Assistant Vice President, Mechanical Engineer - Buildings

WSP in the U.S.; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 126,000 - 187,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP is seeking an Assistant Vice President, Mechanical Engineer to lead healthcare facility projects in Cleveland, with an alternate location in Columbus. This role combines senior technical leadership with project oversight and business development to grow WSP's Healthcare practice across Ohio and the Midwest.

As a trusted advisor, you will mentor teams, manage client relationships, and guide complex HVAC, hydronic, plumbing, and central utility systems through all project phases, ensuring

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field.
• 10+ years of progressive mechanical engineering experience in building systems.
• Professional Engineer (P.E.) license in at least one U.S. jurisdiction; Ohio licensure preferred.
• Significant experience designing and overseeing healthcare mechanical systems.
• Strong understanding of HVAC, hydronic, plumbing, medical gas, building automation, central utility, and healthcare facility operations.
• Willingness to travel occasionally to client sites and projects.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership for healthcare projects across Ohio and the Midwest.
• Lead multidisciplinary project teams, QA/QC, and technical excellence initiatives.
• Mentor engineers, designers, and staff while overseeing project delivery and profitability.
• Support business development, client engagement, and strategic pursuits in healthcare.
• Collaborate with offices and leadership to expand WSP's healthcare market presence.

Skills

Healthcare leadership

Project management

Client relationship management

Mechanical engineering

Team mentoring

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering

Professional Engineer (P.E.) license

Tools

Revit

AutoCAD

Job description

This Opportunity

WSP is currently initiating a search for an Assistant Vice President, Mechanical Engineer to join our growing Property & Buildings Healthcare Team in Cleveland, Ohio, with an alternate location in Columbus, Ohio.

This opportunity is ideal for a senior mechanical engineering leader with extensive healthcare facility experience who is passionate about delivering innovative, resilient, and sustainable healthcare environments. The successful candidate will provide technical and strategic leadership, project and operational oversight, business development support, and client relationship management while helping expand WSP's Healthcare practice throughout Ohio and the broader Midwest.

As an Assistant Vice President, you will serve as a trusted advisor to healthcare clients, lead multidisciplinary project teams, mentor engineering staff, and collaborate with local, regional, and national leadership. You will oversee the delivery of complex healthcare projects while contributing to business growth, staffing strategies, client relationships, operational excellence, and market expansion.

Your Impact

Technical Leadership

• Serve as a senior mechanical engineering leader for healthcare projects across Ohio and the broader Midwest region.
• Lead the planning, design, coordination, and delivery of complex healthcare mechanical systems through all project phases.
• Function as Engineer of Record and/or Mechanical Discipline Lead on complex, multidisciplinary healthcare projects.
• Review and approve mechanical calculations, specifications, studies, and design documentation.
• Provide technical oversight for HVAC, hydronic, plumbing, medical gas, building automation, energy recovery, and central utility systems.
• Oversee construction administration activities, including submittal review, RFIs, field observations, testing and balancing coordination, commissioning support, punch lists, issue resolution, and closeout.
• Ensure compliance with healthcare design standards, industry regulations, and applicable codes.

Project & Operational Leadership

• Manage project budgets, schedules, staffing plans, deliverables, scope, fees, and quality objectives.
• Provide oversight of project execution, profitability, risk management, change management, and financial performance.
• Lead project reviews, QA/QC efforts, and technical excellence initiatives.
• Promote compliance with WSP health, safety, quality, and risk-management policies and contractual obligations.
• Support contract negotiations, scope and fee development, project delivery strategies, and corrective actions.
• Ensure successful delivery that meets client expectations, contractual obligations, and business objectives.

Client Leadership & Business Development

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with healthcare clients, architects, contractors, and strategic industry partners.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to healthcare systems and facility owners.
• Support strategic pursuits, including client engagement, capture planning, proposal development, technical narratives, interviews, presentations, scope clarification, and fee development.
• Identify cross-selling opportunities and help grow strategic client accounts.
• Collaborate with local, regional, and national leadership to expand WSP's healthcare market presence.

