Campus Central Plant Lead – 24/7 Operations

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is seeking a Central Plant Manager (Inst) responsible for overseeing the Kenwood Campus central heating and cooling plant and six satellite sites. The role includes strategic and daily operations, staff supervision, and cross‑agency coordination.

The successful candidate will manage high‑pressure boilers, chillers, PLC control systems, and energy optimization initiatives while ensuring compliance and safety in a complex university utility environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum of five years of utility or plant utilities system leadership experience.
• Minimum of five years of work experience operating and maintaining plant utilities production systems.
• Experience with engineering plans and specifications.
• Experience with budgeting in operations environments.
• Experience with PLC-based control systems and related equipment.

Responsibilities

• Confers with plant staff to establish steam, production, and chilling priorities; discusses equipment availability and scheduling.
• Oversees maintenance and capital projects in progress.
• Develops startup and commissioning activities.
• Implements policies to ensure safe, reliable, and efficient plant use.
• Supervises at least 2.0 FTE employees.

Skills

Utilities leadership

Plant operations

Engineering plans

Budget management

PLC control systems

Education

Bachelor of Science in Engineering or related field

Tools

None

Job description

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is seeking a Central Plant Manager (Inst) responsible for overseeing the Kenwood Campus central heating and cooling plant and six satellite sites. The role includes strategic and daily operations, staff supervision, and cross‑agency coordination.

The successful candidate will manage high‑pressure boilers, chillers, PLC control systems, and energy optimization initiatives while ensuring compliance and safety in a complex university utility environment.