Building Engineer I/II/III

City of Alexandria; Alexandria (VA); On-site; USD 48,000 - 103,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Alexandria is seeking a Building Engineer I/II/III to perform maintenance and repairs across city facilities, covering HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. The role involves building automation systems, boilers, chillers, and emergency backup generators.

Ideal candidates will have relevant licenses and experience, with placement at level I, II, or III based on qualifications. Evening and weekend on-call work is required.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or GED with building trades or technical maintenance courses, or equivalent.
• 1+ year of operation/maintenance of boilers, HVAC, electrical, mechanical or plumbing systems; valid driver’s license.
• HVAC, Electrical, or Plumbing Journeyman License; five years of relevant maintenance experience; universal CFC license and low‑pressure boiler certification.
• HVAC/Electrical/Plumbing Master license; 3 years journey-level experience; 2 of 4 certifications: Air Balancing, Hydraulic Balancing, Indoor Air Quality, Backflow.

Responsibilities

• Perform preventive maintenance, monitor, repair and replace controls for major/minor HVAC equipment and belts or filters.
• Check gauges and ensure boilers and air conditioners operate properly.
• Calibrate and maintain control systems; test boiler burners for efficiency and adjust as needed.
• Monitor BAS/BMS; log operations and temperature readings.
• Repair and replace plumbing parts and fixtures; clear drains.
• Access work order system and communicate with vendors; input data.
• Read drawings/blueprints to locate equipment and identify problems.
• Respond to on-call after-hours emergency repairs.

Skills

HVAC

Electrical

Plumbing

Building automation

Education

High School Diploma or GED

HVAC Journeyman License

Master license

Job description

Building Engineer I/II/III

The City of Alexandria is located in northern Virginia and is bordered by the District of Columbia (Potomac River), Arlington and Fairfax counties. With a population of approximately 150,000 and a land area of 15.75 square miles, Alexandria is the seventh largest city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Alexandria has a charming waterfront and is a unique and historic place to live and work. About one-quarter of the City's square miles have been designated as a national or local historic district. We proudly embrace our rich history and seize the endless opportunities that lie ahead. If you are interested in working for the vibrant City of Alexandria, we invite qualified candidates to apply for our Building Engineer position.

An Overview

Under general supervision, the Building Engineer is assigned and performs full performance or journey level skilled maintenance repairs and preventative maintenance in HVAC, plumbing, and/or electrical work as a licensed journeyman. The purpose of this work is to ensure maximum efficiency, economy and quality of work on the City's buildings. The Building Engineer performs full performance work on building systems including but not limited to building automation systems, HVAC (including boilers, chillers, cooling towers, VAVs etc.), fire protection equipment, emergency generator back-up systems, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, roof and other structural and non-structural building systems.

What You Should Bring

The ideal candidate should have a broad base of knowledge, skill, and ability in various maintenance and repair disciplines. Must also possess the skill and ability to operate the tools and equipment associated with these functions.

The Opportunity – Examples of Work

• Perform preventive maintenance, monitor, repair and replace controls for major/minor HVAC equipment to include VDF drives, pneumatic and digital thermostats, and replaces consumable parts on major/minor HVAC equipment to include belts, filters, pumps, bearings and couplings.


• Check gauges regularly to assure that boilers and air conditioners are operating properly and performs adjustments and repairs.


• Calibrate and maintain control systems; make combustion efficiency tests on boilers and adjust burners to give optimum performance.


• Monitor computer information regarding HVAC equipment and respond as required and maintain logs of operations and temperature readings.


• Repair and replace plumbing parts and fixtures to include supply lines, sloan valves, faucets and O-rings; and clear out large and small drain lines.


• Access work order maintenance system in order to determine what needs maintenance, perform administrative duties including answering emails, inputting information into City works system and communicating with vendors.


• Read building drawings and blueprints to locate equipment and identify sources of problems.


• Access BAS system to clear alarms, alter building schedules, and identify equipment that needs repairs or maintenance.


• Respond to after-hours emergency repair calls when serving in an on-call capacity.


• Perform other duties as required.

About the Department

The Department of General Services mission is to provide exceptional management of the City's real estate, property and other support services for all our customers, internal and external. The Department of General Services staff strives to provide our customers with unmatched services by proactively managing the City's assets to support the delivery of services to the City of Alexandria, responding to service requests in a timely manner, listening to our customers, and ensuring that our customers are satisfied with the resolution.

The minimum qualifications listed below are written at each level. You must meet the minimum requirements for the level you are applying for to be considered.

Building Engineer I

High School Diploma or GED supplemented by building trades or technical maintenance courses, and one year of experience in the operation and maintenance of boilers, air conditioning, refrigeration, electrical, mechanical or plumbing systems; or any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities. Must possess a valid driver's license from state of residence.

Building Engineer II

High School Diploma or GED, HVAC, Electrical, or Plumbing Journeyman's License Five years of work experience repairing and maintaining HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems in commercial buildings, experience using and operating automated building systems, experience servicing boilers, possession of Universal CFC Recovery License and Low-Pressure Boiler Certification. Must possess a valid driver's license from state of residence.

Building Engineer III

High School Diploma or GED, HVAC, Electrical, or Plumbing Master license, Three years of journey level work experience and two of the four certifications: (1) Air Balancing Certification, (2) Hydraulic Balancing Certification, (3) Indoor Air Quality Certification, and/or (4) Backflow Certification. Must possess a valid driver's license from state of residence.

The ideal candidate will possess plus significant experience, in more than one of the following areas: plumbing, electrical, generator and/or general mechanical repairs. Working knowledge for the operation of boilers, HVAC equipment, other auxiliary equipment and controls, demonstrate means, methods and practices used in maintaining boilers, air conditioning, electrical, mechanical and plumbing equipment, be aware of hazards and safety precautions particular to the trade. Ability to understand, operate, and troubleshoot Building Automated Systems (B.A.S.), Energy Management Systems (E.M.S.) and other computer-based control and monitoring systems in buildings. Ability to identify problems in the system to ensure early detection of breakdowns is also preferred.

This position requires the successful completion of pre-employment background checks including but not limited to drug testing and criminal background.

The Department of General Services (DGS) is a first response department and as such all DGS employees are deemed essential or emergency personnel and may be required to report to work when the City government is open with liberal leave or closed during emergencies.

Outside of general business hours the Building Engineer will be required to work evening and weekend hours on a rotational basis.

The Building Engineer job class is part of a career ladder program, this position may be filled at either the Building Engineer I, II or III level depending on education and experience.

Building Engineer I Salary: $48,191.26 - $84,805.24 Annually

Building Engineer II Salary: $53,148.68 - $93,528.76 Annually

Building Engineer III Salary: $58,597.76 - $103,119.64 Annually