Facilities HVAC Technician IV - Senior Lead

Firefly Aerospace, Inc.; Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

3-month sabbatical after 5 years

Medical, dental, vision, life, and dis

Mental health services

Paid military leave

12 weeks maternity leave

4 weeks spouse leave

$20k family planning support

Dog friendly workplace

$10k/year towards education

Employee ownership with stock bonuses

4% 401(k) matching

$10k home purchase assistance in Cedar

Job summary

Firefly Aerospace, Inc. is seeking a highly experienced Senior Lead HVAC Technician based at our Briggs, Texas facility.

You will lead complex troubleshooting, oversee maintenance and reliability of 5–100+ ton HVAC systems, and mentor junior technicians to ensure safe, compliant operations. The role requires EPA 608 certification, deep hands-on expertise, and the ability to coordinate with facilities leadership on reliability improvements and capital projects.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of progressive commercial or industrial HVAC experience.
• EPA Section 608 Universal Certification required.
• Demonstrated ability to lead complex troubleshooting and provide technical guidance to other technicians.
• Experience with HVAC systems 5–100+ tons and related controls.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior technical resource for complex HVAC failures.
• Provide mentoring and hands-on training to HVAC Technicians I–III.

Skills

HVAC troubleshooting

Industrial HVAC

Electrical controls

Mentoring technicians

Education

EPA 608 Certification

Tools

CMMS

Job description

At Firefly, we’re focused on making space attainable for everyone – including you! Each team member’s passion, dedication, and innovative ideas have a direct impact on fueling our successful trajectory into space. And there’s no shortage of meaningful projects to work on at Firefly. With launch, lunar, and orbital vehicles, Firefly has a diverse line of business with opportunities to get hands‑on experience launching rockets, operating in space, and landing on the Moon.

Twenty-five years later, we remember the lives ...

Twenty-five years later, we remember the lives ...

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In this Manufacturing Minute, our Tooling ...

In this Manufacturing Minute, our Tooling ...

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As we head into the holiday weekend, we’re proud ...

As we head into the holiday weekend, we’re proud ...

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What does it take to make a lander space-ready? ...

What does it take to make a lander space-ready? ...

What’s hotter than a Texas summer? Our Miranda ...

What’s hotter than a Texas summer? Our Miranda ...

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Our Values

Headquartered in the Lone Star State, Firefly’s hardworking team reflects Texas’ GO BIG culture in everything we do. We build big, achieve big, and dream big. We’re building launch vehicles and spacecraft to provide rapid, reliable space access. We’ve achieved some incredible wins, including the first successful commercial Moon landing. And we’re dreaming bigger than this planet with ambitions to Mars, Venus, and beyond. Our core values are what drive us along the way.

Passion

Fireflies believe in perseverance, responsiveness, and mentoring others with a focus on inspiring a better future.

Accountability

Fireflies act with integrity and take ownership of our actions, commitments, decisions, and outcomes.

Fireflies work in alignment across teams and communicate clearly with mutual respect for one another.

Fireflies deliver high-quality work through technical rigor and timely disciplined execution for our customers.

We take care of our Fireflies with some of the best benefits in the industry. Our mission to make space for everyone starts with our employees and allowing them to make space for their family, their career, and their future.

Space for You

• Unlimited PTO for exempt employees
• 3-month sabbatical for every 5 years of service
• Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance
• Mental health services
• Paid military leave

Space for Your Family

• 12 weeks paid maternity leave
• 4 weeks paid spouse leave
• $20k towards family planning: fertility, surrogacy, adoption
• Dog friendly workplace

Space for Your Career

• $10k/year towards trade school or college
• Ongoing coaching to advance leadership skills
• Employee-ownership with stock bonuses
• 4% Safe Harbor 401(k) matching
• $10k bonus for home purchase in Cedar Park, Texas

Job Openings

From launch technicians to propulsion engineers, Firefly has open roles across the company. We’re looking for passionate, bright innovators to join our team and help make space an achievable dream for everyone.

