Thermographer Level I: Utility Infrastructure (IR Imagery Analyst)

Thermographer Level I: Utility Infrastructure (IR Imagery Analyst)

Pay: $50 to $70 per hour (DOE)

Location: Remote (California-based) or San Diego, CA office

Employment Type: Full-Time

Schedule: Monday through Friday, will include overtime and weekend work during peak inspection windows.

Project Duration: Mid-May through November, with strong potential to extend year-round

About C2 Group

C2 Group is a woman-owned (WBE) strategic consulting and engineering firm headquartered in San Diego. Since 2016, we have grown to over 150 employees delivering infrastructure solutions for major utilities, including PG&E, Southern California Edison, and SDG&E. We are technology-forward, integrating AI, predictive analytics, LiDAR, and drone-based inspection systems into how we work. Our clients trust us because we solve hard problems with smart systems and we apply engineering judgment, not just process.

The Role

This is not a general image-review position. We are looking for someone who understands electric utility infrastructure and can apply infrared thermography knowledge to real-world transmission, distribution, and substation assets. The right candidate knows what utility equipment should look like, how it fails, and how those failures present in IR imagery.

C2 Group is hiring a Thermographer Level I to support a major California electric utility's infrared inspection program covering transmission, distribution, and substation infrastructure. This is a desktop role: you will work from your home office or our San Diego headquarters, reviewing IR and visual imagery captured by drone, ground, and helicopter platforms. Your job is to read the thermal data, apply utility infrastructure judgment, and identify issue tags that flag potential failure points before they become outages, fires, or safety incidents.

What You Will Do

• Review infrared imagery, visual imagery, and inspection video collected by drones, helicopters, and ground-based crews across transmission, distribution, and substation assets.
• Identify, classify, and tag thermal anomalies and equipment defects on conductors, connectors, jumpers, splices, switches, transformers, bushings, insulators, arresters, cutouts, terminations, and substation gear.
• Apply utility judgment to recognize hot connectors, failing splices, overloaded equipment, loose hardware, defective switches, transformer issues, bushing anomalies, arrester degradation, jumper problems, cutout issues, and substation equipment defects.
• Distinguish valid findings from false positives caused by reflection, sun angle, image distortion, load conditions, environmental factors, or poor data capture. Your judgment is the filter.
• Cross-reference IR imagery with visual context (RGB photos, structure data, asset records, GIS) to validate findings and reduce missed issues.
• Document findings clearly and consistently using client reporting standards and C2’s QA workflows: asset identification, issue type, severity classification, screenshots, and supporting observations.
• Maintain production targets and quality benchmarks. Volume matters; accuracy matters more.
• Coordinate with field crews, QA reviewers, and program leadership through Microsoft Teams. Flag patterns, escalate ambiguity, and contribute to the program’s continuous improvement.
• Travel occasionally to client facilities or field locations as required by the program (logistics and notice provided in advance).

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is not just a thermographer. They are a utility-minded technical reviewer who understands what can go wrong in the field and how those issues appear in infrared imagery. You may come from any of the following backgrounds:

• A thermographer with electric utility inspection experience
• A current or former journeyman lineman or lineworker with strong technical and computer skills
• A utility inspector familiar with overhead, underground, and substation equipment
• An electrical engineer, utility designer, or substation technician with field exposure
• A construction manager or safety professional with IR inspection experience
• A military or industrial thermography professional with a strong electrical infrastructure background

The right person is curious, disciplined, technically sharp, and comfortable spending most of the day reviewing imagery from a computer while applying real-world utility judgment.

