Chief Engineer, Mechanical

About the role

As the Chief Engineer, Mechanical for a premier healthcare client account, this pivotal leadership role oversees the critical infrastructure, mechanical systems, and life-safety operations of a complex hospital facility. The successful candidate will ensure maximum uptime, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency of all HVAC, steam, refrigeration, plumbing, and medical gas systems. By maintaining a safe, comfortable, and healing environment for patients, staff, and visitors, this role directly impacts clinical outcomes and facility resilience.

Responsibilities

• Lead the operation, maintenance, and repair of all hospital mechanical systems, including chillers, boilers, air handling units, medical gases, and plumbing, to ensure maximum uptime for critical clinical environments.
• Manage a dedicated team of shift engineers and technicians, fostering an environment where everyone is empowered to thrive.
• Oversee compliance with healthcare regulatory standards, including Joint Commission, NFPA, ASHRAE, and local building codes, maintaining continuous readiness for all inspections.
• Develop and execute comprehensive preventative and predictive maintenance programs utilizing modern computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS).
• Coordinate with hospital leadership, clinical staff, and external contractors to plan and execute critical utility shutdowns and infrastructure upgrade projects with minimal disruption to patient care.
• Manage the operational budget for the mechanical department, tracking energy consumption, identifying cost-saving initiatives, and recommending capital improvement projects.
• Respond to emergency situations and equipment failures, leading the root-cause analysis and implementing corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

Requirements

• Minimum of 8 years of experience in facility engineering operations, with at least 5 years in a supervisory or leadership role within a hospital or healthcare facility.
• Extensive technical knowledge of commercial HVAC, high-pressure steam boilers, chiller plants, medical gas systems, and pneumatic/digital building automation systems (BAS).
• A valid high-pressure boiler operator license, universal CFC/Refrigerant recovery certification, or equivalent state or local engineering licenses.
• Proven experience navigating Joint Commission (TJC), CMS, and NFPA standards within a healthcare environment.
• Strong leadership and communication skills, with a proven ability to manage technical teams and collaborate effectively with clinical staff and hospital administrators.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Facilities Management, or a related technical field.
• Certified Healthcare Facility Manager (CHFM) or Certified Healthcare Constructor (CHC) credential.
• Experience managing large-scale mechanical infrastructure projects and capital equipment replacements within active clinical environments.
• Experience implementing sustainability and energy-reduction initiatives.
• Advanced proficiency with modern computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) and automated fault detection diagnostics.

Schedule

1st Shift (Day) - morning to afternoon hours