Senior Mechanical Engineer

About the Job

The University of Minnesota’s FM Energy Management department oversees the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of mechanical, electrical and civil utilities in over 250 complex buildings on the Twin Cities campus.

Home to the University’s technical and professional staff, the group maintains the campus utility infrastructure including extensive steam and chilled water based district energy production and distribution systems and provides technical expertise and support across the U of M system of campuses and research outreach centers.

More about us: https://facilities.umn.edu/our-services/energy-management/energy-management

Position Responsibilities

• Support both internal and external staff and trades for heating, cooling, and cogeneration plant operations and maintenance including troubleshooting and root cause analysis.
• Provide advanced technical support, diagnostics, and troubleshooting to trades, mechanics, operators and technicians responsible for the operation, repair, and maintenance of central utility distribution infrastructure and complex facility process and HVAC systems.
• Investigate complex field problems from an applied engineering perspective and independently develop sustainable engineering solutions.
• Review, modify, or develop, implement, and train comprehensive maintenance requirements for district energy mechanical systems and equipment, incorporating modern procedures and technologies for preventative (PM), predictive (PdM), and reliability (RCM)-based maintenance.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives for campus operations, equipment reliability, redundancy requirements, and energy efficiency using campus data and business tools.
• Conduct field surveys, evaluate existing conditions, and document performance and reliability trends. Support circular maintenance improvement programs.
• Provide clear technical documentation, training, and guidance to internal staff and coordinate related diagnostic work performed by external resources.
• Design and implement facility and utility steam, condensate, heating hot water, and chilled water distribution system alterations/improvements for in-house construction projects. Prepare labor and material estimates, order equipment, support construction and commission new installations.
• Support construction activities and field questions for both internal and externally managed projects.
• Produce concepts and front end engineering and design for external consulting designs or future internal project delivery.
• Review designs and reports prepared by outside design firms to ensure conformity with University standards and operational and safety practices.
• Direct project design concerns to University leaders and/or correspond directly with project team leads.
• Inspect construction in progress for conformity to plans and specifications.
• Support the commissioning effort for utility production and distribution systems on major capital projects.
• Perform system modeling, analysis, and application review using engineering modeling tools such as PipeFlo Advantage and AutoPipe.
• Proactively investigate field problems and independently develop engineering solutions.
• Participation in keeping University construction standards up-to-date and inline with current construction methods and equipment technologies.
• Review on-going and completed projects to ensure adherence to University quality requirements.
• Represent the department at various meetings.
• Mentoring and guiding student intern(s) and junior engineer(s) across the organization in areas of specialty and experience.

Qualifications

• Graduate from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and at least six years of progressively more responsible experience in design, technical evaluation, and project review activities in systems related to district energy: steam generation, power generation, chilled water production, hot water production, complex HVAC applications and/or systems engineering.
• Self-motivated, proactive professional with the ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment.
• Career development and mentoring of junior engineers.
• Proficient developing design drawings with or without use of AutoCAD and engineering applications, with accompanying specifications for the renewal of campus energy systems and support HVAC.
• Proficient in steam and/or hydronic system design, construction, commissioning and operation and maintenance.
• Knowledge and ability to interpret and exercise reasonable judgement applying industry standards and codes to non-standard conditions.
• Highly developed written and verbal communication skills.