Lead A2A engineer

Better Planet; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Company vehicle and fuel card

Fully funded manufacturer training (Da

CPD and qualifications support

Ownership of a new business area

Job summary

Better Planet is expanding its renewable installation offering with air-to-air heat pumps. You will own and build this new service line—from system design to first installs and training engineers to certificate the team under MCS.

You’ll lead the technical development, supervise on-site work, and collaborate with existing design and operations teams to ensure rigorous standards and compliant installations.

Qualifications

• Level 3 qualification in Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps (RACHP) is a hard requirement.
• F-Gas Category I certification must be current.
• Minimum five years’ post-qualification experience installing and commissioning AC systems (VRF/VRV, multi-split).
• Demonstrable design experience – sizing and specifying systems yourself.
• Experience leading engineers on site and mentoring junior staff.
• Familiarity with Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric platforms.
• Sound electrical competence including schematics, isolation and control circuits.
• Valid UK driving licence is required.

Responsibilities

• Survey properties and design air-to-air systems (multi-split/VRF) with load calculations.
• Install and commission to manufacturer specs and F-Gas requirements; lead refrigerant work.
• Act as Technical Supervisor for air-to-air installations under MCS.
• Lead and mentor a small install team including trainees pursuing F-Gas certs.
• Develop design standards, commissioning records and quality checks for the service line.
• Advise sales/design on feasibility, noise, planning and PD constraints.

Skills

RACHP qualification level 3

F-Gas Category I

5+ years post-qualification experience

Design experience

Mentoring / leadership

Daikin / Mitsubishi Electric knowledge

Electrical competence

Full UK driving licence

Education

NVQ/SVQ or equivalent in RACHP

Job description

We're adding air-to-air heat pumps to our renewable installation offering, and we're looking for the person who will own it. It's a new service line for an established MCS-certified business, and you'd be the technical lead building it from the ground up: designing the systems, installing the first jobs, and training the engineers who follow you.

About Better Planet

We're a family business, working across domestic and commercial projects in the South East. We design and install air and ground source heat pumps, solar PV, MVHR, underfloor heating, fan coil units and battery storage - and we're MCS-certified across our renewable installations.

Air-to-air is our answer for the spaces where FCU distribution isn't practical. We're not chasing standalone air conditioning work - we're offering reversible heating and cooling as part of a properly designed low-carbon system.

The role

Twelve months in, you'll have taken us from no air-to-air capability to a working service line: our MCS certification for the technology secured on the back of your qualifications, a design process you've built, a portfolio of completed installs, and at least one other engineer trained up and working alongside you.

Responsibilities

• Survey properties and design air-to-air systems - multi-split and VRF - including load calculations, indoor unit selection and siting, pipework routing and outdoor unit placement, using manufacturer design software
• Install and commission systems to manufacturer specification and F-Gas requirements, leading on all refrigerant circuit work
• Act as our Technical Supervisor for air-to-air heat pump installations under MCS certification
• Lead and mentor a small install team, supervising trainee engineers working towards their own F-Gas certification
• Build the standards - design methodology, commissioning records, quality checks - that this service line runs on, working with our existing operations and design teams
• Advise our sales and design teams on what's feasible on a given site, including noise, planning and permitted development constraints

Qualifications

Required

• Level 3 qualification in Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps (RACHP) — NVQ/S/NVQ or equivalent. This is the qualification MCS requires of a Technical Supervisor for this technology, so it's a hard requirement for this role
• F-Gas Category I certification, current and in date
• At least 5 years' post-qualification experience installing and commissioning air conditioning systems, including VRF/VRV and multi-split
• Demonstrable design experience - you've sized and specified systems yourself, not just installed to someone else's drawings
• Experience leading engineers on site and bringing less experienced people up to standard
• Confident working across the major manufacturer platforms, particularly Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric
• Sound electrical competence - reading schematics, safe isolation, testing control circuits
• Full UK driving licence

Preferred

• Manufacturer design and commissioning training with Daikin and/or Mitsubishi Electric
• Previous experience as a nominated Technical Supervisor under MCS, or working within an MCS-certified business
• Experience with A2L refrigerants (R32, R454B) and the safe handling requirements that come with them
• Domestic retrofit experience, particularly in period or constrained properties
• Crossover knowledge of hydronic systems - air-to-water heat pumps, FCUs, underfloor heating, MVHR
• 18th Edition, CSCS card, IOSH or equivalent

The offer

• Company vehicle and fuel card
• Ongoing manufacturer training with Daikin and Mitsubishi Electric, fully funded
• Support with further qualifications and CPD
• Ownership of a new part of the business, in a company where the technical work is taken seriously and low-carbon heating is the whole point rather than a side product.