Heating Air Conditioning Design Engineer

Thomas Brooke International; Clearwater (FL); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Thomas Brooke International in the Tampa area is seeking an experienced HVAC restoration engineer to own projects from field data to final drawings, delivering build-ready solutions for hospitals, universities, and critical facilities.

Requires a Mechanical Engineering degree, 5+ years of retrofit HVAC experience, AutoCAD proficiency, and a collaborative, ownership-driven mindset. Some monthly travel; relocation to the Tampa area is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering is required; Mechanical Engineering preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of relevant HVAC retrofit experience; EI/EIT welcome.
• Hands-on proficiency with AutoCAD and field-to-drawings work.
• Experience with healthcare, data centers, or mission-critical facilities is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Review field data and validate information before design work.
• Speciafy and design air handling unit restorations and related components.
• Oversee AutoCAD drawings and engineering packages for restoration projects.
• Support estimating, operations, and sales as the engineering voice.
• Participate in site visits and remote assessments, contributing to standards.

Skills

AutoCAD

HVAC retrofits

Field data analysis

Project ownership

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Mechanical Engineering preferred

Tools

Energy-modeling tools

Job description

• Step into a fast-growing engineering group with the backing of an $8 billion public company. This is a small, entrepreneurial engineering unit inside a large, stable organization, real autonomy over your work, with real resources behind you.
• This is not consulting engineering. The firm designs and self-performs its own restoration projects nationwide, no architect-driven production packages, no throwing a design over the fence to someone else to build.
• What you design here gets built, not filed away. You carry a project from field data to a finished result, and you're trusted to make the call along the way.
• Travel that respects your life. This is not a road-warrior role. Expect occasional national midweek travel, supplemented by digital remote site walkthroughs that cut travel even further.
• A genuine, not aspirational, growth path. The engineering department is scaling nationally right now. Someone joining at this stage gets direct access to engineering leadership and a real hand in shaping how the department runs for years to come.
• Work on unique challenges of real equipment. The projects involve restoring/renovating existing HVAC systems in hospitals, universities, manufacturing plants, and other mission-critical facilities for maximum impact rather than simply “value engineering” new builds to drive cost down.
• A connected team, not a silo. Engineers here work directly with estimating, field operations, project management and sales. You'll never be stuck three layers removed from the people actually running the project.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Review field engineers' performance assessment reports and validate the data before design work begins.
• Specify and design air handling unit restorations, fan array selection, coil replacement, and temporary conditioning plans for facilities that can't afford downtime.
• Oversee production of AutoCAD drawings and engineering packages for restoration projects.
• Support estimating, operations, and sales, join customer calls as the engineering voice that gives building owners confidence in the plan.
• Participate in occasional site visits and field investigations, along with remote digital assessments.
• Help build the internal engineering standards, templates, and tools the department will run on as it grows nationally.

THE RIGHT CANDIDATE

Education & Technical Skills

• A Bachelor\'s degree in Engineering is required: Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Technology, or Architectural Engineering preferred; other engineering degrees (Civil, Structural, Electrical) with genuine, demonstrated mechanical depth are also considered.
• A minimum of 5 years of relevant experience is required. Candidates who are an Engineer Intern (EI/EIT) rather than a licensed PE are welcome and encouraged to apply: a PE is a plus, not a requirement, for this role.
• Hands-on proficiency in AutoCAD is required.
• Direct experience with existing-building HVAC systems and retrofit work is required. This is not a new-construction design role.
• A genuine, conversational command of HVAC fundamentals (pumping schemes, VFD controls, coil and fan selection) is required.
• Experience with energy-modeling software (such as Trane Trace, EnergyGauge, or COMcheck) is a meaningful plus.
• A background with a design-build contractor or an organization with in-house engineering is a strong plus.
• Experience with healthcare, data center, or other mission-critical facilities is a plus.
• An ownership mentality: you talk about your work as yours, not something assigned to you, and you take responsibility for outcomes, not just tasks.
• A bias toward action: comfortable moving quickly and course-correcting rather than over-polishing before showing your work.
• A genuinely collaborative style: you don\'t retreat into a narrow lane when something outside your desk needs solving.
• A builder\'s mindset: you get real satisfaction from making something repeatable for whoever picks it up next, not just finishing the task in front of you.
• A real curiosity about older equipment, not just new builds.
• Able and willing to travel about once a month, midweek nights only
• Willing to live/relocate to the Tampa area – this is NOT a remote role