Chief Engineer

Cantor Fitzgerald•Vista, CA

23d

About The Position

The Chief Engineer – Critical Facilities provides administrative and technical direction for the day-to-day operation and maintenance of data center facilities and equipment. The role develops plans to maintain building assets at a high level of care, value, and reliability, and requires understanding of base-building and critical-environment infrastructure, design, and support. The position oversees preventive maintenance for base-building and critical systems, including electrical, HVAC, fire/life safety, and emergency backup systems. It manages building engineering staff in conjunction with the Property Manager and may cover more than one site. The Chief Engineer manages engineering staff and vendors, maintains critical systems and equipment, ensures compliance with operational procedures and safety requirements, monitors system performance, oversees repairs and documentation, and responds to client needs and emergencies. The role also oversees scheduling, after-hours coverage, staff training and certification, incident reporting, inventory, and operational reporting.

Requirements

Minimum of 10 years of experience in mechanical trades, HVAC, and/or electrical work, or registration as a Professional Engineer.
Minimum of 5 years of experience in critical-facility or plant engineering and maintenance supervision, with managerial experience required.
Strong knowledge of electricity, electrical distribution systems, HVAC, chillers, and fire systems.
Experience with emergency backup systems, including generators, UPS, and battery plants.
Familiarity with preventive-maintenance and work-order software systems (CMMS).
Familiarity with building automation systems (BAS/BMS).
Excellent communication skills, a positive approach to work, and the ability to handle multiple tasks and projects concurrently.
Ability to analyze system operations, determine root causes of problems, and execute corrective action.
Experience training, developing, and evaluating maintenance staff.
Ability to participate in shift scheduling and after-hours emergency technical coverage.

Nice To Haves

College degree preferred.
Certified Data Center Professional (CDCP) or similar certification preferred.
Project Management Professional (PMP) or similar certification preferred.
NFPA 70E certification and/or OSHA 10/30 preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage operating engineers, electricians, service contractors, and other vendors supporting data center facilities and infrastructure.
Understand facility system design and operations, identify system shortcomings, and respond to operational and emergency situations.
Develop, implement, and enforce preventive maintenance programs; schedule preventive maintenance with minimal service disruption and supervise work on base-building and critical equipment.
Ensure compliance with Standard Operating Procedures, Methods of Procedure, Emergency Response Procedures, and critical-environment change-control processes.
Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local codes, regulations, standards, OSHA requirements, and policies for hazardous materials.
Conduct routine assessments, tests, and rounds; analyze equipment data and participate in site inspections.
Oversee and monitor refrigeration, heat exchangers, HVAC, electrical systems, emergency backup systems, hot water systems, boilers, pumps, valves, piping, and filters; analyze malfunctions and take corrective action.
Oversee equipment repairs and ensure shift logbooks are documented; review shift logs and resolve work-order completion issues.
Maintain parts, tools, and equipment inventories; conduct annual inventories and submit detailed records and justifications for new items to the building manager.
Coordinate and submit monthly equipment reports to management and develop operational and maintenance business controls.
Respond to client and user-group requests and take reasonable measures to meet their needs promptly and efficiently.
Manage shift scheduling and after-hours technical coverage, reduce overtime where possible, and approve engineering personnel timesheets and overtime.
Oversee training and certification of engineering and maintenance personnel working in critical environments or associated infrastructure.
Promptly report incidents, accidents, and injuries; evaluate causes and effects and implement corrective actions.
Perform other duties as assigned.