Talent Development

• Mentor and develop engineers, designers, and technical staff.
• Support recruiting, onboarding, retention, and succession planning initiatives.
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, accountability, and innovation.
• Provide leadership and coaching to project teams across multiple offices.
• Support employee growth through training, professional development, and career progression opportunities.

Leadership Responsibilities

• Contribute to strategic planning and healthcare market growth initiatives.
• Support office leadership, workforce planning, and operational objectives.
• Promote innovation, sustainability, resiliency, and infrastructure modernization solutions for healthcare clients.
• Champion WSP's culture, values, technical excellence, quality, and collaboration.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision‑making regarding company funds, resources, and conduct consistent with WSP policies and professional standards.

Healthcare Mechanical Engineering Focus Areas

This Role Supports Projects Involving

• Acute care hospitals
• Academic medical centers
• Children's and pediatric healthcare facilities
• Behavioral health facilities
• Cancer treatment centers
• Ambulatory care and outpatient facilities
• Surgical and procedural facilities
• Medical office buildings
• Research and laboratory facilities
• Central utility plants
• Healthcare campus infrastructure programs
• Facility modernization, expansion, resiliency, and decarbonization initiatives

Key Technical Areas Include

• Airborne infection isolation and pressure-control strategies
• Operating room and procedural-space HVAC systems
• Critical environment design
• Heating and chilled water systems
• Plumbing and medical gas systems
• Central utility and thermal plant systems
• Building automation and control systems
• Sustainability and carbon reduction initiatives
• Facility resiliency and redundancy planning
• Commissioning and turnover support

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Architectural Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 10+ years of progressive mechanical engineering experience in building systems design.
• Professional Engineer (P.E.) license in at least one U.S. jurisdiction required; Ohio licensure, or the ability to obtain it within a reasonable period after hire, is preferred.
• Significant experience designing and overseeing healthcare mechanical systems.
• Strong understanding of HVAC, hydronic, plumbing, medical gas, building automation, central utility, and healthcare facility operations.
• Working knowledge of healthcare facility requirements and applicable codes and standards, including FGI Guidelines, NFPA standards, ASHRAE healthcare applications, local authority requirements, accreditation considerations, infection‑control risk assessment considerations, and healthcare phasing strategies.
• Demonstrated success leading complex, multidisciplinary healthcare projects through all phases of delivery.
• Experience serving as a client‑facing project leader and trusted advisor.
• Strong project management, financial management, risk management, and team leadership abilities.
• Experience supervising, mentoring, and developing engineering professionals.
• Excellent verbal, written, presentation, and relationship‑building skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain client relationships.
• Working familiarity with Revit, AutoCAD, and mechanical design and analysis tools used to deliver and review building‑system designs.
• Ability to travel occasionally to client sites, WSP offices, and project locations as business needs require.

Preferred Qualifications

• LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) or comparable sustainability expertise.
• Experience delivering major hospital and academic medical center projects.
• Experience with healthcare master planning, campus infrastructure, resiliency, and facility modernization programs.
• Existing relationships with healthcare clients, architects, and contractors throughout Ohio or the Midwest.
• Proven experience supporting business development, strategic pursuits, proposal preparation, and client account growth.
• PMP certification or equivalent project management experience.
• Experience leading large, multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Active involvement in relevant professional organizations such as ASHE, ASHRAE, ASPE, or similar industry groups.

WSP Benefits

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.

Compensation

Expected Salary (all locations): $125,900 - $187,000

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

About WSP

WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world’s leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.

www.wsp.com

WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.

At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges.

WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.

The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.

Notice To Third Party Agencies

WSP does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or other staffing services. Unsolicited resumes include any resume or hiring document sent to WSP in the absence of a signed Service Agreement where WSP has expressly requested recruitment/staffing services specific to the position at hand. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers or other business leaders, will become the property of WSP and WSP will have the right to hire that candidate without reservation – no fee or other compensation will be owed or paid to the recruiter, employment agency, or other staffing service.