Jim Sorensen Email & Phone Number

Albuquerque, New Mexico, Us

Albuquerque, New Mexico, Us

Tempe, Arizona, Us

• Led team focused on research, assessment, and communication of First Solar’s (FS) competitive position based on manufacturing costs, performance, and durability.• Trained associates across the organization on the PV industry, module technologies, and manufacturing landscape.• Mentored new associates on career development and situational guidance.• Presented quarterly findings to board of directors, executive leadership, Business Development, and stakeholders.• Researched market interpretation and trend identification supporting future technologies.• Added $15-30M in potential profits (1-2% product value) through value differentiation by developing materials, including bifacial, cell cracking, PID, and LeTID, for international counter-selling and marketing campaigns.• Influenced company strategy to accelerate development phases and reduce OpEx/CapEx by researching competitive position, summarizing details for senior leadership, Sales, and R&D, and affect change in the internal roadmap.• Advocated for favorable industry standards regulating PV module technology by collaborating with standards committee representatives, reviewing proposals/crafting counterpoints, and providing data to influence the language and requirements affecting First Solar’s unique technology.• Streamlined operations 5-10% by reengineering existing processes/procedures and developing systems to track/report competitor intelligence pulling information from multiple sources.

Tempe, Arizona, Us

• Led a team of engineers and technicians identifying failure modes through Accelerated Life Testing (ALT), in-field evaluations, and analysis of customer returns, to build reliability models for lifetime prediction and risk assessment.• Proposed/developed moderate climate and hot-humid field test sites with construction budgets of $3M, improving multi-climate correlation and understanding of ALT tests.• Discovered/advanced new module installation requirements preventing accelerated module degradation and significantly reducing underperformance risk for gigawatt of module shipments.• Pioneered corporate internship program achieving global status and dozens of positions per term.• Advanced issue identification/resolution related to solar panel field testing by proposing/developing controlled test sites and matching findings with laboratory test samples. The project was awarded $3M in funding to build additional sites and an increased operating budget of ~$400K for staffing.• Minimized field test downtime and capital expenses by managing unplanned moves, including new plot acquisition/ design/construction, decommissioning of old sites, and reusing existing equipment, to ensure continuity.• Limited warranty claims/missed contracts by recognizing issues with product’s long-term reliability and performance related to extended installation/non-optimal configuration, proposing mitigation solution, and collaborating with engineers and construction teams to design/implement mitigation strategy.

Tempe, Arizona, Us

• Conducted ALT, product and process qualification, equipment development, and service life prediction.• Developed indoor module light exposure equipment and methodology to estimate field stabilization.• Pushed environmental acceleration to 10-50X compared to field exposure and shortened test time by 8X.• Established module de-rate methodology for consistent inter-plant control with feedback based on quality checks for visibility and operational control.• Enabled predictable module rating improving supply planning and reducing warranty risk.• Discovered/developed module measurement conditioning sequence to minimize metastable effects.• Specified/purchased/started up equipment for Q&R testing labs in German and Malaysian manufacturing facilities.• Developed/implemented test analytics methods built into LIMS system that are still in use today.

Dublin, Ireland, Ie

Plan, specify, and report Product Validation testing for gasoline vapor control products, Design and develop test equipment (air flow/leak measurement, liquid flow/leak measurement, others), Design and develop mechanical durability exposure fixtures and equipment (vibration, shock, actuation, others), Apply Measurement System Analysis (MSA) techniques for gauge certification, Maintain Statistical Process Control (SPC) for lab instrumentation

Voluntary In-Use Surveillance EPA-style exhaust and evaporative emission testing, Official EPA Certification type exhaust and evaporative emission testing, Mileage accumulation / endurance emission testing program, Evaluation and testing of competitor vehicles, Manage / Oversee three technicians, Conduct and oversee various consumer surveys, Equipment budget requests, purchasing, calibration, and maintenance

Manage several product development, Develop and maintain program documentation (FMEA, DVP&R, timeline, project checklist), Design and develop plastic and metal fuel system components, Procurement of prototype injection molds and prototype parts, Test and validate prototype/production parts, Write new component/assembly specifications