Commissioning Manager North America

AB Energy USA; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Values-driven environment

Structured onboarding

Career development

Job rotation

International mobility

Employee well-being

Job summary

AB Energy USA is seeking a Commissioning Manager to lead end-to-end commissioning for CHP and industrial energy projects in a senior leadership role. The position focuses on strategic planning, organizational development, and scalable commissioning processes across multiple sites.

The role requires building a capable commissioning organization, defining standards, and ensuring safe, efficient startup, testing, and handover to customers.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical, Electrical, or Energy Engineering.
• 10+ years of commissioning, start-up, operations, or project execution experience.
• Experience leading commissioning for complex industrial plants and power projects.
• Leadership to manage multidisciplinary field teams across locations.

Responsibilities

• Establish and lead the Commissioning Department within AB Energy USA.
• Recruit, develop, and manage commissioning engineers and field specialists.
• Define roles, competency frameworks, and career paths.
• Develop commissioning strategies aligned with growth objectives and EPC needs.
• Implement standardized processes, checklists, reporting systems, and governance models.
• Lead end-to-end commissioning from mechanical completion to handover.
• Coordinate pre-commissioning, start-up, testing, and handover phases.
• Drive readiness reviews and risk assessments.
• Ensure safety, quality, and regulatory compliance.

Skills

Leadership

Commissioning

Project management

Industrial energy

CHP

Power generation

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Energy Engineering, or related technical discipline

Job description

WHY YOU WOULD CHOOSE AB In AB we work in a multicultural context with over 1,500 employees in offices in 22 countries around the world between Europe, North America and South America. Our commitment is to continue to look for a better way to write our future in an even more sustainable way, involving all our partners and starting from the desire to establish a relationship with the candidate that respects diversity, equity, through a recruiting process free from prejudice and discrimination.

WHY YOU WOULD CHOOSE AB In AB we work in a multicultural context with over 1,500 employees in offices in 22 countries around the world between Europe, North America and South America. Our commitment is to continue to look for a better way to write our future in an even more sustainable way, involving all our partners and starting from the desire to establish a relationship with the candidate that respects diversity, equity, through a recruiting process free from prejudice and discrimination. Sustainability is not only our core business but also our way of working. We have technologies and software that allow us to optimize the time and effort of the selection process by allowing the constant updating of applications and that improve the "candidate experience", a process of mutual knowledge in which the candidate expresses his or her professional and personal ambitions that the Talent Acquisition experts match with the company's professional opportunities, to immediately establish a transparent relationship of comparison and orientation.

YOUR CHALLENGES

Location

Project Sites (US) + local office support

Employment Type

Full-time | Site-based (≥50% on site)

Reports To

• Operational: Construction Manager North America
• Functional: Extra EU Logistics Coordinator

ROLE PURPOSE

The Commissioning Manager is a senior leadership position responsible for the end-to-end management of commissioning activities across AB Energy USA's portfolio of CHP and industrial energy projects.

The role encompasses the strategic planning, organization, execution, and continuous improvement of all commissioning operations, ensuring projects are safely started, fully tested, optimized, and successfully handed over to customers.

Beyond project execution, the Commissioning Manager will play a key role in building and developing a scalable commissioning organization, establishing procedures, methodologies, resource planning models, technical standards, and performance metrics to support the company's long-term growth.

This position requires a unique combination of technical expertise, operational leadership, organizational development, and customer-facing capabilities.

Key responsibilities:

Commissioning Leadership & Organizational Development

• Support the Construction Manager to establish, structure, and lead the Commissioning Department within AB Energy USA.
• Recruit, develop, mentor, and manage commissioning engineers, technicians, and field specialists.
• Define organizational roles, responsibilities, competency frameworks, and career development paths.
• Develop commissioning strategies aligned with business growth objectives and EPC execution needs.
• Implement standardized processes, procedures, checklists, reporting systems, and commissioning governance models.
• Build a culture of technical excellence, accountability, safety, and continuous improvement.

Resource Planning & Operational Management

• Develop short-, medium, and long-term commissioning resource plans, to be validated with the Construction Manager.
• Forecast manpower requirements, technical competencies, vehicle fleets, tools, instrumentation, and training needs.
• Manage department budgets, operational expenditures, and investments.
• Ensure efficient allocation of resources across multiple simultaneous projects.
• Monitor departmental KPIs, productivity, utilization, and performance metrics, reporting to the Construction Manager.

End-to-End Commissioning Management

• Lead commissioning activities from mechanical completion through final customer acceptance, in coordination and reporting to the PM of the project.
• Coordinate pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up, performance testing, and handover phases.
• Ensure commissioning execution is aligned with engineering, procurement, construction, and project schedules defined by the PM.
• Drive commissioning readiness reviews and project risk assessments.
• Lead troubleshooting and resolution of technical issues during start-up and testing phases.
• Ensure successful achievement of contractual performance guarantees and project acceptance criteria.

CHP & Industrial Energy Systems Commissioning

• Oversee commissioning of:
• CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plants
• Natural gas and biogas power generation systems
• Heat recovery systems
• Electrical generation and synchronization systems
• Biomethane upgrading units (RNG)
• Gas treatment and conditioning systems
• Industrial utility systems
• Process and energy efficiency applications
• Control and automation systems
• Validate mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, and control installations.
• Coordinate system integration activities and performance optimization.

Stakeholder & Customer Management

• Serve as the primary commissioning representative during start-up and handover phases, in coordination with the PM of the project.
• Manage relationships with project teams, vendors, OEMs, subcontractors, and consultants.
• Lead escalation management and critical issue resolution.
• Support commercial, contract, and warranty-related discussions when required.
• Build customer confidence through professional and proactive project execution.

Safety, Quality & Compliance

• Champion a strong safety culture across all commissioning activities.
• Ensure compliance with company policies, HSE requirements, regulatory standards, and industry best practices.
• Implement and monitor commissioning quality plans and inspection protocols.
• Lead lessons learned initiatives and continuous improvement programs.

WHY WE WOULD CHOOSE YOU

• Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Energy Engineering, or related technical discipline
• 10+ years of experience in commissioning, start-up, operations, or project execution within industrial or energy sectors
• Proven experience leading commissioning activities for complex industrial plants and power generation projects
• Demonstrated experience managing multidisciplinary field teams across multiple project locations
• Experience in CHP, distributed generation, power plants, biogas, or industrial energy applications strongly preferred
• Experience within EPC project environments highly desirable
• Strong leadership, coordination, and project execution skills
• Ability to work effectively in dynamic, site-driven environments

What We Offer

• Values-driven and inclusive environment: A workplace built on clear values, transparency, respect, and inclusion, fostering collaboration and open dialogue
• Structured onboarding and mentorship: A dedicated induction program combined with support from experienced professionals to ensure an effective and well-supported integration
• Professional development and growth: Clearly defined career paths supported by annual performance reviews, continuous feedback, and training opportunities in a context that values individual potential and continuous learning
• Job rotation and knowledge sharing: The opportunity over time to explore different roles or projects, fostering the development of cross-functional skills, a broad business perspective, and dynamic career paths
• International environment and mobility: An international organization offering opportunities for multicultural collaboration and, for those interested, international mobility paths over time
• Focus on employee well-being: A company that actively invests in employee well being through Workplace Health Promotion initiatives aimed at promoting balance, health, and quality of working life

Thanks for your application

You will be contacted by our Talent Acquisition/ HR Team for further details if your application is aligned to the desired position