What You Bring

Required

• Thermographer Level I certification (Infraspection Institute, ITC, or equivalent recognized program). Candidates actively pursuing certification with a strong relevant background may be considered.
• Working knowledge of infrared thermography and the ability to identify abnormal thermal patterns in electrical equipment.
• Strong understanding of electric utility components, equipment configurations, and common failure mechanisms, gained through electrical engineering (degree or applied experience), journey-level lineman or electrical trades work, substation operations, or equivalent T&D inspection background.
• Ability to interpret visual and infrared imagery from drone, helicopter, and ground-based inspection sources.
• Solid technical literacy: Microsoft Teams, structured data entry, image-review platforms, spreadsheets, and the ability to learn new utility-specific software quickly.
• Excellent attention to detail and consistent technical judgment across large imagery volumes.
• Strong written communication. Your tags become the record of record. They need to read clearly to engineers, planners, and field crews.

Strongly Preferred

• Direct experience supporting a major California investor-owned utility in inspections, operations, engineering, or construction management.
• Prior experience reviewing drone, helicopter, or fixed-wing utility imagery (IR, RGB, or LiDAR).
• Experience with aerial patrols, IR inspections, or wildfire and safety inspection programs.
• Exposure to wildfire mitigation programs, EPSS criteria, or PSPS-driven inspection cycles.
• Familiarity with GIS, AutoCAD, asset management systems, inspection databases, or utility work management platforms.
• Prior quality assurance or desktop review experience in a utility setting.

A Plus

• Thermographer Level II or III certification or active progress toward it.
• Background in NDT (non-destructive testing), predictive maintenance, or condition-based monitoring.
• Military background with technical specialty (electrical, NDT, intelligence imagery analysis, or related).

Work Environment

This is a primarily remote, computer-based position. Candidates must be comfortable working independently from home or from C2 Group’s San Diego office, depending on home location and preference. The role requires extended computer use, careful image review, and consistent documentation. Coordination meetings, training sessions, and project check-ins are conducted via Microsoft Teams.

Why This Role Matters

California’s grid carries enormous public safety weight. Every thermal anomaly you correctly flag is a potential fault that gets fixed before it sparks a fire, drops a circuit, or injures a crew. The utility needs precision thermographers with infrastructure judgment, and that combination is rare. If you have it, you are not interchangeable. You are the difference between a clean inspection record and a missed defect that becomes a headline.

This program is also a career on-ramp. Strong performance can lead to extended year-round work, advancement into Level II thermography, lead analyst roles, QA leadership, or cross-training into our broader utility inspection, engineering, and program management practice. We promote from within, and we invest in people who deliver.

Logistics and Compensation

• Pay: $50 to $70 per hour, depending on certification level, utility experience, and infrastructure background.
• Schedule: Full-time, Monday through Friday, the position will include overtime and weekend work, during peak inspection windows. Some early start times may align with field operations.
• Location: Remote-from-home (California-based) or in our San Diego office, depending on candidate location and preference.
• Equipment: C2 Group provides the workstation, monitors, software licenses, and training materials needed to do the work at the standard we expect.
• Duration: Mid-May 2026 through November 2026, with strong potential to extend into year-round work as program scope expands.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401(k) plan, matching
• Paid time off and holidays
• Referral program
• Professional development and certification support (including Level II thermography progression)
• Direct exposure to one of the most sophisticated utility inspection programs in the country

How to Apply

Submit your resume along with any thermography certifications, sample report excerpts (redacted as needed), or examples of utility-related technical work. If you have field experience, tell us what kinds of equipment you have inspected and what failure modes you have personally seen. We read every submission.

C2 Group is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.

Learn more about C2 Group:

• Website: www.c2group.biz
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/c2-group-sandiego
• Instagram: @c2groupsd

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $50.00 - $70.00 per hour

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Professional development assistance
• Referral program
• Vision insurance

Application Question(s):

• Have you reviewed infrared imagery or video of electrical equipment before?
• Are you comfortable working primarily from a computer, reviewing inspection imagery, and documenting findings?

Experience:

• Electric utility infrastructure inspections: 5 years (Preferred)

License/Certification:

• Thermographer Level 1 Certification (Preferred)

Location:

• California (Required)

Work Location: Remote