy Advisor

Location: Grass Valley, CA
Type: Full Time, On-Site with Hybrid Flexibility
Compensation: $45,000 - $60,000/yr. (based on experience) plus commission structure

Overview

Cal-Solar is looking for an Inside Energy Advisor who can anchor the first stage of our customer journey with clarity, warmth, and attention to detail.

This role is focused on residential customers, early intake, and guiding people through the beginning of their solar and storage exploration with a steady and human-centered approach. While there may be opportunities in the future to explore outside sales or other paths, this role itself is firmly inside sales and customer qualification, with growth determined by skill, readiness, and organizational need.

Key Responsibilities:

• You will be the first person many homeowners speak with, and your work will shape how they experience Cal-Solar.
• You will gather utility data
• Start draft designs in Aurora or OpenSolar
• Document notes in Zoho CRM, and determine when a customer is ready for the next step with an Outside Sales Designer.
• You will help people understand solar, batteries, the realities of NBT, and the incentives available to them, all while offering a calm and informed experience that builds trust.

• We are looking for someone who enjoys talking with people, learning technical concepts over time, and supporting a process that blends education, discovery, and early system design.
• Experience in solar is highly preferred, but we will also consider strong adjacent experience in fields like residential construction, energy efficiency, electrical trades, or customer-facing technical roles.
• What matters most is a genuine interest in renewable energy, the ability to learn, and a grounded presence with customers.

This is a structured role with room for your natural communication style. We offer call guides, training, and tools to help you succeed, but the heart of the work is connection. You will help customers articulate their goals, understand their usage, and navigate the early stages of decision making. As you grow more comfortable with our systems and workflow, you will have opportunities to contribute ideas, refine processes, and deepen your skill set.

Why Join Cal-Solar?

We’re California’s first worker-owned solar co-op. That means you’re not just working a job, you’re helping shape the future of clean energy, and you have a path to ownership along the way.
We believe energy education is just as important as installation. When homeowners feel confident, they become advocates. If you love helping people understand how to take control of their energy, this role is for you.

The Company California Solar Electric Cooperative is a successful local business that prioritizes the community inside and outside of the business. A positive and enjoyable work environment is of the top priorities.

Benefits:

● Vacation/Sick pay
● Health benefits (options for health insurance and vision, free dental insurance, free chiropractic)
● Retirement Plan
● Worker-owned: Co-ownership/dividends (ability to apply after 6 months employment; becoming a member of the Cooperative is highly encouraged, but is not mandatory for all employees)
● $500/yr education/reimbursement
● Other misc. benefits, such as tickets to Film Festivals, community volunteer opportunities, events, industry conferences, company retreats, etc.
● Meaningful work that makes a difference in the community and world at large, in a vital and growing industry

Who We Are

Founded in 2000, as a solar electric company, California Solar Electric Cooperative designed and installed some of the very first grid-tied systems and the most unique off-grid and commercial solar systems in the country. Cal-Solar, as we are fondly known, transitioned to a worker cooperative in 2019. California Solar Electric Cooperative is a leader in environmental sustainability and prioritizes a path to meaningful work that provides competitive, rewarding, and gainful employment for our worker-owners and employees. A positive experience that improves the lives of our clients, employees, and community at large is how we measure our success.

What is a Co-op

A worker cooperative is a values-driven business that puts worker and community benefit at the core of its purpose. The two central characteristics of worker cooperatives are: workers own the business and they participate in its financial success on the basis of their labor contribution to the cooperative.

California Solar Electric Cooperative is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer. We believe diversity and inclusion are essential to living our values, achieving our business goals and building a stronger company. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status, or other factors protected by law.