Commissioning Technician

Innovative Refrigeration Systems; Northern (KY); On-site; USD 41,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Retirement plan with 15% match

Health insurance 75% paid

Vision insurance

Weekly pay

Vacation & holidays

Disability coverage

Life insurance

Employee referral incentives

Job summary

Innovative Refrigeration Systems, Inc. is seeking a highly experienced Commissioning Technician to lead the setup, testing, and validation of ammonia refrigeration systems.

You will work across food, beverage, and industrial facilities, coordinating with engineers and technicians to ensure design compliance, safety, and successful startup. You will oversee initial commissioning of diverse equipment, train customers after commissioning, and complete project handovers with the aftermarket team.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 10+ years of industrial refrigeration experience.
• Field experience in start-ups of Carbon Dioxide cascade systems, single & multi‑stage ammonia and Freon systems.
• Universal EPA certification.
• RETA 1&2 certification.
• Commission refrigeration equipment and complete industrial/commercial systems.
• Troubleshoot mechanical, electrical, and control system issues.
• Failure analysis of mechanical parts and electrical components.
• Minimize commissioning issues and reduce start‑up delays.
• Must be willing to travel full‑time on a 10 day on 4 day off rotational schedule.
• Excellent physical condition including climbing ladders, respirator use, long workdays, heavy lifting.
• Pre‑employment drug, felony, and motor vehicle record screenings.
• Must be able to wear a respirator and pass a fit test.

Responsibilities

• Lead commissioning engineer for startup processes across various industries and facilities (500 HP to 10,000 HP).
• Manage risk when starting up plants with ammonia, CO2, and Freon equipment.
• Lead the team and ensure customer satisfaction and project success.
• Initial commissioning of compressors, condensers, pumps, chillers, and all related equipment.
• Provide training to customers post‑commissioning.
• Meet with customers to transfer plant operations to the owner and ongoing aftermarket support.

Skills

Commissioning

Field startups

Safety compliance

Education

HVAC/R or Electrical schooling preferred

Job description

At Innovative, innovation isn't just part of our name —it's the mindset that drives everything we do.We are built by people who take ownership, challenge the status quo,and create solutions that keep the world's most critical industries running.From engineering and fabrication to installation and service,our teams collaborate to solve complex challenges with creativity, precision, and purpose.We invest in people who are passionate about making an impact,fostering a culture where innovation thrives, careers grow,and great teams build extraordinary solutions together.

Details:

Salary: $30-60 per hour

Employee Type: full-time

Experience Required: 10+ Years

Education Required: HVAC/R or Electrical schooling preferred

Travel Required: Yes

Description:

Innovative Refrigeration Systems, Inc. is the leading provider of industrial refrigeration and process cooling solutions, delivering custom engineered systems utilizing natural refrigerants such as ammonia and CO₂. Through a fully integrated approach encompassing engineering, manufacturing, construction, commissioning, nationwide service, and advanced aftermarket solutions, Innovative supports customers across the food and beverage, cold storage, pharmaceutical, industrial manufacturing, and mission-critical infrastructure markets throughout North America and around the world.

Unlike traditional engineering firms, contractors, or equipment suppliers, Innovative performs engineering, manufacturing, construction, commissioning, service, and ongoing customer support entirely in-house. This integrated model provides employees the opportunity to support projects throughout the complete lifecycle, from concept and design through manufacturing, installation, startup, operation, optimization, modernization, and long‑term system support.

Job Role: A Commissioning Technician is responsible for the setup, testing, and validation of ammonia refrigeration systems. Their role is critical to ensuring that these systems are installed and operate according to design specifications and safety standards.

Key Duties:

• Lead commissioning engineer responsible for new and retrofitted industrial refrigeration systems startup process in food, beverage, general industry, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and refrigerated storage facilities ranging from 500 HP to 10,000 HP.
• Risk management for location when starting up plants with ammonia, CO2, and Freon refrigeration equipment commonly found in industrial applications.
• Demonstrate an understanding and adherence to all work safety policies, procedures, and governing requirements, ability to lead work with other engineers and technicians. Lead process and take full responsibility for the entire team’s success and customer satisfaction of each project.
• Initial commissioning of industrial screw compressors, industrial reciprocal compressors, recirculators, refrigerant pumps, chillers, evaporators, water‑cooled condensers, air‑cooled condensers, evaporative‑cooled condensers, water pumps, dispersion tanks, process‑freezers off all types, freeze dryers, plate freezers, and all customer processes attached to industrial refrigeration systems. You will work with electrical engineering teams and will be the lead engineer over entire commissioning process.
• Ability to provide training to customer of their new plant after commissioning processes are significantly completed.
• Meet with customer/owner and their team at the end of the project to successfully transfer plant operations from your control to customer/owner and transfer continued support to our in‑house aftermarket team for continued customer success with systems operations

Requirements:

• Minimum of 10+ years of industrial refrigeration experience
• Field experience in start‑ups of Carbon Dioxide cascade systems, single & multi‑stage ammonia and Freon systems
• Universal EPA certification
• RETA 1&2 certification
• Commission refrigeration equipment and complete industrial/commercial systems
• Troubleshoot mechanical, electrical, and control system issues
• Failure analysis of mechanical parts and electrical components
• Minimize commissioning Issues and reduce start‑up delays
• Must be willing to travel full‑time on a 10 day on 4 day off rotational schedule based on team needs.
• Excellent physical condition as you will be required to climb ladders, wear a respirator, work 10 to 12‑hour days, and occasional heavy lifting.
• The position requires a pre‑employment drug screening, felony screening, and motor vehicle record screening
• Must be able to wear a respirator and pass a fit test

Preferences:

• Commissioning school training from Frick/Johnson Controls, GE, Bitzer and others

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a robust benefits package:

• Retirement plan;company matches dollar for dollar up to 15%
• Health insurance;company pays 75% of the premiums for employee/family
• Vision insurance
• Weekly pay
• Competitive vacation & holiday pay
• Short‑term & long‑term disability coverage
• Accidental death/dismemberment coverage after one year of employment
• Life insurance coverage after one year of employment
• Employee referral incentives