Corporate Chief Engineer

HMP Properties, LLC; South Carolina; On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

HMP Properties, LLC seeks a Corporate Chief Engineer to lead engineering across its hotel portfolio. This hands-on role demands high-level technical leadership, coaching, and proactive maintenance to protect asset condition and reduce external fixes.

You will guide property teams, oversee major repairs, and drive standards, training, and safety across multiple properties while partnering with executive leadership on capital plans.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of progressive hotel, commercial building, facilities, or engineering experience preferred.
• Significant hands-on technical experience required.
• Multi-property or regional engineering experience strongly preferred.
• Advanced working knowledge of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, building, and life-safety systems.
• Must possess the technical knowledge and troubleshooting ability necessary to coach and support experienced property-level maintenance personnel.
• Hotel engineering experience strongly preferred.
• Experience managing major repairs, capital projects, contractors, and renovations.
• Experience with Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Choice and/or IHG brands preferred.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills.
• Appropriate technical licenses and certifications preferred.
• Strong leadership, communication, financial, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide advanced troubleshooting guidance to property maintenance teams.
• Coach teams to diagnose and repair issues, not just identify problems.
• Develop and monitor preventative maintenance standards across the portfolio.
• Identify deferred maintenance and develop corrective action plans.
• Coordinate contractors and subcontractors as needed.
• Develop and maintain relationships with qualified contractors and service providers.
• Communicate significant engineering risks and capital needs to the COO.
• Strengthen internal maintenance capabilities to reduce outsourcing.
• Evaluate repair-versus-replace decisions based on cost, age, reliability and value.

Job description

Position Summary

The Corporate Chief Engineer serves as the senior technical and engineering leader for HMP Properties, responsible for supporting maintenance operations across the hotel portfolio. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this position is expected to possess a higher level of technical knowledge and troubleshooting expertise than the property-level maintenance teams and serve as their primary resource for complex repairs, diagnostics, preventative maintenance, and building systems. This is a hands-on, field-based leadership position focused on developing stronger maintenance teams, reducing unnecessary outside repairs, preventing major equipment failures, and protecting the long-term condition and value of HMP assets.

Engineering Leadership

• Serve as HMP's senior technical resource for hotel engineering and maintenance.
• Provide hands-on guidance and advanced troubleshooting support to property maintenance teams.
• Coach teams on how to properly diagnose and repair issues, not simply identify problems or outsource them.
• Conduct regular property inspections and engineering reviews.
• Evaluate property-level maintenance capabilities and identify training needs.
• Establish consistent engineering and maintenance standards throughout the portfolio.
• Assist with recruiting and evaluating maintenance leadership when needed.

Technical & Preventative Maintenance

• Provide advanced support with HVAC, boilers, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, pool, kitchen, laundry, building and life-safety systems.
• Identify root causes of recurring maintenance problems and establish permanent solutions.
• Develop and monitor preventative maintenance standards throughout the portfolio.
• Ensure preventative maintenance is being completed correctly, not simply documented as complete.
• Identify deferred maintenance and develop prioritized corrective action plans.
• Monitor the condition and useful life of major equipment.
• Identify potential failures before they become emergencies or significant capital expenses.
• Determine when repairs can appropriately be completed internally and when licensed or specialized contractors are necessary.

Training & Team Development

• Develop the technical capabilities of property-level maintenance teams.
• Provide hands-on training during hotel visits.
• Teach proper troubleshooting, repair, and preventative maintenance techniques.
• Develop standards, checklists, and troubleshooting procedures.
• Share engineering best practices across the portfolio.
• Help create maintenance teams that are increasingly knowledgeable, capable, and self-sufficient.
• Success is measured not only by what the Corporate Chief Engineer personally fixes, but by how much stronger HMP's property maintenance teams become through their leadership.

