Chief Engineer

BARDO Hotels; Savannah (GA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

BARDO Hotels in Savannah is seeking a Chief Engineer to lead daily hotel engineering, maintenance, and life-safety operations for Hotel Bardo Savannah and the soon-to-open Recess Hotel & Club Savannah. This onsite role requires a proven track record in full-service hotel engineering leadership and hands-on management of complex building systems.

The successful candidate will supervise the engineering team, manage preventive maintenance programs, collaborate with Rooms, Housekeeping, F&B, and

Qualifications

• Five+ years of progressive hotel engineering or maintenance experience.
• At least two years in hotel engineering leadership.
• Strong knowledge of HVAC, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, building automation, life-safety, and PM systems.
• Experience leading hourly teams and managing vendors.
• Strong budgeting, purchasing, reporting, compliance tracking, documentation, and project coordination.
• Experience with CMMS or work-order systems preferred.
• Strong judgment, communication, organization, urgency, and follow-through.
• Relevant technical certifications or trade licenses preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead daily engineering, maintenance, facilities, and life-safety operations for an assigned hotel property.
• Supervise, schedule, train, and develop engineering team members.
• Oversee preventive maintenance programs for guest rooms, public spaces, kitchens, laundry, pools, equipment, and back-of-house facilities.
• Maintain HVAC, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, building automation, fire and life-safety systems.
• Manage work orders, inspections, permits, equipment records, maintenance logs, compliance documentation, and departmental reporting.
• Respond with urgency to guest-impacting issues, operational disruptions, safety concerns, and facilities-related emergencies.
• Partner with Rooms, Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Security, and hotel leadership to support daily operations and guest experience.
• Manage vendors, contractors, purchasing, inventory, and departmental expenses.
• Support capital projects, renovations, equipment replacements, and property improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with the Area Director of Engineering and engineering leadership across both Savannah properties, including providing shared support or coverage when needed.
• Ensure compliance with building codes, safety requirements, company standards, and applicable regulations.

Skills

HVAC systems

Plumbing systems

Electrical systems

Building automation

Preventive maintenance

Team leadership

Budgeting

Vendor management

Emergency response

CMMS

Tools

CMMS

Job description

About the role

LEFT LANE is seeking a Chief Engineer to support the engineering operations of its Savannah properties, Hotel Bardo Savannah and the soon-to-open Recess Hotel & Club Savannah.

Reporting to the Area Director of Engineering, the Chief Engineer will provide hands-on leadership for the daily maintenance, engineering, facilities, and life-safety needs of an assigned property while collaborating across the Savannah portfolio as operational needs arise. Property alignment will be determined based on the selected candidate’s experience, technical strengths, and the needs of the business.

This role requires an experienced full-service hotel engineering leader who can manage a team, maintain complex building systems, oversee preventive maintenance and compliance programs, and respond quickly to guest-impacting issues. The ideal candidate is highly organized, technically capable, administratively strong, and willing to work alongside the team when needed.

This is an onsite position located in Savannah, Georgia. Candidates without full-service hotel or resort engineering leadership experience will not be considered.

What you’ll do

• Lead daily engineering, maintenance, facilities, and life-safety operations for an assigned hotel property.
• Supervise, schedule, train, and develop engineering team members.
• Oversee preventive maintenance programs for guest rooms, public spaces, kitchens, laundry areas, pools, equipment, and back-of-house facilities.
• Maintain HVAC, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, building automation, fire and life-safety, and other critical hotel systems.
• Manage work orders, inspections, permits, equipment records, maintenance logs, compliance documentation, and departmental reporting.
• Respond with urgency to guest-impacting issues, operational disruptions, safety concerns, and facilities-related emergencies.
• Partner with Rooms, Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, Security, and hotel leadership to support daily operations and the guest experience.
• Manage vendors, contractors, purchasing, inventory, and departmental expenses.
• Support capital projects, renovations, equipment replacements, and property improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate with the Area Director of Engineering and engineering leadership across both Savannah properties, including providing shared support or coverage when needed.
• Ensure compliance with building codes, safety requirements, company standards, and applicable regulations.

Qualifications

• At least five years of progressive engineering or maintenance experience within a full-service hotel or resort.
• At least two years of hotel engineering leadership experience, preferably as a Chief Engineer, Assistant Chief Engineer, Assistant Director of Engineering, or comparable property leader.
• Strong knowledge of HVAC, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, building automation, life-safety, and preventive maintenance systems.
• Experience leading hourly teams, managing vendors, prioritizing work orders, and responding to hotel emergencies.
• Strong administrative skills, including budgeting, purchasing, reporting, compliance tracking, documentation, and project coordination.
• Experience with a CMMS or work-order management system preferred.
• Strong judgment, communication, organization, urgency, and follow-through.
• Relevant technical certifications or trade licenses preferred.

We do not offer sponsorship for United States employment authorization for this position. Candidates must be currently authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship.