Chief Engineer

Cushman & Wakefield; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 119,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision plan

Dental insurance

FSAs

HSAs

Retirement plan

Life insurance

Disability insurance

Paid time off

Job summary

Cushman & Wakefield seeks a Chief Engineer to lead the safe, reliable operation of mission-critical data center infrastructure in a 24/7 environment. You will manage electrical, mechanical, cooling, monitoring, and life-safety systems and drive continuous improvement for uptime and resiliency.

Responsibilities include supervising a multidisciplinary team, coordinating with vendors, enforcing safety protocols, and shaping procedures and capacity planning.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in critical facilities or data centers.
• 3–5 years of supervisory leadership.
• Experience with UPS, generators, switchgear, PDUs, HVAC.
• Experience with BMS/EPMS/DCIM monitoring.
• Ability to read electrical diagrams and specs.
• Experience with commissioning and turnover activities.
• Familiar with NFPA/NEC/OSHA standards.
• Willingness for on-call rotations.
• Certifications such as CDCP, DCEP, OSHA preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations and maintenance of mission-critical infrastructure.
• Ensure high availability and minimize downtime through monitoring and maintenance.
• Supervise multidisciplinary technical team for 24/7 operations.
• Monitor alarms from BMS/EPMS/DCIM; lead root-cause analyses.
• Develop and enforce SOPs, SOPs, EOPs, and change control.
• Oversee vendor and contractor activities in critical environments.
• Promote safety, lockout/tagout, electrical and arc-flash protocols.
• Support capacity planning and infrastructure upgrades.
• Maintain accurate documentation and change logs.
• Support commissioning and turnover of new systems.
• Identify continuous improvement for reliability and risk reduction.

Skills

BMS/EPMS/DCIM

Electrical systems

Mechanical systems

Leadership

Troubleshooting

On-call

Reading schematics

Job description

Job Description Summary

The Chief Engineer is responsible for leading the safe, reliable, and efficient operation of mission-critical data center infrastructure. This role oversees maintenance, operations, vendor activity, and infrastructure projects across electrical, mechanical, cooling, monitoring, and life-safety systems to support maximum uptime, operational resiliency, and compliance with applicable data center standards.

Job Title

Chief Engineer

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Lead daily operations and maintenance of mission-critical infrastructure, including UPS systems, generators, switchgear, PDUs, CRAC/CRAH units, BMS, EPMS, and DCIM platforms.
• Ensure high availability and minimize downtime through proactive monitoring, preventive maintenance, incident response, and continuous risk reduction.
• Supervise, coach, and coordinate a multidisciplinary technical team supporting 24/7 data center operations.
• Monitor and respond to alarms from BMS, EPMS, and DCIM systems; lead troubleshooting, escalation, and root cause analysis for critical incidents.
• Develop, maintain, and enforce standard operating procedures, methods of procedure, emergency operating procedures, and change management practices.
• Oversee vendor and contractor activities, including maintenance, testing, construction, commissioning, and turnover work within the critical environment.
• Promote and enforce compliance with safety requirements and critical environment protocols, including lockout/tagout, electrical safety, arc flash safety, and site access procedures.
• Support capacity planning, infrastructure upgrades, equipment lifecycle planning, and expansion projects in coordination with operations, engineering, and project teams.
• Maintain accurate documentation, including shift logs, maintenance records, incident reports, asset information, and operating procedures.
• Support commissioning, QA/QC, and turnover of new or modified systems to ensure alignment with design intent, operational requirements, and site standards.
• Identify and implement continuous improvement initiatives that enhance reliability, operational efficiency, safety, and risk mitigation.

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years of experience in critical facilities, data center engineering, or comparable mission-critical environments.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of supervisory or leadership experience managing technical or facilities teams.
• Strong working knowledge of data center electrical and mechanical systems, including UPS systems, generators, switchgear, PDUs, HVAC, cooling systems, and fire/life safety systems.
• Hands-on experience with BMS, EPMS, DCIM, or similar monitoring and control platforms.
• Ability to read and interpret electrical one-lines, schematics, sequence of operations, construction drawings, and technical documentation.
• Experience supporting commissioning, QA/QC, MEP coordination, and turnover activities for new or modified infrastructure.
• Familiarity with applicable standards and regulatory requirements, including Uptime Institute guidance, NFPA, NEC, OSHA, and site-specific safety requirements.
• Demonstrated troubleshooting, decision-making, problem-solving, and incident management skills in high-pressure operating environments.
• Ability to participate in on-call rotations and respond to critical incidents as required by site operations.
• Relevant certifications preferred, such as CDCP, DCEP, OSHA, electrical safety, or equivalent critical facilities credentials.

Additional Information

Cushman & Wakefield also provides eligible employees with an opportunity to enroll in a variety of benefit programs, generally including health, vision, and dental insurance, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life, and disability insurance programs, and paid and unpaid time away from work. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, Cushman and Wakefield provide eligible employees with competitive pay, which may vary depending on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, total hours worked, job type, business line, and applicability of collective bargaining agreements.

The compensation that will be offered to the successful candidate will depend on factors such as whether the position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the geographic area in which the work will be performed, market pay rates in that area, and the candidate’s experience and qualifications.

C&W Services is an Equal Opportunity employer to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.

AAP/EEO STATEMENT

C&W provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by state, federal, or local law. Further, the company takes affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and employees during employment are treated without regard to any of these characteristics. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.

Other Duties

This job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive list of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), if you have a disability and would like to request an accommodation in order to apply for a position atC&W Services, please call the ADA line at 1-888-365-5406 or email [e-mail]. Please refer to the job title and job location when you contact us.

The company will not pay less than minimum wage for this role.

The compensation for the position is: $ 119,000.00 - $140,000.00

Cushman & Wakefield is an Equal Opportunity employer to all protected groups, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Discrimination of any type will not be tolerated.