Distributed Sun: 2026 Project Development Fellow
Hybrid (Washington, D.C), $5,000-$7,000/Month, DOE
Application deadline: February 28, 2026, 8am ET
Distributed Sun:
Distributed Sun (DSUN) develops, finances, and deploys solar, storage, and adjacent energy technologies with long-term contracted cash flows. Our leading community and utility-scale solar solutions enable enterprises, universities and other stakeholders to decarbonization electricity generation and investors to achieve best-in-class returns. Entrepreneurial and established, Distributed Sun is a market innovator working alongside industry leaders to build a distributed and resilient grid for an electrified world.
About the role:
DSUN’s Project Development Team seeks a Project Development Fellow to support the early-stage development of renewable energy assets, primarily community-to-utility-scale solar and battery storage projects. The Project Development Fellow would participate in many aspects of development including site selection, real estate coordination, energy modeling, project planning, utility/interconnection coordination, zoning, and environmental permitting. The Fellow will need to quickly learn and deploy new tasks and activities. The Fellow must be able to clearly communicate and balance priorities under stress.
DSUN is seeking a fellowship term of 6-12 months. Preference is for a full-time work schedule with availability to be physically present in the Washington DC office 2 times per week.
Responsibilities:
• Support early development of real estate, renewable energy, battery storage, and microgrid projects, including site screening, feasibility analysis, and development milestone tracking. • Conduct market, zoning, and regulatory research to inform site selection, project design, and development strategy across real estate and distributed energy assets
• Assist with project diligence and documentation for active developments, including review of site control agreements, interconnection materials, permits, environmental studies, and utility correspondence.
• Prepare development memos, internal briefing materials, and presentations to support investment decisions, partner discussions, and internal approvals.
• Perform site visits and permitting meetings for various projects across portfolios. • Collaborate with finance, engineering, legal, and construction teams to track development budgets, schedules, and risks, ensuring alignment between technical design, commercial assumptions, and execution timelines.
Qualifications:
• Recent or soon-to-be graduate of a bachelor’s degree program with relevant work in real estate, engineering, environmental science, and/or related fields,
• Work experience in a professional setting (energy-related experience strongly preferred) and a demonstrated task-oriented ownership of work product, and
• General knowledge of energy infrastructure and renewable technologies and an interest in pursuing a career in the field.
To Apply:
• Please send a resume and 1-2 paragraph introduction to fellows@distributedsun.com, subject line “2026 Project Development Fellow” prior to February 28, 2026.