Firefly Aerospace is a space and defense technology company on a mission to reliably and repeatedly launch, land, and operate space systems from Earth to the Moon and beyond. As the partner of choice for critical space missions, Firefly is the first commercial company to launch a satellite to orbit with 24-hour notice and the first company to achieve a successful Moon landing. Headquartered in north Austin, Texas, Firefly is looking for passionate, hardworking innovators to join our team and help fuel our successful trajectory into space.
The Facilities HVAC Technician IV – Senior Lead is a hands‑on technical leadership role responsible for the reliability, troubleshooting, maintenance, commissioning, and continuous improvement of mission‑critical HVAC and mechanical systems across Firefly’s Texas facilities.
This position serves as the senior technical escalation point for complex HVAC, refrigeration, controls, BAS, and environmental system issues. The Technician IV provides technical guidance and mentorship to HVAC Technicians I–III, leads complex troubleshooting and root cause corrective actions, and supports maintenance, reliability, projects, commissioning, and contractor oversight.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior technical resource for complex HVAC and mechanical system failures.
• Provide technical direction, mentoring, and hands‑on training to HVAC Technicians I–III.
• Troubleshoot, repair, maintain, install, and optimize commercial and industrial HVAC systems ranging from approximately 5 to 100+ tons.
• Support RTUs, split systems, package units, air handlers, chillers, exhaust, make‑up air, dehumidification, humidification, and process cooling systems.
• Troubleshoot HVAC electrical systems, refrigeration circuits, VFDs, sensors, actuators, controls, and BAS.
• Support controlled environments, including production, test, laboratory, and clean‑room spaces.
• Lead Root Cause Analysis/Root Cause Corrective Action (RCA/RCCA) for significant or recurring failures and drive permanent corrective actions.
• Support preventive and predictive maintenance programs, equipment criticality assessments, reliability improvements, and spare‑parts planning.
• Provide technical oversight for HVAC installations, replacements, retrofits, capital projects, commissioning, and equipment acceptance.
• Oversee contractors, OEM technicians, controls vendors, and mechanical service providers.
• Maintain accurate CMMS documentation, work orders, equipment histories, and corrective‑action records.
• Ensure compliance with Firefly safety requirements and applicable OSHA, EPA, mechanical, electrical, and refrigeration standards.
• Participate in HVAC on‑call rotation and provide senior technical support during critical after‑hours failures.
• Communicate equipment risks, failures, restoration timelines, and corrective actions to Facilities leadership.

Required Qualifications

• 12+ years of progressive commercial or industrial HVAC experience, or equivalent education and experience.
• Extensive hands‑on experience troubleshooting and maintaining commercial/industrial HVAC systems.
• Advanced experience with HVAC systems ranging from approximately 5 to 100+ tons.
• Strong knowledge of refrigeration, airflow, psychrometrics, electrical systems, controls, and HVAC sequences of operation.
• Ability to troubleshoot mechanical, refrigeration, electrical, and control failures using schematics, meters, gauges, BAS data, and diagnostic equipment.
• Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex troubleshooting and provide technical guidance to other technicians.
• Experience with RCA/RCCA and permanent corrective actions.
• Experience in industrial, manufacturing, mission‑critical, or similarly demanding environments.
• Ability to read mechanical drawings, electrical schematics, control diagrams, and specifications.
• EPA Section 608 Universal Certification required.
• Strong communication, documentation, and record‑keeping skills.
• Ability to work independently and make sound technical decisions during critical failures.
• Ability to work overtime, weekends, and participate in an after‑hours on‑call rotation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in aerospace, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, advanced manufacturing, laboratory, or test facilities.
• Advanced BAS troubleshooting and programming experience.
• Experience with major HVAC/controls platforms such as Trane, Carrier, Daikin, Johnson Controls, Siemens, or Honeywell.
• Experience with chillers, chilled water, hydronic/glycol systems, process cooling, clean rooms, and controlled environments.
• Experience with dehumidification/humidification, VFDs, compressed air, vacuum, and process exhaust systems.
• Experience with HVAC commissioning, contractor oversight, RCA/RCCA documentation, CMMS, and reliability/lifecycle planning.
• Plumbing and general mechanical experience.
• Ability to operate forklifts, scissor lifts, boom lifts, skid steers, or similar equipment.

Level IV / Senior Lead Expectations

The Technician IV operates beyond the Technician III level by:

• Taking ownership of complex HVAC issues through resolution.
• Leading critical troubleshooting and RCCA activities.
• Mentoring and providing technical direction to junior technicians.
• Identifying reliability risks and recurring failures before they impact operations.
• Recommending equipment replacement, redundancy, and system improvements.
• Maintaining high standards for safety, workmanship, troubleshooting, and documentation.
• Providing technical oversight of contractors and supporting equipment commissioning.
• Communicating technical risks and recommendations to Facilities leadership.

This is a technical leadership role and does not inherently include formal people‑management responsibilities.

Physical Requirements

Ability to stand, walk, bend, kneel, climb ladders, work from elevated platforms, use HVAC tools and diagnostic equipment, lift/carry required materials, and work indoors and outdoors in active industrial and aerospace environments while wearing required PPE.

Additional Requirements

This position is based at Firefly’s rocket production and test facility in Briggs, Texas, north of Cedar Park. Participation in an on‑call rotation is required. ITAR requirements apply.