Building Engineer - Commercial Office

COUSINS EMPLOYEES LLC; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Cousins Properties is seeking a Building Engineer - Commercial Office to maintain and operate building systems across our Atlanta portfolio. This on-site role requires hands-on maintenance of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and life-safety systems to ensure safe, efficient operations.

Applicants should have a minimum of 6 years in building maintenance, a high school diploma or GED, and proven ability to work with heavy equipment, coordinate with internal teams, and uphold safety standards.

Qualifications

• Requires a minimum of 6 years in building maintenance or a related trade; HVAC/electrical trade background preferred.
• High school diploma or GED is required.
• Knowledgeable in safe use of ladders, lifts, hand tools, voltmeter, plumber’s helper, safety gear, and fire safety equipment.
• Experience operating chillers, boilers, switchgear, pumps, air handling units and related equipment.

Responsibilities

• Perform hands-on maintenance of building systems for safe, efficient operations.
• Repair and maintain electrical, HVAC, plumbing, life safety, and miscellaneous systems.
• Conduct preventative maintenance and monitor building energy management systems.
• Troubleshoot and repair equipment, replace components like belts, motors, valves, and actuators.
• Respond to maintenance calls and document findings; coordinate with vendors as needed.
• Maintain logs for chillers, pumps, and emergency generators; ensure regulatory compliance.

Skills

HVAC knowledge

Electrical systems

Plumbing systems

Life safety systems

Customer service

Team player

Problem solving

Education

High School Diploma or GED

Tools

Ladders

Lifts

Basic hand tools

Voltmeter

Safety goggles

Job description

Job Details: Job Location: Buckhead Plaza - Atlanta, GA, Position Type: Full Time, Salary Range: Undisclosed, About Cousins Properties:

Headquartered in Atlanta, Cousins is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT). Cousins has a simple, compelling strategy: Premier urban Sun Belt office portfolio, Disciplined about capital allocation, Best-in-class balance sheet, with Strong local operating platforms. Acting through its operating partnership, Cousins Properties LP, primarily invests in Class A office buildings located in high-growth Sun Belt markets. Cousins Properties (NYSE: CUZ) develops, owns, and manages a 20+ million square foot trophy office portfolio in the high-growth Sun Belt markets of Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Tampa, and Phoenix.

Founded in 1958, Cousins creates shareholder value through its extensive expertise in the development, acquisition, leasing, and management of high-quality real estate assets. The Company has a comprehensive strategy in place based on a simple platform, trophy assets, and opportunistic investments. For more information, please visit www.cousins.com.

Job Summary:

The Building Engineer - Commercial Office will be responsible for the hands-on maintenance of building systems for the safe, efficient, and proper operations of all assigned properties. This role will perform repairs and help in the operation, monitoring, and performance of preventative maintenance on building systems as necessary.

This position is located in Atlanta, GA. This position is on-site. This is not a remote or hybrid position.

(For Cousins' internal candidates - this is equivalent to a Grade I Engineer position.)

Responsibilities:

Electrical Systems

• Possess an understanding of A.C. circuits and safety procedures
• Trouble-shoot and find short circuits or ground in single or three-phase A.C. circuits
• Replace outlets, switches, lighting ballasts, circuit breakers and motor control starters

HVAC Systems

• Conduct preventative maintenance of air handling units
• Respond to HVAC calls and make repairs or adjustments as needed
• Test and adjust chemical treatment levels in water system
• Perform daily inspections on chillers. Make adjustments as necessary. Record findings in the chiller log.
• Replace belts, motors, bearings, actuators, and valves on air handling units and cooling towers
• Adjust pneumatic or direct digital control (DDC) controllers and actuators for proper operation
• Adjust set points, start-up and temperature on building energy management system
• Trouble-shoot power induction units (PIU) or Fan Powered Terminal Units (FPIU) to determine if operating properly
• Trouble-shoot, adjust, and balance pumping system

Plumbing Systems

• Possess an understanding of the plumbing systems
• Rebuild and repair flush valves and faucets.
• Responsible for the replacement of wax bowel seal, remounting of toilet urinals and lavatories.
• Responsible for the preventative maintenance of a systems pump.
• Adjust and service pressure-reducing valves

Life Safety Systems

• Possess an understanding of the operation of the property’s life safety systems
• Identify and respond to fire alarm and trouble calls. Properly enable and disable points.
• Conduct a weekly inspection of Emergency Generator and Fire Pump and record results in log. Make recommendations for outside service as appropriate.

Miscellaneous Systems

• Repair and replace door closures, door hardware and door operators
• Adjust and repair security systems
• Possess an understanding of mechanical drawings and wiring diagrams

The above statements are intended only to describe the general nature of the job and should not be construed as an all-inclusive list of position responsibilities.

Qualifications: Required or Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• A minimum of 6 years of experience in the building maintenance industry and/or a certified and credited trade school degree in HVAC, electronic, or other industry related trade preferred
• High School Diploma or GED required
• Must be knowledgeable in the safe and proper use of the following tools: ladders, lifts, basic hand tools, voltmeter, manual drain auger, plumber’s helper, safety goggles, ear protection, and fire extinguisher
• Extensive knowledge in Chiller and Boiler operations is required. Must be able to operate heavy equipment such as chillers, generators, switchgear, pumps, air handling units etc.
• Must have excellent organizational and problem-solving skills
• Must possess excellent customer service skills
• Must be a team player, able to work outside the core business hours when needed and willing to accept a variety of tasks associated with this position.
• Must possess strong interpersonal skills and an ability to work and communicate effectively with all levels of operations.
• Must be a self-starter and able to work well with minimal supervision.
• Must be able to speak, read, write, and understand the primary language(s) used in the workplace.
• Must be available for overtime and/or on call outside your normal working hours.
• Responsiveness – Need to perform responsibilities with an acute sense of urgency to meet the needs of others; respond to solve problems; willing to accept a variety of tasks associated with this position
• Integrity - Demonstrate sound business ethics; consistently comply with organizational values; protect confidential information
• Customer Service – Demonstrate optimum customer service delivery while performing all job functions
• Communication - Able to clearly express ideas; present verbal information in a straightforward manner; ask questions in order to open channels of communication; listen to understand perspective of others

Physical Demands:

• Must be able to stand and exert well-paced mobility for up to 4 hours in length
• Must be able to bend, stoop, squat, and stretch to fulfill cleaning and repair/maintenance tasks
• Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs. on a regular and continuing basis
• Requires grasping, writing, standing, sitting, walking, repetitive motions, bending, climbing, handling objects, reaching with hands and arms, talking, listening and hearing ability, and visual acuity

Cousins is an equal opportunity employer where employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications, and aptitude. The Company does not discriminate in employment opportunities or employment practices on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, age, genetic information, or any other class or characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

Agency and Recruiter Submissions

Cousins Properties ("Cousins") does not accept unsolicited resumes from agencies, search firms, or third-party recruiters. Any unsolicited resume submitted to Cousins, including resumes submitted directly to hiring managers or other employees, through email, mail, LinkedIn, or via any online application system, will be deemed to have been submitted without any expectation of compensation. Cousins will not pay any fee in connection with a candidate whose resume was submitted on an unsolicited basis. If an agency, search firm, or recruiter submits a candidate without a fully executed written agreement and a written engagement from Cousins for the specific position at issue, Cousins reserves the right to pursue the candidate and hire the candidate without any financial obligation to the submitting party. Any such candidate will be deemed to have been referred to Cousins free of any fee obligation. This includes any agency, search firm, or recruiter that is an approved/engaged vendor but does not have the appropriate approvals to be engaged on a search.