Assistant Engineering Manager

Hoffman & Hoffman Inc•Charlotte, NC

3h•Onsite

About The Position

The Assistant Engineering Manager (AEM) is a senior, hands‑on leader who supports the Technical Operations Manager in managing Design, Programming, SCADA, EPM and Commissioning teams, while acting as the primary internal advocate for “customer‑side” expectations and best practices. This role leverages deep prior experience on the owner/consultant side to shape standards, coach teams, and ensure deliverables align with how customers actually operate, maintain, and value these systems.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Mechanical, Mechatronics, Systems, Industrial, or related Engineering discipline; equivalent experience and considered.
10+ years in HVAC/industrial controls, automation, or building systems, including significant time in customer‑side roles (e.g., owner/operator, consulting engineer, facility/controls manager, commissioning authority).
Proven success working with or within multidisciplinary teams on complex projects.
Strong communication skills, able to clearly articulate customer expectations and translate them into actionable guidance for engineering and commissioning teams.
Deep familiarity with controls design, PLC/SCADA, commissioning practices, and industry standards plus a practical understanding of how operators and facility teams use these systems day to day.
Coaching oriented leadership style, with a track record of elevating team performance through mentoring and standards adoption.

Responsibilities

Assist the Technical Operations Manager with leading and developing all engineering and commissioning personnel.
Assist with hiring, onboarding, coaching, and succession planning for these teams.
Assist with defining clear career paths, competencies, and training programs across technical roles and project management roles.
Assist with establishing, maintaining, and enforcing quantitative and qualitative performance metrics for engineering Management, Design, Programming, SCADA, EPM, and Commissioning team roles.
Provide the Technical Operations Manager with experience-based insight into the dos and do-nots of building and maintaining high-impact teams.
Assist with establishing, maintaining, and enforcing common standards, templates, and workflows across Design, Programming, SCADA, Commissioning, and EPM teams and project execution.
Drive reduction of rework, schedule slippage, and commissioning issues through tighter handoffs and feedback loops between engineering teams and EPMs.
Oversee portfolio‑level planning, prioritization, and resourcing in partnership with Program Management and Operations, ensuring projects are staffed with the right mix of engineers, commissioning personnel, and EPMs.
Review and challenge major project plans, schedules, and strategies developed by EPMs for complex or mission‑critical projects.
Forecast labor demand and budget for engineering, commissioning, and EPM capacity; sponsor investments in headcount, tools, and training.
Assist with the interface between Engineering, Commissioning, EPMs, Operations, and senior leadership, ensuring alignment on priorities, risks, and outcomes.
Interface with Sales to align operational capabilities with future project backlogs and scope.
Assist with defining and governing the standard project lifecycle from pre‑construction through design, execution, commissioning, and handover.
Champion consistent use of project tools (e.g., Smartsheet, Azure DevOps) for schedule, risk, and quality tracking.
Support EPMs in managing complex technical risks, architecture tradeoffs, and commissioning strategies during critical project milestones (e.g., project audits, attendance to project meetings and events, customer discussion, etc.)
Identify systemic issues in engineering, commissioning, or project‑management workflows and drive organization‑level process and standards improvements.