Capital Projects & Major Repairs

• Provide technical leadership for major repairs and capital projects.
• Develop and review scopes of work.
• Obtain and evaluate competitive bids.
• Review contractor recommendations, pricing, and proposed solutions.
• Coordinate contractors and subcontractors as needed.
• Monitor project quality, budgets, schedules, and completion.
• Verify work is completed properly before project closeout.
• Assist with renovations, acquisitions, hotel transitions, conversions, and special projects.
• Communicate significant engineering risks and capital needs to the COO.
• Develop and maintain relationships with qualified contractors and service providers.
• Evaluate vendor pricing, workmanship, responsiveness, and reliability.
• Reduce unnecessary outsourcing by strengthening internal maintenance capabilities.
• Challenge contractor recommendations or excessive repair costs when appropriate.
• Evaluate repair-versus-replace decisions based on cost, equipment age, reliability, and long-term value.
• Identify opportunities for portfolio-wide vendor agreements and cost savings.
• Assist hotels with annual repair, maintenance, and capital budgets.

Safety & Compliance

• Ensure engineering operations comply with HMP policies, brand standards, applicable codes, and safety requirements.
• Monitor fire and life-safety systems and required inspections.
• Identify and immediately elevate significant safety, building, or equipment concerns.
• Assist with brand, insurance, governmental, and other property inspections.
• Ensure engineering-related corrective actions are completed within established timelines.

Qualifications

• 7-10 years of progressive hotel, commercial building, facilities, or engineering experience preferred.
• Significant hands-on technical experience required.
• Multi-property or regional engineering experience strongly preferred.
• Advanced working knowledge of HVAC, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, building, and life-safety systems.
• Must possess the technical knowledge and troubleshooting ability necessary to coach and support experienced property-level maintenance personnel.
• Hotel engineering experience strongly preferred.
• Experience managing major repairs, capital projects, contractors, and renovations.
• Experience with Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Choice and/or IHG brands preferred.
• Strong troubleshooting and root-cause analysis skills.
• Appropriate technical licenses and certifications preferred.
• Strong leadership, communication, financial, and organizational skills.

Decision-Making Authority

• Establish portfolio engineering standards and action plans.
• Provide technical direction to property maintenance teams.
• Recommend repair methods and technical solutions.
• Recommend whether work should be completed internally or outsourced.
• Recommend repair-versus-replace decisions.
• Review major repair proposals and contractor recommendations.Recommend capital expenditures and property improvement priorities.
• Require corrective action for significant maintenance, property condition, or safety concerns.
• Escalate urgent engineering and life-safety concerns directly to the COO.

Executive Competencies

• Advanced Technical Expertise
• Hands-On Leadership
• Troubleshooting & Problem Solving
• Coaching & Development
• Preventative Thinking
• Accountability
• Financial Acumen
• Project Management
• Communication
• Sense of Urgency

Key Performance Indicators

• Property Condition
• Preventative Maintenance Quality & Completion
• Reduction in Emergency and Repeat Repairs
• Property Maintenance Team Development
• Reduction in Unnecessary Outsourced Repairs
• Repair & Maintenance Expense Management
• Capital Project Performance
• Equipment Reliability
• Brand & QA Engineering Compliance
• Life-Safety Compliance

Travel Requirements

This is primarily a field-based corporate position.

• Approximately 80% of working time will be spent at HMP Properties hotels.
• Approximately 20% will be spent at the corporate office for planning, reporting, budgeting, meetings, and administrative responsibilities.
• Frequent travel throughout HMP's hotel portfolio is required.
• Flexibility is required based on property needs, projects, inspections, and significant emergencies.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to conduct comprehensive hotel and building inspections.
• Ability to access mechanical rooms, roofs, equipment areas, and other building spaces.
• Ability to climb stairs and ladders and physically inspect building systems and equipment.
• Ability to provide hands-on demonstrations and troubleshooting assistance.
• Ability to work flexible hours when operational needs require.

The Corporate Chief Engineer is expected to be highly visible in the hotels, working alongside General Managers and property maintenance teams to inspect, troubleshoot, teach, coach, and ensure HMP engineering standards are consistently maintained.

This individual must be equally comfortable working alongside a maintenance technician to diagnose a problem, reviewing a contractor proposal, inspecting a property, and discussing major capital needs with executive leadership.

Why HMP Properties

At HMP Properties, engineering is about more than fixing something when it breaks. It is about preventing problems, developing knowledgeable maintenance teams, controlling unnecessary expenses, and protecting our assets.

The Corporate Chief Engineer is the technical leader and resource behind our property teams — the person they turn to when they need a higher level of knowledge, troubleshooting, and direction.

The expectation is simple: teach our teams, fix things correctly, prevent tomorrow's problems, protect our investment, and never lower the standard.