VP - Engineering

Vornado Realty Trust•New York, NY

6h•$250,000 - $300,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Vice President of Engineering is a senior leadership role responsible for portfolio-wide deployment of energy management tools and technologies and for providing engineering support to Vornado’s development projects. The role reports directly to the Senior Vice President – Chief Sustainability Officer, with management support from the Senior Vice President, Field Operations. The VP leads implementation and integration of building energy management platforms, automation systems, and data-driven performance tools across Vornado’s approximately 26.7 million square feet of commercial properties, supporting operational optimization strategies, including Vision 2030. The position oversees engineering aspects of new construction, major renovations, existing-building improvements, capital planning, and portfolio-wide energy management. It directs engineering consultants and project delivery, develops and deploys energy-management technologies, supports building certifications and regulatory compliance, and provides engineering leadership across operations, budgets, stakeholder coordination, and strategic planning.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field required; a minimum two-year technical degree in HVAC, electrical engineering, or a related field may be considered instead when combined with exceptional industry experience.
Professional Engineer (P.E.) license required.
12+ years of progressive engineering and facilities management experience, including at least 8 years in commercial real estate (office and/or mixed-use).
6+ years of senior supervisory experience, including direct management of senior engineering staff or multi-building engineering teams.
Demonstrated experience managing engineering operations for a large, complex, mixed-use urban portfolio in New York City or a comparable market.
Extensive experience in union environments, including direct management of collective bargaining agreements and union relations.
Strong background in sustainability and energy-management programs, including experience supporting LEED, ENERGY STAR, and GRESB certification processes.
Proven track record managing multi-million-dollar capital and operating budgets for engineering services.
Comprehensive expertise in commercial-building HVAC, electrical, plumbing, life safety/fire protection, and building automation systems.
Hands-on knowledge of emergency/standby generators, automatic transfer switches (ATS), uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, and power distribution.
Technical proficiency in building management systems (BMS), ANGUS or equivalent CMMS platforms, and life safety systems.
Working knowledge of NYC Local Law 97 carbon-emission compliance requirements, NYC DOB, Building Construction Codes, FDNY, and DEP regulatory frameworks.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and project management tools.
Ability to read and interpret architectural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing drawings, specifications, and technical documents.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree (M.S. or M.Eng.) in engineering, facilities management, or a related discipline.

Responsibilities

Manage new construction from conceptualization through completion, acting as Owner’s Representative and overseeing design and construction aspects, including due diligence on new acquisitions.
Oversee engineering consultants to drive best-in-class design.
Support bid/buy procurement of MEP/FP/IT trades and trade coordination, construction, testing and commissioning, and turnover to operations.
Review energy modeling results and impacts to LEED or other green building certifications.
Conduct early-phase MEP design reviews for constructability and operability, ensuring systems can be maintained by Vornado’s team after occupancy.
Participate in value engineering, oversee commissioning, and ensure construction-to-operations handover with complete documentation transfer.
Support the leasing team during lease negotiations and manage construction project completion and close-out to ensure tenant occupancy.
Identify existing-building improvements and support capital planning, including systematic MEP condition assessments to identify aging or end-of-life equipment.
Support or manage major renovation projects from conceptualization through completion, acting as Owner’s Representative and overseeing design and construction aspects, including due diligence on new acquisitions.
Manage a portfolio-wide retro-commissioning program to restore or improve existing buildings’ design functionality and identify energy conservation measures with strong payback periods.
Develop a rolling five-year capital improvement plan prioritized by code compliance urgency, equipment risk, energy savings, and Vision 2030 alignment.
Pilot emerging smart-building technologies and measure post-project performance to validate returns.
Lead end-to-end deployment of portfolio-wide energy management systems and technologies, including BMS/EMS platforms, interval data analytics, and AI-driven optimization tools.
Define and manage the portfolio-wide energy-management tool roadmap, including evaluating, selecting, procuring, configuring, and continuously improving software and hardware platforms in coordination with IT, sustainability, and property management teams.
Establish and track key performance indicators for energy-management tool deployments and regularly report progress against energy reduction, decarbonization, and Vision 2030 targets to the CSO and senior leadership.
Partner with the Chief Sustainability Officer to align engineering operations with the Vision 2030 carbon-neutrality roadmap, Science Based Targets, and portfolio-wide energy and decarbonization commitments.
Plan and drive adoption of energy-efficiency, decarbonization, and smart-building technology programs to manage utility costs and support greenhouse gas reduction goals.
Manage the Energy Manager and determine job responsibilities, including Local Law compliance for BPS.
Manage the submeter system, incentive programs, and demand-response programs, with support from the Energy Manager.
Ensure engineering operations support and sustain portfolio LEED, ENERGY STAR, GRESB, and Fitwel certifications.
Champion the transition from preventive to predictive maintenance using data analytics and IoT-enabled building systems to reduce energy consumption and operating costs.
Support the SVP, Field Operations with executive oversight of engineering service activities across the portfolio, including corporate interfaces, performance-specification compliance, cost savings, and customer service objectives.
Own operating and capital budgets for engineering projects under the VP’s responsibility and provide input and justification for annual operating plans and multi-year capital infrastructure plans for assigned assets.
Develop cost and energy savings estimates to inform payback analyses for improvements and energy conservation measures.
Measure, monitor, and regularly report to the CSO the engineering team’s cost savings and value-add contributions.
Ensure assets use building management systems and platforms such as ANGUS to track, optimize, and report building performance.
Support the SVP, Field Operations in reviewing and implementing third-party maintenance reports and establishing document-retention standards for drawings, schematics, equipment manuals, and warranty documents.
Oversee and direct development, commissioning, and close-out of critical infrastructure projects, ensuring proper documentation archiving.
Serve as the primary engineering liaison to Development and Capital Markets and as a resource to Portfolio and Property Management and Leasing teams; foster cross-functional relationships.
Support strategic planning and work with Portfolio Property Managers to identify portfolio-wide savings and operational improvement opportunities.
Participate in regional and portfolio-level planning to develop and execute engineering strategies aligned with corporate objectives.
Represent Vornado in professional and community organizations relevant to building engineering, sustainability, and real estate operations.