Controls Designer/Project Manager

Havtech LLC • Columbia, MD

100d

About The Position

As a Controls Designer/Project Manager, you will provide specialized technical expertise in designing and supporting lab control systems while assisting the sales team with broader support functions for critical environments products, such as those used in labs, clean rooms, and hospitals. This role combines focused controls design responsibilities—primarily creating submittals and optimizing lab control configurations—with additional duties in takeoffs/estimates, generating submittals, preparing orders, and managing projects for other specialty products to ensure efficient use of time and resources. This position requires a unique combination of technical design skills, sound financial management, customer service orientation, problem-solving abilities, field experience for site support, and the drive to meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment with limited resources. You will collaborate with the sales team to influence system selection, ensure accurate delivery, manage project risks, and maintain client satisfaction throughout the acquisition and fulfillment stages.

Requirements

• Requires a bachelor’s degree in a technical or business-related field and/or a combination of five years of experience focused on lab or critical environments controls.
• Strong familiarity with lab control systems, HVAC systems, temperature controls, and critical environments applications (e.g., clean rooms, hospitals).
• Must have basic PC experience in a Windows environment, working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook), web-enabled applications, and intermediate-level Excel skills.
• Excellent math aptitude, follow-up skills, and ability to work under pressure with strict deadlines.
• Superior communication, collaboration, and teamwork skills, with a collaborative attitude to thrive in a team-based environment while contributing individually.
• Ability to function independently, prioritize tasks, and deliver results in a dynamic setting.

Responsibilities

• Serve as primary controls designer for lab control products, including reviewing plans and specifications to perform take-offs, optimize, and validate equipment configurations, sizes, voltages, options, operations, and integrations.
• Create detailed preliminary and/or final submittals for lab controls including wiring diagrams and as-builts, and other critical environments products, ensuring timely production release and delivery.
• Prepare proposals, pricing breakdowns, and order documentation for lab controls and supplementary products, evaluating equipment savings, material costs, and escalation for long-term projects.
• Administer and manage projects, including coordination with multiple suppliers and customers, participating in PM meetings/calls, creating and managing purchase orders to meet requirements, and handling vendor bidding, negotiation, and submittal evaluations.
• Provide administrative and technical support to sales engineers, consulting engineers, contractors, or clients during design, fulfillment, and warranty stages for a range of critical environments systems, teaming to influence selection, design, and pricing.
• Develop and maintain relationships with manufacturers and vendors to stay current on industry trends, competitive advantages, and product innovations relevant to labs, clean rooms, hospitals, and related spaces.
• Document work by maintaining organized files for each job, including internal and external customer correspondence, to mitigate project risks.
• Responsible for profit and loss on a job-by-job basis, applying financial acumen to support budgeting, cost reviews, and overall project profitability.
• Coordinate and perform service and technical support during start-up and throughout warranty periods, resolving issues to maintain owner, engineer, or contractor satisfaction.
• Simultaneously manage a large and diverse number of projects and issues with tact, cooperation, and persistence, meeting deadlines for proposals, submittals, equipment releases, and other tasks.
• Utilize knowledge of critical environments systems, including HVAC controls, temperature controls, air handlers, VAV units, exhaust systems and other specialty products, to offer innovative solutions and ensure timely project completion.
• Communicate with subcontractors and suppliers to obtain and negotiate prices for materials, fostering positive relationships.
• Flexibility to work outside normal work hours, as required.
• Willing to travel for site support or project needs.

What This Job Offers

• Education Level: Bachelor's degree
• Number of Employees: 101-250 employees